The Helio Sequence

The Helio Sequence is a Sub Pop-signed American indie rock duo from Beaverton, Oregon. Brandon Summers on vocals and guitars and Benjamin Weikel on drums and keyboards make up the band. Summers is in charge of the lyrics, lead vocals, guitar, and production alongside Weikel. Summers lost his voice before the release of their 2008 album Keep Your Eyes Ahead, but he regained it before their most recent release. He can also be heard playing the harmonica on several songs from their 2004 album, Love and Distance. Benjamin Weikel grew up in Beaverton, Oregon, and worked at the local music store with Summers. As well as playing drums and keyboard for The Helio Sequence, and taking part in the production, Weikel also recorded with the band Modest Mouse, drumming on their platinum-selling record Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and later their record No One's First, and You're Next in 2009. This led to the Helio Sequence and Modest Mouse touring together at one point.

Summers and Weikel founded The Helio Sequence in 1999 and performed their first show at the Mount Tabor Theater in Portland. The band has three Sub Pop albums, two on the Portland-based label Cavity Search, and a self-released EP. Negotiations, their fifth album, was released on September 11, 2012, by Sub Pop. The Helio Sequence toured the United States with the British band Keane in 2009, and they were Keane's support act in several gigs across the United Kingdom during the band's Night Train Tour in June 2010. The Helio Sequence toured the United States again in September 2013, this time as a co-headliner with Menomena. The band reinvented its music-making process for their 2015 self-titled album The Helio Sequence. They wrote 26 songs which they sent to friends, asking them to list their favorite ten songs. Using the responses, by the end of June 2014, the band had compiled a list of ten songs for the album. The album received generally favorable reviews, with Eric Swedlund of Paste Magazine calling it a "career-defining album". In September and October 2017, The Helio Sequence toured the U.S, performing on 29 dates as the opening band for the Australian rock band The Church.

Origin: Beaverton, Oregon
Genres: Indie rock
Year of the start of operation: 1999