Takka Takka
| Takka Takka | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Years active | 2006 - present |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | Gabe Levine Conrad Doucette Criag Montoro |
| Past members | John Paul Jones Damion Jurrens Grady Jurrens Drew Thurlow Rene Planchon |
Takka Takka is a band from Brooklyn, New York that has been performing since 2006 and whose members include Gabe Levine, Conrad Doucette, Rene Planchon and Craig Montoro (Volcano I'm still excited, Sufjan Stevens).
Takka Takka began when Gabe returned from a "near-disastrous" year in Texas. Back in Brooklyn, he began recording demos of new material, and recruited some old friends to help him work out a live set. Takka Takka soon played its first show in a basement in Williamsburg in March 2006. Takka Takka's rotating line up has been a constant for this band who has seen a new band with each album. Doucette and Levine remain the only constant members.
In April 2006, the group began recording in the Brooklyn studio Seaside Lounge, resulting in their debut We Feel Safer at Night. The album impressed Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, who then invited the band to tag along on a high-profile U.S. tour in the Fall of 2006. Takka takka traveled to Britain in February 2007 to play their first London gigs, and they headed to Austin for SXSW in March 2007. Shortly after, in May 2007, the band signed to Ernest Jenning Record Co.
Takka Takka recorded a cover of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" for Engine Room Recordings' compilation album Guilt by Association Vol. 2, which was released in November 2008.[1]
In 2008, Takka Takka released their 2nd full length album, Migration. Produced by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's drummer, Sean Greenhalgh and released by Virgin,[2] Migration marked a sonic departure for the band. On Migration, Takka Takka explored minimalistic synthesizer soundscapes, African guitars, and percussion poly-rhythms. This album features Bryan Devendorf, drummer for The National and sometime percussionist for Takka Takka. Migration was released to critical praise receiving positive reviews from the New York Times and Pitchfork.com. Migration was released in Europe in 2010 by Lili-is-pi records which brought the band to tour Continental Europe for the first time.
In an interview at SXSW 2011, Takka Takka announced they were working on a new album called Mover / Believer. The album was eventually released as A.M. Landscapes on November 20, 2012 via Ernest Jenning Record Co. The album was produced by Phil Palazzolo (New Pornographers, Okkervil River, Nicole Atkins) and featured contributions from Bryan Devendorf (The National), Kyle Resnick (Beirut), Tim Albright, Hideaki Aomori, Alex Sopp, the Osso Quartet, as well as arrangements by Michael Atkinson.
Gabriel Levine released a solo album under the name Gabriel and the Hounds in 2011.[dated info]
Doucette has occasionally performed as a live percussionist with The National, most notably during New York stops on the band's High Violet tour. In March 2012, Doucette performed with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and members of The National for a HeadCount awareness-raising webcast performance called The Bridge Session.
Contents |
Members [edit]
- Gabriel Levine - Vocals, keyboard, guitar
- Craig Montoro - Bass
- Conrad Doucette - Drums, percussion
Discography [edit]
- Fall Apart Art (EP, 2006)
- We Feel Safer At Night (LP, 2006)
- Talk Faster (EP, 2007)
- Migration (LP, 2008)
- A.M. Landscapes (LP, 2012)
References [edit]
- ^ Matthew Solarski (19 November 2008). "My Brightest Diamond, Frightened Rabbit Do Covers". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12049-migration/ Missing or empty
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External links [edit]
- Official Sites
- In The Press
- New York Times review
- Pitchfork review
- Time Out New York[dead link]
- Spin Magazine[dead link]
- The L Magazine's Top 20 Albums of 2006
- New York Magazine's Reasons To Love New York
- NME[dead link]
- Paper Magazine
- On The Blogs
