Radnor and Lee

Radnor and Lee
Radnor and Lee performing live at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles, California, on September 2, 2016
Radnor and Lee performing live at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles, California, on September 2, 2016
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active2016–present
Labels
  • Gold Village Entertainment
  • Flower Moon Records
Members
Websiteradnorandlee.com

Radnor and Lee is an American indie folk musical duo consisting of American actor, filmmaker, author, and musician Josh Radnor, and Ben Lee, Australian indie pop musician and actor.[1] They released their debut, self-titled record on November 10, 2017.[2]

History

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Formation

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Radnor is best known for portraying Ted Mosby on the popular Emmy Award-winning CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother[3] from 2005 to 2014,[4] and writing and directing the 2011 comedy-drama film Happythankyoumoreplease,[5] (which later won a Sundance Film Festival Audience Award)[6] and Liberal Arts.[7] Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, later releasing 11 solo studio albums and collaborating with artists such as Daniel Johnston, Zooey Deschanel, Sean Lennon, and more.[8]

Radnor and Lee had known each other for "twelve or thirteen years after meeting on the set of How I Met Your Mother" eventually writing songs together.[9] "We’d been talking about it, and then two and a half years ago we decided to write a song together and it went really well. We decided to write another one, then we said ‘let’s make a record,’ according to Radnor.[10] It was their "shared interest in spirituality and philosophy" that inspired them make music together in the first place, with producer Ryan Dilmore referring to the pair as “singer-psalmwriters.”[11] The two describe their vision for Radnor and Lee as "trying to write from the perspective of people who've had a little life under their belts... a different level of reflection and wisdom and humility... We make music that celebrates the complexity of where we're actually at in our lives."[12]

Radnor and Lee (2017)

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Yahoo! debuted the collaboration and first single "Be Like the Being" on May 8, 2017, calling the album "witty, hopeful, yearning, joyful, searching and meditative."[13] AllMusic premiered "Doorstep" on August 8, 2017, saying "joyful spirituality abounds as their voices blend with layers of acoustic guitar and an organ."[14] On August 14, 2017, Paste premiered the video for "Be Like the Being," a song Radnor said is "about simplicity, about knowing we have everything we need if we could just get out of our own way."[11] In April 2018, Radnor and Lee announced an Australian East Coast Tour for May 2018 and appeared on Australia's Today show.[9] Their single "Here" was featured in the American musical drama television series Rise in May 2018.[15] Medium called it "The Best Spiritual Album I Have Ever Heard."[16]

Golden State (2020)

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In December 2019, Radnor told Us Weekly that Radnor and Lee were would be putting out their next album in 2020.[17] On January 17, 2020, Radnor and Lee posted on social media that their new record would be out "soon" on Flower Moon Records,[18] a Los Angeles-based record label owned and operated by Azure Ray's Maria Taylor.[19]

On February 19, 2020, Spin announced the new album, Golden State would be out May 8, 2020 on Flower Moon Records and premiered the first single "Outside In." Of the album, Spin said: "Golden State is a bit darker lyrically than their self-titled album. The title refers more to a state of mind rather than California itself."[20] On May 4, the band made an announcement via their official social media channels that due to the coronavirus, the album's release date would be pushed back. Days later, American Songwriter premiered the video for the album's 2nd single, "Simple Harmony," and announced a new release date of June 19, 2020.[21] PopMatters premiered the album's "warm and catchy indie folk" single "Gimme Your Mess" on June 17, 2020.[22]

Members

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Discography

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  • Radnor and Lee (Gold Village Entertainment, 2017)
  • Golden State (Flower Moon Records, 2020)

References

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  1. ^ Lutkin, Aimee (17 August 2017). "Is This Song from Josh Radnor and Ben Lee a How I Met Your Mother Parody?". Jezebel.
  2. ^ "Radnor and Lee". Amazon. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  3. ^ Meslow, Scott (13 March 2018). "Josh Radnor Wants You to Move on from 'How I Met Your Mother'". GQ.
  4. ^ Berger, Sarah (2018-03-21). "Josh Radnor reveals he was still living in a $750 sublet while starring on 'How I Met Your Mother' — here's why". CNBC.
  5. ^ Kung, Michelle (21 January 2010). ""How I Met Your Mother" Star Josh Radnor on His Sundance Debut "happythankyoumoreplease"". The Wall Street Journal.
  6. ^ Effron, Lauren (28 December 2016). "Josh Radnor on Moving Past 'How I Met Your Mother,' How Meditation Keeps Him Grounded". ABC News.
  7. ^ Lewis, Andy (18 January 2012). "Josh Radnor Penning Memoir About Childhood, Experiences with Drugs". The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. ^ Quinlan, Keelly (2019-09-18). "Ben Lee - "Speeding Motorcycle" (Daniel Johnston Cover) & "Divine Hammer" (The Breeders Cover)". Stereogum.
  9. ^ a b D'Souza, Shaad (2018-04-04). "Ben Lee and Ted from 'How I Met Your Mother' Have a Band, Unfortunately". Vice.
  10. ^ Trendell, Andrew (2018-04-04). "Ben Lee and Josh Radnor from 'How I Met Your Mother' have formed a band". NME.
  11. ^ a b Russell, Scott (2017-08-10). "Exclusive: Watch Radnor & Lee's Offbeat "Be Like the Being" Video". Paste.
  12. ^ Spencer, Ashley (2018). "Ben Lee and Josh Radnor are in a band and touring Australia". Honey. Nine Digital Pty Ltd.
  13. ^ Geller, Wendy (8 May 2017). "Song Premiere: Ben Lee and Josh Radnor Introduce New Musical Collab". Yahoo!.
  14. ^ Steffen, Chris (11 August 2017). "Song Premiere: Radnor & Lee, "Doorstep"". AllMusic.
  15. ^ "Radnor & Lee". Facebook. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  16. ^ Kenway, Will (2019-11-16). "The Best Spiritual Album I Have Ever Heard". Medium. Archived from the original on 2020-01-12.
  17. ^ Strassberg, Rebecca (2019-12-10). "Why Josh Radnor Spends New Year's Eve Meditating". US Weekly.
  18. ^ "Radnor & Lee". Facebook. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  19. ^ "Flower Moon Records". Flower Moon Records. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  20. ^ "Radnor and Lee Announce New Album "Golden State"". 19 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Radnor & Lee Ache for Pre-Quarantine Life with New Video, "Simple Harmony"". 14 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Radnor & Lee Deliver Warm, Funny Love Song via "Gimme Your Mess" (Premiere), PopMatters". 17 June 2020.
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