Imagine group. Imagine Dragons is a radioactive indie rock band from Las Vegas. Imagine Dragons now

Imagine Dragons is an American band whose genre is difficult to define in one word. Thanks to the unique musical style, which reflects elements of rock and roll, indie rock, alternative movements and pop music, “Dragons” is so loved all over the world. IN this moment The band has 4 members: frontman Dan Reynolds, bassist Ben Mackie, guitarist Wayne Sermon and drummer Dan Platzman.

History of creation

The founder of the group, Dan Reynolds, was born into a large, religious and very conservative family, in which open expression of one’s emotions and feelings was not welcomed. The outlet for the creative boy was his passion for music, to which he devoted his entire life. At the age of six, he began to master the piano, and at thirteen he secretly sneaked onto his older brothers’ computer to write down sketches of his first songs.

In 2008, the young man met drummer Andrew Tolman, who also studied at Brigham Young University. The guys quickly agreed on the basis of the same musical preferences and decided to organize own group. They were soon joined by guitarist and vocalist Andrew Beck, keyboardist and part-time violinist Aurora Florence and bassist Dave Lamke.

It was decided to call the team Imagine Dragons, which is an anagram, the meaning of which is known only to the first members of the group. Of course, fans have a lot of theories, some of which are absolutely crazy: Aged Men's Radio, Desiring a Mango, A Gemini So Grand. The original phrase is still kept secret, the musicians only claim that during this time so many were born interesting versions, that the original one will probably seem boring to fans.

The main stages of creativity

In 2008, the guys began rehearsals with enthusiasm, and within a few months they won the university music competition. That same year, Imagine Dragons recorded their first single, “Speak to me,” the release of which became the first step on the path to success.

Suddenly, Beck and Florence left the group and were replaced by Andrew Tolman, Reynolds' longtime college friend, and his wife Brittany. Later, the vocalist's friend Daniel "Wayne" Sermon joined them, and the group, with an updated line-up, moved from Utah to Las Vegas. hometown Dana. There the musicians rented a studio and began recording. debut album, while simultaneously playing in casinos and nightclubs.

Their first notable success was a performance at the Bite of Las Vegas festival, where they replaced the band Train, which dropped out due to frontman illness. The nearly thirty thousand crowd of spectators who came to the concert warmly greeted no one famous group, A music critics burst out with a stream of flattering reviews of their performance.

Imagine Dragons has received several local awards, including " Best Album 2011" according to the publication "Vegas 7", "Best Local Indian Band" according to the magazine "Las Vegas Weekly". They began to be invited to television, and soon the musicians signed a contract with the Interscope Records label.

By that time, they had already released three successful mini-albums and were ready for material for the fourth. Before this, the musicians were hesitant to start recording a full-length album and were testing the waters, but the success of the next EP “Continued Silence” finally convinced them of the correctness of the chosen direction.

The single Radioactive became the absolute leader in the world music charts, was nominated for fifteen awards (winning four) and received diamond status in the United States based on sales results for 2012.

Imagine Dragons – Radioactive

All this time, the composition of the team was constantly changing. Ben McKee replaced Lemke in the group, and Dan Platzman and Teresa Flamio took the place of the Tolmans. The latter stayed only six months, and after her departure, Imagine Dragons turned into a quartet, in which only Dan Reynolds, the ideological inspirer and founder of the group, remained from the old members.

Frequent rotations did not affect quality musical material, and in September 2012 the full-length album Night Visions was released, produced by Alex Da Kid. Even before its appearance, two singles from this record were included in the prestigious Billboard list, and the video for the song “It’s Time” became nominated for an MTV award. At the same time, the musicians recorded soundtracks for the films “The Hunger Games”, “Divergent” and “Transformers”, as well as musical accompaniment for the video game FIFA 13.

Imagine Dragons – It's Time

It is not surprising that the first eighty thousand copies of the group's long-awaited album were sold out within the first week, which was an incredible result for debutants. Night Visions was recognized as the best rock album in the United States and took leading positions in all world charts. Based on sales results, the record went gold in seven countries and platinum in fourteen.

