Dave Sitek

Dave Sitek
Sitek in January 2004
Background information
Birth name	David Andrew Sitek
Born	(1972-09-06) September 6, 1972
Genres	Indie rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, record producer
Instrument(s)	Guitar, keyboard, drums, various
Labels	Touch and Go Records 4AD Interscope

David Andrew Sitek (born September 6, 1972) is a guitarist and record producer based in New York City, best known as a member of the band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, and most recently Beady Eye, and produced free jazz-influenced remixes of songs by artists such as Beck and Nine Inch Nails, and has contributed a solo track to the Red Hot Organization Dark Was the Night charity compilation. He is also a photographer and painter. Sitek lives in Los Angeles, California.

In April 2008, Sitek was named Number One in NME's Future 50 list of the most forward thinking people in music today.

In 2009, Sitek contributed a cover of "With a Girl Like You" to the AIDS benefit album, Dark Was the Night, produced by the Red Hot Organization.

A solo album from Sitek under the name Maximum Balloon was released on September 21, 2010 on Interscope with individual songs released as singles commencing June 15, 2010. The record includes contributions by many guests including David Byrne, Tunde Adebimpe, and Karen O.

Early life

Dave Sitek once worked in a coffee shop with future TV on the Radio bandmate Kyp Malone and Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor.

Selected discography

With Jane's Addiction

• The Great Escape Artist (2011)

Production work

Sitek produced the album Anywhere I Lay My Head for actress Scarlett Johansson, released in May 2008. Sitek also co-produced the debut album Antidotes by Foals and the debut EP of Chicago band Aleks and the Drummer titled May a Lightning Bolt Caress You self released by the band in June 2008.

He works with several Brooklyn acts, having recently remixed the song "Disco Lights" for Apollo Heights and produced albums for Dragons of Zynth and Telepathe.

• TV on the Radio – OK Calculator (2002)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2002)
• Love Life – Here Is Night, Brothers, Here the Birds Burn (2002)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell (2003)
• TV on the Radio – Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (2004)
• Liars – They Were Wrong, So We Drowned (2004)
• Celebration (band) – Celebration (2005)
• TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones (2006)
• The OhSees – The Cool Death of Island Raiders (2006)
• Dragons of Zynth – Coronation Thieves (2007)
• Celebration – The Modern Tribe (2007)
• Foals – Antidotes (2008)
• Scarlett Johansson – Anywhere I Lay My Head (2008)
• Aleks and the Drummer - May A Lightning Bolt Caress You! (2008)
• TV on the Radio – Dear Science (2008)
• Telepathe – Dance Mother (2009)
• Iran – Dissolver (2009)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz! (2009)
• Pink Noise – What Will Happen If Someone Finds Out? (2009)
• Wale – Attention Deficit (2009)
• Holly Miranda - The Magician's Private Library (2010)
• Daniel Higgs - Say God (2010)
• TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
• Icky Blossoms, (2012)
• Santigold - Master of My Make-Believe (2012)
• CSS (band) - "I've Seen You Drunk Girl" (2012)
• Beady Eye - BE (2013)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito (2013)

Though Sitek has collaborated with several Brooklyn-based indie bands, he looks upon the indie music movement with skepticism. In an interview with the Danish music magazine Soundvenue, he explains that he is dissatisfied with the opportunistic turn music has taken, referring to the self-promoting indie bands moving to Brooklyn only to claim that they are from "the creative mecca" in order to get the attention of music magazines. This may explain why Sitek has settled down on the West coast in Beverly Hills, California. He explains (the writer's own translation from Danish): "People can't hide themselves out here. Everyone looks after his own interests. It's a very egocentric city. But I don't care what 'indie people' think. Those bands complaining about other bands selling out, got their iPod filled up with illegal music". On his solo project Maximum Balloon, Sitek collaborates with many of his old friends (among these are Karen O, David Byrne and Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio), whom he claims are still interested in creating beautiful songs, not only songs that the music magazines want to write about, which, he thinks, keeps the music interesting.

Solo work

• Maximum Balloon (Interscope, 2010)

Singles

• If You Return featuring Little Dragon (2010)
• Groove Me featuring Theophilus London (2010)
• Tiger featuring Aku (2010)

Features

• MF Doom - Gazzilion Ear (Jneiro Jarel feat Dave Sitek Remix) (2009)

External links

• TV on the Radio
• TV on the Radio's blog
• Maximum Balloon