Plone was an electronic music band from Birmingham, England. The group was created in late 1994 when Mark Cancellara & Mike Johnston started to buy old analogue keyboards and fx and began to rehearse making huge soundscapes. Mike was living with Billy Bainbridge (who was in another band at the time, Supernal, also containing members of electro band sol_dat) who bought himself a keyboard and joined the band. Electronic music is a term for music created using electronic devices. ... The city from above Centenary Square. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – 60,609... Electro is either (a) a prefix used to indicate a relationship to electricity, as in electro-mechanical, or electro-magnet, or (b) a stand-alone word. ...

The band started gigging as support to local bands such as Pram & Broadcast. In 1997 the band were approached by Wurlitzer Jukebox who released the single "Press a Key". On the strength of this the band were signed to Warp and in September 1998 released the single 'plock'. This was tipped as one of the singles of the year by NME, Melody Maker, Dazed & Confused etc. Pram are an electronica band, formed in Birmingham, England in the 1990. ... Broadcast are an electronica music band, based in Birmingham, United Kingdom. ... Warp Records is a pioneering independent UK record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the most enduring artists in electronic music. ... The New Musical Express (better known as the NME) is a music magazine in the UK which has been published weekly since March 1952. ... Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was (until its closure) the worlds oldest weekly music newspaper. ...

An album For Beginner Piano was released in September 1999 to wide spread critical acclaim of the band's pioneering "timeless electronic melodies" and was a breath of fresh air in what had become an incredibly stale and studious IDM scene. IDM, short for intelligent dance music, is an electronic music genre which began as a style of techno in the early 1990s and moved on to include the textures and sound manipulation methods of Musique concrète and early, true industrial bands such as Coil and Nurse With Wound. ...

Rob Mitchell (who had originally signed the band to Warp) was diagnosed with cancer in 2001. While the band rushed to deliver their second album, Rob died in the september of that year. Shortly thereafter, the band were dropped by the label and subsequently dissolved. When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ...

The album is still awaiting release.

Billy went on to play keyboards with Broadcast (on the Ha Ha Sound tour) and is now a member of Seeland with Tim Felton (now also ex-Broadcast) and have released a single "Wander"/"Pherox" on Duophonic in 2005. Duophonic Records is an independent record label formed by the British rock group Stereolab. ...

Mike Johnston went on to form Mike In Mono and is also 'Clive 2' in ZX Spectrum Orchestra and a member of The Modified Toy Orchestra.

Mark is currently DJing with Matt from Pram for Silver Dollar, a reggae club in Birmingham. Reggae is a music genre developed in Jamaica. ...

Members of the band

• Mike 'Billy' Bainbridge
• Mark Cancellara
• Michael Johnston

Keyboards, Vocoders & FX

Discography

Singles

• "Press A Key" (7") Wurlitzer Jukebox
• "Plock" (12") Warp Records
• "Plock" (CD5") Warp Records
• "Plock" (Promo) (CD5") Warp Records
• "Plock" (Promo) (12") Warp Records

Albums

• For Beginner Piano (CD) Matador
• For Beginner Piano (CD) Warp Records
• For Beginner Piano (LP) Warp Records
• For Beginner Piano (Promo) (CD) Matador
• For Beginner Piano (Promo) (CD) Warp Records
• Untitled second album - never released

Remixes

• Warp 10+3 (2xCD) "Tricky Disco (Plone Remix)" SMEJ Associated Records
• Warp 10+3 Remixes (2xCD) "Tricky Disco (Plone Remix)" Warp Records
• Warp 10+3 Remixes (2xCD) "Tricky Disco (Plone Remix)" Matador
• Warp 10+3 Remixes (4xLP) "Tricky Disco (Plone Remix)" Warp Records
• Warp 10+3 Remixes (2xCD) "Tricky Disco (Plone Remix)" Rough Trade Germany
• "Me And Jerry D" / "On Furry Cushion (Plone Mix)" (7") "On Furry Cushion (Plone Mix)" Octave Kitten Recordings
• Somniloquy (CD) "Bewitched (Plone Mix)" Domino Recording Company Ltd.
• Somniloquy (Promo) (CD) "Bewitched (Plone Mix)" Domino Recording Company Ltd.

Tracks Appear On

• wap100. We Are Reasonable People (CD) "Plaything" Play It Again Sam (PIAS)
• We Are Reasonable People (CD) "Plaything" Warp Records
• We Are Reasonable People (3xLP) "Plaything" Warp Records
• We Are Reasonable People (CD) "Plaything" SMEJ Associated Records
• We Are Reasonable People (Promo) (CD) "Plaything" Warp Records
• Round Squared: Weirdbag Vol. 1 (CD) Somebody Is Alive And Well... Somewhere" Round Records
• For Wearing A Phone W/Q (CD) "Simple Song" Not On Label
• The Mediterranean Beat Cook (Cassette) "Sunday Laid Moo" Spotlight Records (Japan)
• Music Sampler (CD) "Plock", "Top & Low Rent" Warp Records

Links

• Plone
• Old Site intro
• Plock mini site
• Plone interviewed in 1997
• Mike in Mono fan blog
• Mike in Mono page at warmcircuit
• Great BBC interview with Mike
• Seeland on Duophonic