Gotye

Gotye is Aussie Belgian Wally De Backer. He plays drums, percussion and piano, and he writes, sings and produces tracks at his home, currently in Victoria, Australia. Gotye's sound is a melting pot of samples from sources far and wide, mixed with Wally's vocals and home recorded sounds to form original songs that are as likely to channel '80s New Romantic pop or '60s Motown soul as they are to be experiments in kooky turntablism or progressive trip-hop landscapes. The results are songs that both reference and incorporate styles and sounds of the past, but bear a distinctly contemporary outlook. Born in Belgium but raised in Australia, Walter (real name Wouter) has been making music since his teens, first in moody local rock band Downstares, a fixture at underage shows in the North-East suburbs of Melbourne for a few years. When that band dissolved Wally started focusing on his solo project, cut'n'paste tunes that eventually would come under the moniker of 'Gotye'. He is also one-third of Melbourne indie-pop band The Basics. As Gotye, his public exposure, like many alternative Australian musical acts, comes largely from youth radio station Triple J. His first single, "Learnalilgivinanlovin" from Like Drawing Blood, was released in August, 2006. Gotye's second album Like Drawing Blood was featured by Triple J in May 2006 [1] and was voted Number 1 in the listeners poll of the Best Album of 2006 [2]. The album was also nominated for a J Award that year [3]. Two tracks from that album, "Learnalilgivinanlovin" and "Heart's A Mess", were ranked 94 and 8 respectively in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2006[4]. "Like Drawing Blood" has been certified Platinum. In September 2006, Gotye was nominated for an Australian Recording Industry Music Award (ARIA award) for best independent release for his album Like Drawing Blood. Also in 2006 Gotye won 'Most Outstanding New Independent Artist' at the inaugural Australian Independent Record (AIR) Chart Awards. In 2007, Gotye won the ARIA for best male artist. As a result of the publicity of the nomination, "Like Drawing Blood" re-entered the ARIA album chart. In 2008 Like Drawing Blood was named iTunes UK Album of the Year. In 2009 Gotye - "Hearts A Mess" came in at #77 in Triple J Hottest 100 of all time, voted by the Australian public.