In support of the album, Imagine Dragons went on a grandiose world tour, which was a resounding success. Already at the very beginning of the tour, the musicians began creating material for a new collection, recording demo versions of new songs in between performances.

Interview with Imagine Dragons (Europe Plus)

The artists were inspired by the impressions they received while traveling around different countries and continents, which could not but affect their creativity. By the end of the tour, they had about fifty different songs ready, from which they had to choose the foundation for the next album.

In the fall of 2014, fans were able to appreciate the single “I Bet My Life” from the new collection (Dane DeHaan starred in the video for the song), and at the end of the year the release of the next album “Smoke + Mirrors” was widely announced on social networks. In February 2015, the disc went on official sale, and in the summer the group went on another large-scale tour, during which they visited Russia. When fan interest reached its peak, the experimental album Evolve was released. The collection spent six months in the top ten of Billboard and was twice nominated for a Grammy. At the same time, many critics called it the weakest album of the summer of 2017 and criticized it for the complete lack of harmony and poverty of themes.

Collaborations with other artists

• "Radioactive in the dark" – Imagine Dragons ft. fall out Boy
• "Sucker for pain" – Imagine Dragons ft. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Logic, Ty Dolla Sign, X Ambassador

Discography

• Night Visions (2012)
• Smoke + Mirrors (2015)
• Evolve (2017)

Imagine Dragons now

In the fall of 2017, the team went on a tour of America, and in the summer of 2018 they planned to visit Moscow and Kyiv. In March 2018, the performers recorded a video for the song “Next to Me.”

Imagine Dragons – Next to Me

Music Imagine Dragons carries some kind of supernatural charge of positivity that magnetically attracts music lovers with completely different tastes.

The main styles played by the members of Imagine Dragons are alternative and indie rock. But musicians are not limited to just these genres. Their work contains a lot of pop rock and electronics, and in some places even folk rock and hip-hop “slip through”.

Unlike young rock bands that have been unable to move from garages to the stage for years, this unusual band almost immediately declared itself as a new star in the world of modern rock music.

The beginning of the Imagine Dragons story

Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds began taking his first steps in music by playing the piano at the age of 6. Then, at the age of 13, he would sneak onto his older brother's computer to turn on the audio recording function and sketch songs about his teenage experiences and frustrations.

But actually The story of Imagine Dragons has begun a little bit later - in 2008, when Reynolds meets drummer Andrew Tolman while attending Brigham Young University.

Finding similar musical tastes and life aspirations, the two students decide to form a band, joining guitarist Andrew Back, bassist Dave Lemke and keyboardist/violinist Aurora Florence.

Imagine Dragons lineup turnover

Over the next 9 years Imagine composition Dragons changes repeatedly. So unless you're a fan who wants to know every last detail of the band's history, feel free to skip the next two paragraphs.

After not playing in the group for even a year, Beck and Florence leave. Then in 2009, Tolman invited his school friend Wayne Sermon to play the role of guitarist in the band. A little later, Andrew brings his wife Brittany Tolman into the group, who takes a place at the keys and sings backing vocals. After this, Lemke left and the place of bassist was taken by Ben McKee at the invitation of Sermon.

In 2011, the Tolman couple left the group. McKee invites drummer Daniel Platzman to take the place, and Theresa Flaminio takes over the keys instead of Brittany, only to leave just six months later. After her, the group did not have a permanent keyboard player, but Ryan Walker (2012–2015), William Wells (2015–2017) and Eliot Schwartzman (2017–...) are invited for concert tours.

Currently permanent Imagine Dragons lineup– vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Dan Reynolds (the only one who stayed in the group from its inception to the present day), guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman.

Through thorns to the stars in an accelerated version

My musical career Imagine Dragons began by winning the university's Battle of the Bands and several other local competitions (in Utah).

The first song “Speak to me” by Imagine Dragons was recorded in the year the group was created (2008) with its original lineup.

Then Reynolds decides to move the group (with an updated lineup) to Las Vegas - to his home. The group begins to perform regularly, however, at first mainly at night - in casinos and strip bars.

