Cloud Control
Australian alternative rock band
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Cloud Control is an Australian alternative rock band, originating from the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia.[1] For the majority of their initial run, the band was signed to the Australian record label Ivy League Records, on which they released their first album, Bliss Release. They were also signed to Infectious Music in the UK and Europe, Humming Records in Germany, and Votiv in North America. The band was nominated for several awards in Australia, including two ARIA Music Awards. The band won the Australian Music Prize on 3 March 2011 for Bliss Release.
Cloud Control | |
|---|---|
| |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2007–2018, 2025–present |
| Label | Ivy League Records |
| Spinoffs | Vlossom |
| Members | Alister Wright Heidi Lenffer Ulrich Lenffer Jeremy Kelshaw |
| Past members | Doug Wright |
| Website | Cloud Control |
Throughout the 2010s, the band supported a number of local and international acts, including Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Supergrass, The Magic Numbers, Yves Klein Blue, The Temper Trap, Last Dinosaurs, Local Natives and Weezer.
History
2007-2012: formation and Bliss Release
In 2007 the group was hastily formed so they could enter a university battle of the bands competition. with Alister recalling in 2011, "None of us had written songs before and I'd never sung anything. We were completely fresh".[2] The group entered for a second time and subsequently won and recorded and released their debut EP, Cloud Control, in November 2007.[3] Several songs were uploaded onto Triple J Unearthed.
They signed with Ivy League Records in 2008, with their debut single "Death Cloud" released in November 2008.
After a string of festival appearances and tours with a variety of Australian bands, the band released its first album, Bliss Release, in 2010. They recorded the album in the house of their producer, Liam Judson.[4] Single "There's Nothing In The Water We Can't Fight" appeared at number 18 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2010. The single "Gold Canary" was voted as Single of the Week in the Rebel Playlist on the UK's BBC Radio 6 Music 2010.[5]
2013-2018: Dream Cave & Zone
Their second album, Dream Cave, was released on 9 August 2013, which peaked at number 9 on the ARIA charts. A free acoustic album titled Dream Cave Unplugged was released on 8 October 2013 before becoming available from Apple Music for purchase in February 2014.[6]
On 3 January 2015, the bass guitarist, Jeremy Kelshaw, announced his departure from the group on the band's Facebook page.
The band's third studio album, Zone was released on 1 September 2017. Their label said the album was written in a small beach house near the NSW regional centre of Forster and has been described as "profound, but also flippant, euphoric, but conceptual".[7] The album peaked at number 53 on the ARIA Charts.
The band quietly disbanded in 2018, with Alister Wright beginning a new solo project, Vlossom,[8] while Heidi Lenffer pursued entrepreneurial work as the leader of FEAT.[9]
2025: reunion
In 2025, Cloud Control announced their reunion for a run of shows celebrating the 15-year anniversary of Bliss Release.[10]
Band members
- Alister ("Al") Wright – lead vocals, guitar (2005–2018, 2025–present)
- Heidi Lenffer – keyboards, backing vocals, percussion (2005–2018, 2025–present)
- Ulrich Lenffer – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2005–2018, 2025–present)
- Jeremy Kelshaw – bass guitar, backing vocals, percussion (2005–2015, 2025–present)
- Past members
- Doug Wright – bass guitar (2017–2018)
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [11][12] |
UK [13] |
UK indi [14] | ||
| Bliss Release |
|
19 | 136 | 17 |
| Dream Cave |
|
9 | - | 29 |
| Zone |
|
53 | - | - |
Other albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Dream Cave Unplugged |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Cloud Control |
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK physical [14] | ||||
| 2008 | "Death Cloud"[18] | 50 | Bliss Release | |
| 2009 | "Gold Canary"[19] | 37 | ||
| 2010 | "This Is What I Said"[20] | 52 | ||
| "There's Nothing In The Water We Can't Fight" | 35 | |||
| "Meditation Song No. 2 (Why Oh Why)"[22][23] | 88 | |||
| 2011 | "My Fear #1"[24] | — | ||
| 2013 | "Dojo Rising"[25][26] | — | Dream Cave | |
| "Scar"[27][28] | — | |||
| "Promises"[29][30] | — | |||
| 2014 | "Moon Rabbit"[31] | — | ||
| 2017 | "Rainbow City"[32][33] | — | Zone | |
| "Zone (This Is How It Feels)"[34][35] | — | |||
| "Treetops"[36][37] | — | |||
| 2018 | "Panopticon"[38] | — |
Notes
Awards and nominations
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Cloud Control were nominated for two awards.[41]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Bliss Release | Breakthrough Artist | Nominated |
| Best Rock Album | Nominated |
Australian Music Prize
The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award.[42]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Bliss Release | Australian Music Prize | Won |
| 2013 | Dream Cave | Australian Music Prize | Nominated |
J Awards
The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J.[43]