Cloud Control
Cloud Control is an Australian alternative rock band, originating from the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. For the majority of their initial run, the band was signed to the Australian record label Ivy League Records, on which they released their first album, Bliss Release. They were also signed to Infectious Music in the UK and Europe, Humming Records in Germany, and Votiv in North America. The band was nominated for several awards in Australia, including two ARIA Music Awards. The band won the Australian Music Prize on 3 March 2011 for Bliss Release.
Throughout the 2010s, the band supported a number of local and international acts, including Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Supergrass, The Magic Numbers, Yves Klein Blue, The Temper Trap, Last Dinosaurs, Local Natives and Weezer.
History
2007-2012: formation and ''Bliss Release''
In 2007 the group was hastily formed so they could enter a university battle of the bands competition. with Alister recalling in 2011, "None of us had written songs before and I'd never sung anything. We were completely fresh". The group entered for a second timeand subsequently won and recorded and released their debut EP, Cloud Control, in November 2007. Several songs were uploaded onto Triple J Unearthed.
They signed with Ivy League Records in 2008, with their debut single "Death Cloud" released in November 2008.
After a string of festival appearances and tours with a variety of Australian bands, the band released its first album, Bliss Release, in 2010. They recorded the album in the house of their producer, Liam Judson. Single "There's Nothing In The Water We Can't Fight" appeared at number 18 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2010. The single "Gold Canary" was voted as Single of the Week in the Rebel Playlist on the UK's BBC Radio 6 Music 2010.
2013-2018: ''Dream Cave'' & ''Zone''
Their second album, Dream Cave, was released on 9 August 2013, which peaked at number 9 on the ARIA charts. A free acoustic album titled Dream Cave Unplugged was released on 8 October 2013 before becoming available from Apple Music for purchase in February 2014.On 3 January 2015, the bass guitarist, Jeremy Kelshaw, announced his departure from the group on the band's Facebook page.
The band's third studio album, Zone was released on 1 September 2017. Their label said the album was written in a small beach house near the NSW regional centre of Forster and has been described as "profound, but also flippant, euphoric, but conceptual". The album peaked at number 53 on the ARIA Charts.
The band quietly disbanded in 2018, with Alister Wright beginning a new solo project, Vlossom, while Heidi Lenffer pursued entrepreneurial work as the leader of FEAT.
2025: reunion
In 2025, Cloud Control announced their reunion for a run of shows celebrating the 15-year anniversary of Bliss Release.Band members
- Alister Wright – lead vocals, guitar
- Heidi Lenffer – keyboards, backing vocals, percussion
- Ulrich Lenffer – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Jeremy Kelshaw – bass guitar, backing vocals, percussion
- Doug Wright – bass guitar