Article: Straight outta Brooklyn: A Golden Age in American music

By Daniel Greenwood
via Seven

It has been said that, when times are hard, the art gets better. To compare the state of the American economy to the health of indie music in America shows that there is some truth to this idea. The rude health of American music is symptomatic of the sheer number of lauded artists (big and small) emerging from Brooklyn, New York. At the top of the scale are TV on the Radio, whose recent release Dear Science headed numerous album polls last year; Rolling Stone and Spin are two of the bigger brands who plumped for the act. In fact, American music dominated year-end charts, with British act Portishead and Aussies Cut Copy the only acts outside of the States to really trouble critical listings.
TV on the Radio are a bi-racial alternative rock band; four of the members are African Americans (Gerard A. Smith on keys and brass, Kyp Malone on bass, singer Tunde Adebimpe and Jaleel Bunton-Drums as percussionist) while fifth member and production hot-shot Dave Sitek is a white American. The significance of this idea of a bi-racial act is in line with the recent inauguration of America’s first African American president, Barack Obama. Take the track “Golden Age” from Dear Science: “There is a golden age/and it’s coming round.”

Leading indie website Pitchfork ranked Dear Science at number six in 2008 and their writer Eric Harvey commented: “One last sigh of relief that "Golden Age" in December isn't a sad curio of a nation afraid to embrace difference on November 4th [Election day], but instead stands as a bona fide fucking anthem going forward.”

For Harvey, this “Golden Age” is one of racial harmony, of kicking out Bush the draconian; but it can speak equally for the brilliant lights of the Brooklyn scene.

Telepathe are an electronic duo residing in Brooklyn, but with the release of their debut record Dance Mother, they haven’t been spending much time in the New York borough. Their record was produced by TV on the Radio member Sitek. It is experimental electronica and minimal, simmering with reverb-laden guitar moments akin to Sitek’s work for TV on the Radio.

In January, I spoke to Busy Ganges, one half of Telepathe, in the build-up to their debut release. Originally from Los Angeles, she said: “I’ve lived in Brooklyn for a few years now and I feel like I’ve been lucky to see live so many interesting and innovative bands over the years. But this past year, I feel like I’ve barely lived here. We’ve been touring, so I haven’t actually been out to any shows in Brooklyn. I feel like the scene has become so big that it’s almost overwhelming. I hear about a new band every single day.”

Ganges has a point. The overwhelming nature of the scene has lead to some bands spilling out into other parts of the country. Rob Barber and Mary Pearson of High Places comprise one of these acts who, in January, upped-sticks to Los Angeles, home of No Age and the Smell – perhaps America’s most relevant and, currently, most famous indie setting. High Places marry together an Animal Collective (once NYC-based) instinct for samples and ambient sounds, many of which are electronically modified sounds recorded at home, like plastic bags and even food bowls floating in a paddling pool full of water. High Places are perhaps the most under-the-radar of Brooklyn’s recent graduates but with much in common with the superlative Gang Gang Dance, another similar to Animal Collective.

The thing that ties bands such as TV on the Radio, High Places, Gang Gang Dance and Animal Collective together is their continental sound. The cover for Gang Gang Dance’s St. Dymphna is adorned with the image of lead singer Lizzi Bougatsos wearing colourful, almost royal Arabic headgear. The samples that tinge their breakthrough record hint at Middle Eastern influences with the kind of beats reminiscent of African American hip hop acts. It all adds up to a vibrant and colourful spectrum of artists that seem to cover so many genres that it all merges into one – a golden age for art.
Though artists like High Places have drifted away from New York’s epicentre, there is a constant germination of new acts. Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts are two bands to have achieved international acclaim with their debut albums in late 2008, along with the lesser-known experimental dance trio Lemonade.

For all the hyped artists, such as Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts, dominating the blogosphere over the past 12 months, one band is on the brink of doing something wonderful. This band is Grizzly Bear, the Brooklyn-based quartet of Ed Droste (vocals), Chris Taylor (bass), Daniel Rossen (guitar) and Christopher Bear (drums). Veckatimest, their second studio album, will be released in May and has been described by indie-hegemonic Pitchfork as “one of the big ones”.

