Draft:Methodical Madness

Methodical Madness
Methodical Madness (2023)
Background information
Origin	Guernsey, Channel Islands
Genres	Pop dance-pop
Years active	2015 2019-present
Members	Benjamin Duddy Imogen Hayman Isaac Langlois Leyla Luff
Past members	Adam Smart Akyra Reynolds Andre Goncalves Benjamin Grut Brandon Emerson Carys Batiste Charlie Van Katwyk Chloe Browning Daniel Loller Daniel Smith Elaine Lowe Elisabeth Laurent Elizabeth Armstrong Eloise Martin-Sarre Emily Le Page Esme Bowskill Evie Martin-Sarre Freddie Rouget Gabrielle Setters Grace Le Page Isobel Adams Jack Garbutt Jack Le Blancq Jack Parkes Jack Tostevin-Hall Jodie Lihou Joel Atkinson Joshua Duddy Joshua Le Breton Katie Lainé Kya Bullock Lauren Baker Leon Hamon Li Yuan Bound Lilli Knight Lily Le Tocq Lois De La Mare Lucy Henke Max Guilbert Melissa Johns Michael Kennedy Mikey Halloran Naomi Kewell Nathan Marquis Oliver Craig Oliver Stinton Oscar Armenta-Jeffreys Paige De La Mare Rachael Fallaize-Evans Reeve Finch Skyler Le Page Thea Clay Thomas Baker

Methodical Madness is a primarily Sarnian pop group that was created in 2019 by lead singer Benjamin Duddy. The group has comprised 58 vocalists, 50 of which feature on their 2022 single 'Untouchable'. The current line-up is Benjamin Duddy, Imogen Hayman, Isaac Langlois & Leyla Luff. Methodical Madness has received a generally positive reaction from both the general public and the media, credited for their charitable aims. Their purpose is to release music and donate all profits to various charities, including Teenage Cancer Trust, Cancer Research UK and The Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal.

Methodical Madness is due to release their 2nd studio album sometime in 2023. They have released 4 singles to date, namely 'Untouchable (The Primrose Hill Remix)', 'N U M B', 'I N F E R N O' and 'XYZ'.

Legal In Reverse

In the early Summer of 2015, founder Benjamin Duddy organised a recording session with Andy Robinson at Thirst Music School in St. Peter Port, Guernsey. Benjamin invited friends Katie Lainé (guitarist), Elisabeth Laurent (guitarist), Jack Tostevin-Hall (pianist) and Elizabeth Armstrong (vocalist) to an organised practice session with Andy to prepare for a recording session. Subsequently, Carys Batiste (vocalist) was invited to the recording session and the group recorded a cover of Little Mix's 'Black Magic'. The group named themselves 'Legal In Reverse' and separated soon after to focus on their education. Black Magic was added to streaming services on 12th December 2022, over 7 years after it was recorded.

Thomas Martin-Sarre

Thomas Martin-Sarre was born to Sarah Martin and Jason Sarre in Guernsey, Channel Islands on Saturday 10th August 1996. In February 2012, Thomas as a 15-year-old was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer - Rhabdomyosarcoma. Children's cancer treatment cannot take place on the island of Guernsey, therefore Thomas was referred to Piam Brown in Southampton General Hospital. He then embarked on a treatment plan consisting of chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. In October 2012, Thomas was given the all-clear and was moved onto monthly check-ups in Guernsey. By April 2013, the cancer had returned in the form of two tumour masses in his stomach. He was immediately referred back to Piam Brown. In December 2013, he was once again given the all-clear, but with a years maintenance program to keep it from returning. In May 2014, it was discovered the cancer had returned a third time. Thomas was then transferred to the Teenage Cancer Trust as Piam Brown only supports children from birth to the age of 16. Chemotherapy was used to try and control it, however he then made the brave decision to stop treatment as it was proving ineffective. On the 26th August 2014, Thomas passed away.

Robots. Dancing. Alone. (2019)

In June 2019, Methodical Madness was put together by Benjamin Duddy. In Thomas' memory, Benjamin and Eloise Martin-Sarre decided to work on a project to spread awareness and raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. The idea for the album came about in early June, but recording didn't start until mid-July, giving the team slightly over a month before the set release date of the 26th August (5 years to the date Thomas Martin-Sarre passed away). All profits of the album went to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The album originally had 14 tracks, all apart from the introductory track are covers. When asked, a spokesperson from the band said, "we were aiming to do a couple of original songs but with the time constraints it just wouldn't have been possible". When Robots. Dancing. Alone. returned to streaming services in 2022, only 10 of the tracks were re-uploaded.

Songs

Untouchable (In Memory of Thomas Martin-Sarre), a cover of Girls Aloud's 2009 hit was the lead and only single from 'Robots. Dancing. Alone.'. The lyrics were deemed fitting and emotional. The album title originates from lyrics of this song. The album version, edited by Canadian mixing engineer Don Nafe, runs for 6 minutes 35 seconds and was stylised as 'In Memory of Thomas Martin-Sarre. This particular version consists of 26 vocalists, all singing individual lines culminating in everyone singing in unison for the final chorus. Benjamin Duddy takes the lead in the other choruses, which feature his closest friends and family members. The radio mix of the song was created for commercial use and promotion on radio stations. It was mixed by Dan Kanopka. The radio mix does not feature the other 18 members of the group but sticks to the album's core 8 members, Benjamin Duddy, Daniel Loller, Jack Le Blancq, Joshua Le Breton, Eloise Martin-Sarre, Lauren Baker, Joel Atkinson and Elaine Lowe. Unlike the album version, the radio mix follows a different structure, ending on the middle 8, similar to Girls Aloud's radio mix. The vocals are filled with vocoder to create a dance-like feel and the backing instruments are also different.

