Beangrowers

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Fan art of the Beangrowers; Ian, Alison, and Mark

The Beangrowers are a three-member indie rock band from Malta, a small country near Italy. All three were born in 1977 in St. Julian's, Malta. Notably, all members of the Beangrowers are also songwriters, so their albums reflect diverse influences from the entire band. These influences include other indie rock, punk, goth, and especially pop groups.

[edit] The band

Ian Schranz and Mark Sansone, who met in church, and were childhood friends from the age of 8 and later started playing music together. They were joined by mutual friend Alison Galea, who proved to be a capable singer. The band went through a number of fourth members before settling on their current three-musician composition. According to the band's official site, the name "Beangrowers" was given by a fan when a promoter demanded a name for posters. According to this story, the band had not previously decided on a name.

Alison, also a guitarist and keyboardist, provides a distinctive and vaguely British-accented voice to Beangrowers songs. Her voice has been described as sweet yet sultry. Drummer Ian Schranz has a background in professional tennis and also orchestrates the drum machines and other electronic noise for the songs. Bearded Mark Sansone is the Beangrower's bassist.

The Beangrowers recorded demo tapes in early 1996 when they were just 18. Early recordings featured sounds from 1950s science fiction movies and computer-generated noise. Within a year they travelled to play in German clubs with good response. The Beangrowers record heavily in English but they are possibly best known in the German-speaking world where Ian Schranz's family hails from. In 1999 their first single made the top 20 of the Deutsche Alternative Charts ("DAC"), an alternative rock sales ranking in Germany. They also have become a minor hit in New Zealand where the single "José Clemente" from their album Beangrowers reached #7 on New Zealand charts and achieved steady rotation on Juice TV, the New Zealand equivalent of MTV.

Relatively obscure in large English-speaking markets, some critics nonetheless think they would do very well in Britain and the United States if more popularly known.

Critics say the group draws influences from other alternative groups like the Violent Femmes, Joy Division, and the Pixies, but with an alternative pop sound. The band itself readily admits to this noting that "all the greats essentially wrote pop songs, like The Cure, Nirvana, Depeche Mode etc." Many Beangrowers songs, such as "Teen Titans" with repeating lyrics "We never listen to the radio" seem to reference the band's own obscure indie status.