Performing pastoral British folk with a veneer of electronics and a knowing nod to the burgeoning freak folk scene, the Memory Band is the creation of musician and songwriter Stephen Cracknell. A former bass player with Badly Drawn Boy and proprietor of the Trunk Records label, Cracknell previously released several records under the name Gorodisch, in which he melded electronic and folk elements, and in 2003 he launched the Memory Band as (in his words) "an imaginary group playing music drawn from the collective databank" that existed in only his computer. The phantom ensemble released a pair of 7" EPs on the Hungry Hill label in 2003, and much of the material was recycled for a self-titled debut album, which was issued in 2004. As word about Cracknell's new project began to spread, a non-virtual version of the Memory Band began to come together, featuring vocalist Nancy Wallace and fiddler Jennymay Logan, and the group began playing well-received shows across the United Kingdom. In 2006, Cracknell and company began work on their second long-player, with the live band joined by a number of guests in the studio, including Rob Springs on viola, Simon Lord of Garden on bass, singer/songwriter Adem, and Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip. The resulting album, Apron Strings, was released in late 2006 through Peace Frog Records in the U.K. and Dicristina Stair Builders in the United States. ~ Mark Deming