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The Chap Biography

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British electro-rock band the Chap were formed in North London by Claire Hope (keyboards, vocals), Johannes Von Weizsäcker (guitar, vocals, cello), Panos Ghikas (bass, violin, guitar, vocals), and Keith Duncan (drums). They released a 10" EP, Fun, on Lo Recordings in April 2002. Their debut album, The Horse, was released on April 28, 2003, followed on September 29, 2003 by the EP (Hats Off To) Dror Frangi. Their second full-length album, Ham, was released on June 27, 2005. A second EP, The Chop, came out on June 11, 2007. Their third album, Mega Breakfast, was released in Europe on May 19, 2008 and in the U.K. a week later. They signed to Ghostly International, which issued Mega Breakfast in the U.S. on July 1, 2008 as their first official American release. At the same time, Hope took a pregnancy leave from the group and was replaced temporarily by keyboard player and singer Berit, who had previously played in a band with Von Weizsäcker called Karamasov and worked with Omo. After touring in support of Mega Breakfast, the Chap recorded their fourth album, Well Done Europe, a sleeker, more electronically inclined set of songs that was released in mid-2010. The confidently named collection We Are the Best arrived late in 2011. Looking for a challenge, the band's next album, We Are Nobody, consisted of entirely irony-free songs. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi

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