Black Mariah is an English electro-rock band. Formed in late 2004, the band was made up of two groups of musicians who had descended on London: vocalist Mark Slade and bassist George Young, previously of the Leeds based band Circa, and brothers Kelton and Kris Turvey, (drums and guitar, respectively) both of who had played in numerous underground bands in their hometown of Plymouth. The band set about combining laptop driven electronic music with rock n roll guitars, in a style that has been compared to Primal Scream, Kasabian, Death in Vegas and Spiritulized. Black Mariah made their debut in a former strip club in London's East End. Present in that first audience was Tone Davies (ex-Motor City Band)who was recruited onto second guitar. The band set up shop in a graffiti-covered industrial building in Shoreditch where they began writing and rehearsing in earnest. Their high-energy shows saw them rise rapidly on the London gig scene, early shows at the notorious Rythmn Factory night 'Bring Your Own Poison' night quickly followed by appearances at venues such as The 100 Club, Cobden Club, Clapham Grand and the Garage, culminating in a show at Virgin Megastore (Oxford Street) for the inaugural John Peel Day, earning them their first taste of national press coverage. In 2006, Black Mariah launched their own club, Club Black Mariah, at London's Clockwork, and began earning themselves support slots with the likes of Turin Brakes and Fun Lovin Criminals. 2007 saw them step up another gear with two European festival dates under their belts, at the underground electronic 'Bleepfest' in Berlin and the Exit (festival) in Novi Sad, Serbia.
