Amida started in Cambridge, England, in the spring of 2002.  Singer/guitarist John Ammirati moved from Arizona to England to start a band, and within one week in the UK, met guitarist Andrew Beswick through an ad he had posted in a Cambridge record store. The two began writing songs together straight away, and played several folk and open mic nights in the area.

 

Andrew and John moved to Sheffield later that summer, where they began the auditioning process to complete the band- an ordeal that took several years. John and Andrew auditioned over 40 drummers and bassists by the time they moved to Manchester a couple of years later.

 

After a year in Manchester, they met bassist James Aran Cooper, a fan of the embryonic Amida who had written about the band in his fanzine. James’s friend Sebastian Hood joined shortly after on keyboards, as did drummer Scott Challinor.

 

With the line-up finally in place, Amida quickly recorded a demo that caught the attention of Plastilina Records in Peru. The band fleshed out the demo and their first EP, ‘Arts & Crafts’, was released on Plastilina Records in February, 2007. The EP included the song ‘Virtue Was Your Downfall’, which was included on the ‘Kids in the Club’ compilation from How Does It Feel To Be Loved Records, and remains one of the band’s best-known songs.

 

After releasing another two new songs on indiepop compilations,  Amida released their second EP, ‘If the Wave Loves Two Suns’ on WeePop! Records in 2009.  A third EP, ‘The Spite House Plot’ was released on Fika Recordings in 2011.

 

‘My Life As A Trashcan’, an 8-song mini-album was released on Jigsaw Records in 2012. By this time, Amida had played at festivals in the UK, France and the US, alongside bands like the Wedding Present, the Primitives, the Pains of Being Pure At Heart, and others.

 

After releasing the single ‘Are You On Fire?’, Amida finally released their debut album, ‘Boring Birth’ on Jigsaw Records in 2014. They are currently recording material for their next release.