The opening track, entitled 'Intro (The Story of Thomas / Methodical Madness)' is a spoken story-telling episode of Thomas Martin-Sarre and his battle with cancer, aswell as Methodical Madness' aims and intentions for the album. Several of Thomas' family members and acquaintances are included in this track (they do not however constitute towards the 26 members of Methodical Madness).

Following the lead single is a seemingly identical copy of The Killers' 'Human'. The song follows the electronic vibe of 'Untouchable (Radio Mix)' and showcases some promising vocals from Loller and Atkinson.

A return to Girls Aloud for the fourth track. Wake Me Up was deemed a "more conservative" take on the original. It includes an extra verse which Girls Aloud recorded for an 'alternative version' of the song. The vocals and instruments are less electronic than the previous songs and Duddy demonstrates some powerful belting over the final chorus.

On a Night Like This, originally by Kylie Minogue, returns to the electro-pop sound of the first tracks. The track is similar to the original with Martin-Sarre performing the whispered sections.

The sixth track, Best of Me is the only song on the album that differs greatly from the original. The backing track was played (on guitar) and edited by Loller. It is fully acoustic and has been complemented on it's creativity.

In the Middle is a dance-song originally performed by Sugababes. The version is slower however, and is the only album track ending with a fade out.

The Promise features Guernsey vocalist Gabrielle Setters, who is not included in the 26 members as her vocals were added to the track late in the recording process. The Promise is the only song on the album that has an accompanying music video.

Rounding off the album is Evanescence's 'My Immortal', which stands out for it's rock-genre and depressing lyrics.

The final track of the album is the album version of Untouchable.

I'll Stand By You

Sarah Harding passed away from breast cancer on 5th September 2021. Methodical Madness decided to reform to raise money for the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal.

I'll Stand By You is a cover of The Pretender's 1994 hit and Girls Aloud's 2004 charity release. The song was recorded at Apocalypse Studios in Guernsey, Channel Islands by 6 members of Methodical Madness. I'll Stand By You garnered a high number of streams and stood as Methodical Madness' most successful song for over a year, there was a strong media campaign behind it on various local news and radio stations. The song was credited for its high-quality vocals, separating itself from prior versions.

The music video was filmed at Duddy's house and around the beach of Bordeaux, Guernsey.

I'll Stand By You (The New Inn Remix)

I'll Stand By You was remixed by Benjamin Duddy and features a dance instrumental by Raccy. The song was not promoted heavily, being created on the 15th September 2022 and was released on the 17th September. The title was named 'The New Inn Remix' due to Duddy living in New Inn, Torfaen, South Wales at the time.

I'll Stand By You (The Inn Remix) is much more upbeat than its main version, created for the purpose as a dance-track.

Untouchable (The Primrose Hill Remix)

Methodical Madness decided to extend their 2019 single Untouchable from 26 vocalists to 50. The recording for this took place between October 2020 and October 2022, ranging between MM Studios (Vale, Guernsey) and Studio 10 (Cardiff, Wales).

Untouchable (The Primrose Hill Remix) was released on 9th December 2022 and has gained positive reviews from critics, "It has moved it from the chart-friendly pop category into the bonefide, clubland banger." Charlie Westropp was credited for the mixing.

All profits from this release are due to be donated to the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal. The release date was specific as Girls Aloud released their first vinyl on the same day for the same cause.

The main version runs for 6 minutes 56 seconds and features 50 vocalists. A radio edit was added for commercial use and runs for 4 minutes 21 seconds, it is unclear how many vocalists feature on this version as several sections were removed from the structure.

The single cover image is a combination of all 50-members that feature on the song and was put together by Benjamin Duddy and Adam Smart prior to its release. The pink background is said to symbolise the support of the Breast Cancer themed support.

A lyric video was uploaded to Methodical Madness' YouTube channel. It features a line distribution demonstrating which vocalists sing the different parts of the song.

N U M B

Numb (stylised as N U M B) is Methodical Madness' debut original single, which was released on the 28th January 2023. The song was originally supposed to release on the 27th January however due to a technical fault, N U M B became available on the 28th January around midday. The song features 10 vocalists, 4 of which are making their debut (Jack Parkes, Lucy Henke, Leyla Luff and Grace Le Page).

I N F E R N O

Inferno (stylised as I N F E R N O) was written by Benjamin Duddy in October 2019, however due to the COVID pandemic, plans were scrapped for its release. While living in the UK, Ben visited a recording studio in Cardiff and recorded Inferno with the intention of releasing it as a solo artist. However, when Methodical Madness began to plan for their second studio album, Inferno was re-edited to feature Leyla Luff, Isaac Langlois, Joshua Duddy, Max Guilbert & Imogen Hayman. Inferno is currently Methodical Madness' most successful song to date, reaching 100,000 streams on Spotify within its first two weeks of release.

XYZ

XYZ is Methodical Madness' fourth and final single from their second studio album. It was released on the 31st March 2023. The song has a Reggae feel to it, despite the majority of the verses being rapped. XYZ is said to be Methodical Madness' favourite song so far as it's incredibly unique, it is also the song to have taken the band over 1 million all-time Spotify streams.