Temposhark was an English electronic rock band, formed in London and Brighton by singer-songwriter Robert Diament and one-time music producer Luke Busby. Temposhark were best known for their songs "Bye Bye Baby", "Joy", "It's Better To Have Loved" and "Not That Big", a duet with singer Imogen Heap which appeared on their 2008 debut album, The Invisible Line. Their second album, Threads, was released in 2010 and reached the top 15 on the iTunes UK electronic albums chart. Other notable artist collaborations include Guy Sigsworth, Sean McGhee, Youth from Killing Joke, Kate Havnevik, Melnyk, Camille, MaJiKer, Morgan Page, Avril and the virtuoso violinist Sophie Solomon. Temposhark's music has been featured in numerous television programmes, including the US advertising campaign for British TV series Downton Abbey in 2011.
Early EPs and collaborations (2004–2007) The initial idea for Temposhark started in London whilst Diament was recording and writing with producer Youth from Killing Joke. At this time, Diament also began staying in Brighton where his old school friend Luke Busby was studying visual art and music at the time. Diament has spoken about that era of initial experimentation,
Diament set up his own UK record label in December 2004 called Paper and Glue, releasing a series of limited-edition Temposhark singles, the first of which was their EP Neon Question Mark. The label is defunct as of October 2014.
Temposhark quickly collaborated with singer Imogen Heap (Frou Frou), received club remixes from electro pioneers including Cursor Miner, Mark Moore (S'Express), Melnyk, Metronomy, Avril (FCommunications), Carmen Rizzo and Crispin J Glover as well as hip-hop crew Border Crossing, Masashi Naka (Escalator Records, Japan), Akira the Don and electropunk duo Noblesse Oblige. The band have also written two short film soundtracks for fine artist Justine Pearsall. Diament and Pearsall went on to collaborate on an art music video for the Temposhark song "It's Better To Have Loved" in 2005. This art video was first screened in public at the De La Warr Pavilion in February 2006 when Temposhark performed live at the respected British arts venue.
A second EP, Invisible Ink/Little White Lie came out in May 2005, which attracted many new admirers, including producer Guy Sigsworth, best known for his work with Madonna, Björk and Britney Spears. Sigsworth went on to produce Temposhark's first nationwide-released UK single, "It's Better To Have Loved", which came out as a limited-edition CD on 12 December 2005. All of these early Temposhark limited-edition EPs came in deluxe packaging helping to create a buzz around the band in creative circles and with their fan base. The band themselves were never pictured on the sleeves, instead choosing striking original art images and stylish die-cut record sleeves. Around this time, Temposhark's live shows included bass player Jasmin O'Meara, who also plays bass for Zoot Woman.
In 2005, Diament said that his band name was thought up when he "woke up in the midst of a dream one night, at like 4am, and just said the word Temposhark. So it came from my subconscious I guess. Honestly it was that simple. I wanted a name that sounded strong. I liked the idea that music could be a weapon. Something powerful."
In May 2006 Temposhark released their second nationwide single, "Joy", on limited-edition CD and 7" vinyl, and the band set out on a UK tour visiting towns all over the UK. These dates included a high-profile London show at Tate Britain on 5 May and Carling Academy Islington on 20 May. Temposhark gained many new fans when "Joy" was featured on the home page of iTunes UK and in iTunes' weekly newsletter.
In 2007, Temposhark toured the US with their full band as well as completing their debut album, to be released in March 2008 in the US and Europe.
In 2008, their collaboration with rapper Akira The Don was released in US magazine XLR8R called Bang.
The Invisible Line (2008 debut album)
Temposhark's debut album, The Invisible Line, was released in spring 2008 in both UK and US/Canada. It was produced and recorded in London by rising producer Sean McGhee with two tracks produced by Guy Sigsworth. The album includes the song "Blame", which was co-written with producer Youth Martin Glover from Killing Joke as well as a duet with Imogen Heap called "Not That Big".
On 15 March 2007 at the South by Southwest 2007 festival, Temposhark announced on stage that their debut album was to be called The Invisible Line. Singer Robert Diament has said that the album title was inspired by controversial British artist Tracey Emin from passages in her books Exploration of the Soul (1994) and Strangeland (2005).