But after performing at festivals Vegas Music Summit (headlining in front of 26,000 people) and Bite of Las Vegas (Most Popular Band 2010), everything changes: invitations to radio broadcasts; high-profile titles (“Best Indie Band 2010”, “Best Record 2011”, etc.) awarded by reputable music publications; a contract with a major record label (Interscope Records).

Before the contract is signed, the group manages to record three mini-albums.. The self-titled debut EP “Imagine Dragons” was released on September 1, 2009. The following year, on June 1, the second EP “Hell and Silence” was released. The third mini-album "It's Time" was released on March 12, 2011.

The fourth EP “Continued Silence” is already being released on the Interscope label (02/14/12). Track No. 1 “Radioactive” quickly wins top positions in the music charts all over the world, is nominated for one and a half dozen awards (wins 4) and subsequently becomes business card team. In the USA, this track received diamond status based on sales results (more than 10 million copies).

All 4 mini-albums are quite warmly received by critics and listeners(especially "Continued Silence"). Reynolds subsequently reports that with the help of these releases the group “tested” the waters to release a really cool debut album.

Which is exactly what they did - “Night Visions” is released on September 4, 2012, recorded under the direction of producer Alex Da Kid.

Before the long play had time to come out, immediately began to “skim the cream”: 1st place - in Scottish Albums and three TOP Billboard charts (“Rock Albums”, “Alternative Albums” and “Catalog Albums”); 2nd – in the Billboard 200 and the British chart; other top places in weekly charts in another 20 countries.

In just 2 weeks, 83,000 copies were sold, making the record the most successful debut album since 2006.

Based on sales results, Imagine Dragons' album “Night Visions” went gold in 7 countries. And “platinum” at 14. Of these, 4 times 2 times platinum (Austria, Mexico, Sweden, USA) and once 3 times (Canada)!

Also among the achievements of the debut album of Imagine Dragons is the victory in the “Top Rock Album” category at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. And the composition “Radioactive,” which the long play inherited from the EP preceding it, was called “the biggest rock hit of the year” by Rolling Stone magazine.

Repeated, not as deafening, but still a success

Before releasing their second album, Imagine Dragons again decided to follow the proven path of “testing the waters” - releasing mini-releases.

First, the EP “The Archive” was released (February 12, 2013). The group then wrote three soundtracks: “Monster” for the IOS game “Infinity Blade III”; "Battle Cry" - for the film "Transformers: Age of Extinction"; “Warriors” – for the film “Divergent Chapter 2: Insurgent.”

And finally after the release of three more singles(“I Bet My Life”, “Gold” and “Shots”), when the musicians realized that most of the new tracks “went over” to listeners and critics, The release of the second album was announced.

The Imagine Dragons album “Smoke+Mirrors” was released on February 17, 2015. In support of it, a world tour lasting almost a year took place (04/12/15–02/05/16).

Also, a video concert “Smoke+Mirrors Life” was filmed for the release of the album. It was released in cinemas worldwide on March 2, 2016.

This time the album received more mixed criticism.- mostly positive, but there were also ratings marked “average”. In particular, Metacritic rated “Smoke+Mirrors” at 60/100.

As for the chart achievements of the second album, it basically repeated the successes of the debut album, in some places raising the bar even higher: 1st place in Canada, Scotland, Britain and three American Billboard charts.

And here Sales this time things went a little more modestly– only “gold” status in 7 countries. Although, you must admit, it’s still hard to call such results a failure.

A fresh dose of indie rock from Imagine Dragons

Fans of the band can already prepare their ears: new album"Evolve"(name stylized as ƎVOLVE) coming out very soon– June 23.

The fact that the record will be of high quality can be judged by the already released singles.

In 2016, the Imagine Dragons songs “Sucker for pain” and “Levitate” were released. The latter continued the soundtrack “tradition” and was featured in the film “Passengers”.

And this year the group pleased with the compositions “Thunder”, “Whatever it takes”, “Walking The Wire” and the undisputed hit "Believer" starring Dolph Lundgren in the video. And if the rest of the songs are on the same level, we have a great album ahead of us.

In addition, Dan Reynolds claims that compared to the two previous full-lengths, Evolve is an evolution of Imagine Dragons.

