Carey Willetts (born January 1976 in Crewe, Cheshire, England) is an English musician, songwriter and producer. He has released work under the name "Boxes", and was the bassist[1] in the English indie band Athlete, with whom he has won an Ivor Novello Award for the track "Wires".[2]
Carey Willetts | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1976 (age 48) Crewe, Cheshire, England |
| Genres | Indie |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, bass guitar |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Fiction Records (UK) Parlophone (UK) Astralwerks (US) Bow Music |
Biography
editCarey Willetts and his former band Athlete released four studio albums. These are Vehicles and Animals in 2003, which was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize award; Tourist in 2005, which reached number one in the UK Album Charts in its first week and included the band's highest charting song "Wires" at number four in the UK Singles Chart; Beyond the Neighbourhood in 2007; and Black Swan (2009). In 2012, he released his first solo album Stickers.[3] Athlete split in 2013, but no confirmation of this was made until 2015, when frontman Joel Pott cited that the band had “ended”.
Willetts hinted in 2012 that the band were considering to split, when he noted that it was three years since they last released an album, as previously the band would release a new album every two years instead. Indeed, a year later the band released a singles compilation and then went on tour, before being dormant ever since.
Songwriting and producing
editWhilst Athlete and Boxes are both on permanent hiatus, Carey has been writing and producing artists including Ed Struijlaart,[4] Amber Run, Passport To Stockholm,[5] Tom Speight, RedFaces, Lilla Vargen, Kingfishr, Dermot Kennedy[6] and Freya Ridings.[7] Carey was shortlisted as Breakthrough Producer Of The Year at the MPG 2020 Awards.[8]
Boxes Blend whisky
editIn 2012 Carey in partnership with Master of Malt produced a blended malt whisky called 'Boxes Blend' to celebrate the launch of his debut solo album Stickers.[9][10]
References
edit- ^ "Athlete / Band". Athlete.mu. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ NME – Ivor Novello 2006 Winners, Nme.com
- ^ "Boxes interview". Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ "Home". Kasteeldehaere.nl. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ "Passport to Stockholm - 'All at Once' | New Music | the 405". www.thefourohfive.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ "MEET SPOTIFY'S IRISH STAR". Independent.ie. 25 March 2018.
- ^ "CAREY WILLETTS". Jaxmanagement.com.
- ^ "MPG AWARDS 2020". Mpg.org.uk. 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Athlete bassist creates own whisky Boxes Blend". Thespiritsbusiness.com. February 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ "Boxes Blend". Masterofmalt.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.