But 2008 was no dry year for the band. Rossen teamed with friend Fred Nikolaus to release their long-anticipated 4AD debut under the Department of Eagles guise – In Ear Park. What you can expect from Grizzly Bear’s new record will be similar to the Department of Eagles’ tone, a spirited sound lit by the ruffle of acoustic guitars and droning piano keys. In Rossen, Grizzly Bear have a folk-virtuoso, a skilled arranger whose input on 2006’s superlative slow burner Yellow House cannot be ignored. The band is on the verge of breaking into the corner of the mainstream inhabited by Seattle-based and much-admired folk crooners Fleet Foxes. In simpler terms, Grizzly Bear have the chance to hold the gong for 2009 as TV on the Radio did last year.

The Brooklyn scene is in the throes of a golden age. But what is most wonderful about it is its eddy; you cannot identify one influence for these bands. Thanks to the internet – the blogging culture that desperately and adoringly attempts to charter the rise of these bands – much of it can be witnessed from outside the city itself and from across the pond. As some acts move on and those such as Grizzly Bear scale the international heights, new bands are moving in and playing their first shows. The scale is large, but with TV on the Radio stirring styles at the top and the likes of Lemonade reinventing rave-culture at the other end, there’s plenty of gold to mine.

Record Review: Telepathe - Dance Mother

V2/Co-Op
Release Date: 26/01/2009
In a Ragged Word: Fidgety
Rating: ***+ 3.5/5

In a recent interview with Ragged Words, Busy Gangnes told us that she thought it fine for Telepathe’s music to be considered peculiar. She said that Telepathe were attempting to instil a sort of ‘weirdness’ into their pop music. Never mind music critics getting their descriptions right, Busy’s right too. Consequentially, however, that could be a real turn-off for early listeners, and it would be a shame for someone to listen to Dance Mother just once before throwing it into a pile of itchy electro-pop, the kind pouring out of car adverts and mind-scraping myspace profiles.

Dave Sitek’s position in the producer’s seat is obvious enough from the fidgety nature of Dance Mother’s percussion – the tom toms are giddy things, running alongside plentiful, jarring 808 kicks. On first listen these bass drums can be a distraction, but in sight of the record’s wider whole it is part of a movement towards a plateau. The standout track here is ‘I Can’t Stand It’, and slowly building around a vocal loop it’s here that Sitek’s influence can be felt most keenly. The guitar part is steeped in enough reverb to mirror TV on the Radio’s awesome ‘Wolf Like Me’. But the TV on the Radio elements are felt also because there is an admirable level of restraint – Telepathe choose not to ride the song out on a gelid techno wave – instead they allow the bubbling to continue with a lovely, growing harmony lit by coiling steel strings. Here Telepathe find themselves akin to Deerhunter, rather than Ricardo Villalobos.

Fidgety is perhaps the perfect description for Dance Mother’s first half, but it’s all for good reason, at least it feels good. On the penultimate track ‘Trilogy: Breath of Life, Crimes and Killings, Threads and Knives’ Telepathe launch into a more effeminate Drum’s Not Dead-era Liars. The early fidgeting has found its zenith in a strange glitz that seems to tug at so many Hip Hop and experimental influences that this review could find itself studying Flying Lotus, instead.

There’s a lot to Dance Mother, opener ‘So Fine’ is single-material, and it is always playing in Brick Lane’s Rough Trade East. Busy’s endorsement of peculiarity will be a problem for some, but then that’s good, because it’s got much more to offer a patient ear. Telepathe are teething, but this is a good start. This debut is an early document of intelligent artists searching for their sound, and it’s certainly worth witnessing.

Daniel Greenwood

Interview: Talking to Telepathe

via Ragged Words

With Brooklyn duo Telepathe, pronounced 'Telepathy' as we were quick to find out, releasing their Dave Sitek-produced debut album next week, Busy Gangnes - one half of the intriguing pair alongside Melissa Livaudais - spoke to Ragged Words.

How is Dance Mother’s release shaping-up?