A tour is also planned in support of the third album, which starts on September 26. True, for now the musicians plan to limit themselves to American cities.

For now, all we have to do is wait for the release (to be published on the same day) and hope that someday the Imagine Dragons group will drop by with a concert in our area.

Some interesting facts about Imagine Dragons

1. Creative process in a group usually comes down to each participant superimposing his part on a previously created computer model. After mixing, according to the band's frontman Dan Reynolds, this unique puzzle produces the composition in the form in which it reaches the listeners' ears.

Therefore even the performers themselves do not know what the next song will be until they finish it.

2. The “old-timers” of the group have some rather interesting features.

McKee has no taste spices and enjoys making hats.

Sermon suffers from insomnia and composes music at night.

Reynolds is Mormon, and he also suffers from depression and anxious behavior. In addition, he has a joint project with his wife Aja Volkman called Egyptian.

3. Although the translation of the name of the group Imagine Dragons (“Imagine Dragons” or “Imagine Dragons”) in itself is self-sufficient, in fact this is an anagram, the decoding of which only the musicians themselves know.

But that didn't stop fans from speculating. The most popular are “gained in orgasm,” “a Gemini so grand,” “desiring a mango,” and “radio for older men.” aged men's radio").

4. The team in total was nominated 73 times for various music awards, receiving 23 wins.

5. In addition to those already mentioned in the article, the Imagine Dragons group also appeared in other films and games. Their music in total is used as soundtracks in almost five dozen films and “toys”.

The most famous: films “Iron Man 3”, “Suicide Squad”, “Legend”, “The Host”, “Frankenweenie”, “Continuum”, “Kung Fu Panda 3”, “ Angry Birds to the cinema"; TV series “Arrow”, “The Vampire Diaries”, “Lucifer”, “The 100”, “True Blood”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Riverdale”, “Orange is the New Black”; games "Assassin's Creed III", "FIFA 13", "Battlefield: Hardline", "Uncharted 4".

Last updated: August 9th, 2017 by Rockstar

An incredibly popular American band that has conquered all kinds of music charts and won the hearts of millions of fans is Imagine Dragons. The composition of the group is not the sugary boys that were popular in the 90s, but ordinary guys who simply love to write music and do it very well and with soul. They are called an indie rock band, because it is quite difficult to fit such a diverse and unusual creativity within the framework of a specific genre. The history of the formation of the Imagine Dragons group, by the way, is also not trivial.

From religion to music

Dan Reynolds, the future founder and ideological inspirer of the group, was born into a large Mormon family in 1987. He was the seventh son of nine children whose parents were very conservative. This left a strong imprint on the young man’s psyche, and he tried to express his experiences in his creativity. After graduating from school, Dan was sent to Nebraska on a religious mission and also studied at Brigham Young University (Utah), in a town called Provo. It was there that religion took a back seat to music, when Reynolds became friends with Andrew Tolman. The young people founded their own group in 2008, which soon became known as Imagine Dragons. The composition of the group changed at first, while the participants were looking for themselves, their direction, performing covers, trying to compose original music. An interesting fact known to all fans of the team: the name is an anagram, but no one except the participants themselves knows how it is deciphered, although fans have already gone through thousands of options. It is quite possible that there is a true one, but the musicians have not confirmed any of them, and they are unlikely to do so.

Vegas boys

So, by the beginning of 2009, two very talented and ambitious guys began to collect Music band. Soon they were joined by Tolman's schoolmate, guitarist Wayne Sermon. He brought along his friend from Berkeley - bass guitarist Ben McKee. This was the first line-up of Imagine Dragons. Already in September they released their first mini-album of the same name, and for the next two years they also released one EP (mini-album per year). But in addition to working hard to create their own music, the team fought hard for their own survival and took on any performances, once they even opened a mime concert.

Having become famous in Utah, the guys moved to Dan's hometown - Las Vegas, where their main concert venues there were casinos and strip clubs. There they performed mostly covers, including songs in the program own composition. Soon people started talking about the group, they began to be invited to various festivals. And a little later, one of their mini-albums fell into the hands of the famous producer Alex De Kid (who worked with Eminem himself), who became interested in the unusual group, saw their potential and offered them cooperation.

