Mnemonic is an alternative rock band, formed as Mnemonic Groove in "Singapore" in 1997 and now based in London, England.
The band formed as a result of impromptu jam sessions and quickly released their debut album on the Angel J. Records label, entitled Non-Verbal Signs of Listening on 23 May 1997, and garnered international attention with the release of their cover of the U2 song, "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" in January 2000.
1996–1997: Mnemonic Groove
"Mnemonic Groove" was officially formed in Singapore after a series of jam sessions at "Boon Studios" in January 1997. Richard Das, Jonathan Skipp and Kiron Chahel had already performed in public at ad hoc concerts in Singapore during 1996 as an unnamed trio prior to collaborating with Aaron Jude Sequerah in January 1997.
The band name originated from picking words from a dictionary.
Their debut album, "Non-Verbal Signs of Listening" was released on 23 May 1997 culminating in a promotional live performance and album signings at "Boat Quay" in Singapore.
After releasing their debut album and undertaking a series of promotional interviews for magazines and radio shows, the band separated in August 1997 and went on hiatus due to global commitments.
Members then commenced writing music from Australia, the US and the United Kingdom and building up their online presence which they felt was the way forward for online music and video distribution.
1998–2000: International Exposure
The band changed their name to "Mnemonic" early 1998.
They continued to prepare material for the next album tentatively titled "On The Shoulders of Giants" but abandoned this title early 2000 after hearing that the UK band, "Oasis" had chosen it for the title of their upcoming fourth studio album "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants".
Band members met up in Singapore early 1998 and started rehearsing material as well as giving ad hoc interviews to magazines such as "ETC Magazine" who hailed them as Singapore's "first" International Band.
Late September 1998 they were invited to perform live on Channel [V] to an estimated audience of 63 Million viewers which thereafter heightened interest in their music and they performed ad hoc in London, Canterbury and Bradford in 1999 and 2000 with Dan Jupp playing bass for "Livestock" in Bradford (2000) and Dan Compton for three shows at "Gossips" in Soho (London) as Aaron Sequerah promoted the band to prospective producers in Australasia.
During 1998 / early 1999, "Joker", the first single lifted from their debut album had been played on "Triple J" in Australia, the college radio network throughout the United States, the University Network radio throughout the United Kingdom and featured on several BBC radio shows in Ireland including "Across The Line" on "BBC Radio Ulster", presented by Mike Edgar.
The Ground Beneath Her Feet – Mnemonic Version
Mnemonic band members Richard Das and Jonathan Skipp had heard "Bono" and "The Edge" perform a verse of this song as they were writing it for the upcoming film "The Million Dollar Hotel" on a television program in September 1999 and then interpolated subsequent verses and chorus from the "Salman Rushdie" book "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" to complete their own version of the song. Band members contributed their parts and a final version was mixed and completed in December 1999.
The band released it free on the internet downloadable from www.mnemonicgroove.com January 2000 before the official U2 version (released 8, February 2000). Hits on the Mnemonic band website at one point peaked at 97,000+ for one day for the download.
The band were subsequently invited to perform an acoustic version of the song on UK Radio 1.
The news of their version of the song spread to global news agencies and this was widely reported on various media and a feature on the band was done by "The Straits Times".
The release of their version of the song as free downloadable media prompted a "surprisingly favourable" response from "The Edge"
2001–2003: United Kingdom Tours
The band toured the UK extensively and played regularly at Sound in Leicester Square (London) and the Rockgarden (Covent Garden). Other semi-regular venues included, Dingwalls (Camden Town), Gossips (Soho), Westone Four (West Kensington) and Cambridge University.
The band also competed and won the "Battle of the Bands" competition held at "Redbacks" in West London in 2002.
During this time Kiron Chahel left the band and was replaced by Vince Edwards (2001–2002) then finally with Tim Crane who became the permanent drummer for the band. Arno Robinet stood in for Aaron Sequerah for three shows during this time also (2001–2002).