Busy: It was leaked on the internet back in the summer, so I think a lot of people have been downloading it from blogs, and so it’s sort of already out. It’ll be released in Europe and the UK on the 26th January, and then we have some touring to do. It seems a lot of people are writing about the record, which is cool. I’m really excited.

How do you feel about the album being leaked online, and the concept of downloading?

Busy: I don’t really think it’s a problem at all. I do it myself to find out about new music. Obviously it puts the record labels in danger, but it’s great that so many people have access to all this music for free, and if they want to buy a record then they can. I’m not bothered by it, actually I’m pretty excited about it.

What’s it like living in Brooklyn? It’s quite a diverse and creative music/arts scene.

Busy: I’ve lived in Brooklyn for a few years now and I feel like I’ve been lucky to see live so many interesting and innovative bands over the years. But this past year I feel like I’ve barely lived here, we’ve been touring, so I haven’t actually been out to any shows in Brooklyn. I feel like the scene has become so big that it’s almost overwhelming, I hear about a new band every single day. It can be a little overwhelming to check out and try out all these new artists, and to be a part of that scene. We haven’t actually played in Brooklyn for about six-months, perhaps since the summer because we’ve been touring so much. But we’re playing a really small show soon that should be really fun.

You’ve been compared to fellow-Brooklynites Gang Gang Dance on a number of occasions. Are you fans of them, or friends with them?

Busy: I would consider Gang Gang Dance our friends, though I’m a little surprised by that comparison because the way we write our music is very different. I always thought our music was very different to Gang Gang Dance, but maybe not for other people. We used to be on the same label as them, I performed with them for a month in another band I was playing with in 2005, called Bloodline. By touring with them you get to know each other. I don’t see them very often anymore, though, they’re very busy.

Which other artists in Brooklyn are you friends with?

Busy: I don’t know if you’ve heard of Kria Brekken, she’s really great, I try to see her every time she plays. I’m also friends with the High Places kids, but they moved to LA! Last night, I heard. Also, I don’t know if you’ve heard of Bunny Rabbit? We’re friends with them too.

Your I Am Sound bio says you ‘put down’ your instruments ‘in favour of the LCD glare of a computer screen’. Do you address the issue of the environment in your music? For example, a recent video and remix of ‘Devil’s Trident’ is filmed in leafy woodland, juxtaposed with the remix – a minimal techno soundtrack.

Busy: Our process used to be much more organic, our music used to be written as all of us together in a room jamming-out. We’re still using guitar pedals and stuff, but it never used to be very electronic at all. It was also the case that we didn’t have a practice space anymore, and at the same time we were into making music on a computer. We sat down and tried to keep things together in a natural way, as in the way we put together samples, the EQ, and programming. I do feel like we still embrace an organic facility in our music but at the same time using as much technology as is available to us. I think a lot of bands have shunned the electronic properties of music, and tried to make things sound completely live. But we try to meld the electronic and acoustic elements together.

In one feature, you said Telepathe’s songs were mainly ‘about love and death, the two extremes’. Can you elaborate on that?

Busy: We kind of have these apocalyptical themes and images in our music, and I’m not really sure where that comes from because we write our lyrics in a stream-of-consciousness style, passing across our ideas and editing them down. We’ll change a word to make it sound right, rather than for meaning. But about love, Melissa and I were in a relationship so typically the content was about our love for each other.

The NME described you as ‘the most intriguing band of 2008’, how was 2008 for you?

Busy: It was cool, but kind of intense. We got thrown into the touring schedule which was quite unexpected at the time. It was a bit of a whirlwind, but I had fun doing all the touring, we made it out to Australia and to Europe a couple of times. We got to release a couple of singles which people responded to pretty well. I’m looking forward to releasing our record this year and doing a lot more touring.

In January’s Observer Music Monthly you received a 4-out-of-5 star rating. The reviewer described your music as peculiar. How do you feel about that sort of description?

Busy: That’s great, and I think our music is peculiar. We write it in a kind of unconventional way, we’re kind of trying to sneak in this sort of weirdness amongst pop music, but I think it sounds acceptable. In calling us ‘peculiar’ they were probably right-on.

Words: Daniel Greenwood.

Dance Mother is released on V2/Co-Op on Monday, Jan 26 and will be reviewed later this week.