Personnel turnover

During the formative years, the composition of the Imagine Dragons group changed several times. The names of Reynolds and Sermon remained unchanged, but in different time The team also included Andrew Beck in 2008 (specialization - electric guitar and vocals) and Dave Lamk from 2008 to 2009 (specialization - bass guitar and vocals), and even three girls Aurora Florence (2008, keyboards, violin, vocals), Brittany Tolman (2009-2011, keyboards, vocals) and Teresa Flamino (2011-2012, keyboards).

By the way, one of the founders of the “Dragons” (as their fans call them), drummer Andrew Tolman, left the project in 2011 along with his wife Brittany, and a little later they created their own group. At its peak, Imagine Dragons consisted of Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee and drummer Dan Platzman, who replaced the departed Tolman. It remains unchanged to this day.

Climbing the musical Olympus

In 2012, the Dragons released two more mini-albums, which finally began to bear financial fruit. The group prepared very diligently and carefully for the release of a full-length album. And in September of the same year it significant event happened. The album “Night Visions” reached the top of all charts in record numbers, remained at the top for a long time and became double platinum.

Imagine Dragons were named the brightest star of 2013, and the album's release was named the highlight of the year. All kinds of awards rained down on them as if from a cornucopia, including the prestigious Grammy music award itself. The track “Radioactive” became the biggest rock hit of the year according to the magazine It was real finest hour in the biography of the band Imagine Dragons.

Work, work and work again

Not stopping there, the team toured very actively, winning more and more hearts of fans, filmed videos and prepared material for a new album. The almost three-year break between album releases was very eventful. And in September 2015, the second album in the biography of Imagine Dragons appeared. “Smoke+Mirrors” did not go platinum like the “firstborn”, but received a well-deserved “gold” and its share of great hits and, of course, brought the team new awards. And less than two years later, the musicians delighted fans with their third album, entitled “Evolve,” which was presented to the general public in May 2017. Less than four months have passed and main topic album, "Believer", has already become " Best song in the Rock/Alternative genre and received an award at the Teen Choice Awards.

Music of Dragons

This unusual team can easily be considered a record holder for the number of times their songs are used as soundtracks. For some projects, Imagine Dragons recorded songs specifically, in others they used existing ones, but, one way or another, the list most popular films and series where the music of Dragons sounds is incredibly impressive. “Radioactive” alone is worth it! She can be heard in the films “The Host”, “Continuum”, “Warm Bodies”, the series “Arrow”, “The Vampire Diaries”, “The 100”, “True Blood”, as well as in the game “Assassin's Creed 3” and so on . Before the release of their first full-length album, Imagine Dragons released several soundtracks for large-scale cinema projects in the form of singles. Among them were “Who We Are” for the film “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “Battle Cry” for the fourth “Transformers”. Also, as soundtracks, Dragon songs are heard in the series “Gossip Girl”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Suits”, “Riverdale” and many others, and among films they can be found in “Insurgent”, “ Iron Man 3,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Suicide Squad,” “Passengers,” and even “Kung Fu Panda 3,” to name a few.

This article contains the most important information about the group Imagine Dragons: biography, composition, discography. But this is not all that fans would like to know about their favorite musicians, because the personal lives, habits, and favorite activities of idols interest fans no less. So, a few interesting facts about the group members:

• Reynolds is married and has eldest daughter Arrow Eve and two newborn babies Coco and Gia, and with his wife AJ Volkman he is engaged in another musical project called Egyptian. This is their family hobby. The singer has struggled with depression all his life, but it is in this state that he writes his hits. He claims that family is his best cure for a long-standing illness.
• Sermon is nicknamed "Wing", his wife is Alexandra, and he is the proud father of two sons of the same age: River James and Wolfgang. A musician composes songs at night instead of sleeping (he has insomnia).
• McKee is a hatmaker. Sewing is his hobby.
• The group loves drums, is actively involved in charity work, and loves to hang out in in social networks and communicate with fans.