TV on the Radio

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TV on the Radio
Malone, Sitek, Adebimpe, Smith, Bunton
Background information
Origin	New York City
Genre(s)	Experimental Rock Indie Rock
Years active	2001 - Present
Label(s)	Touch and Go Records 4AD Interscope
Website	Official Site
Members
Tunde Adebimpe Kyp Malone David Andrew Sitek Jaleel Bunton Gerard Smith Katrina Ford (collaborator) Martin Perna (collaborator) Nick Zinner (collaborator) Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra (live only)

TV on the Radio is a New York City avant-garde indie rock band formed in 2001 whose music spans genres as diverse as free jazz, a cappella/doo-wop, trip-hop and electro. The group has released several EPs including their debut Young Liars (2003), and two acclaimed albums, 2004's Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes and their most recent, Return to Cookie Mountain (2006), which received wider notice and appeared at the top of several end-of-year lists.

1 Band Members
2 History
3 Discography
- 3.1 Albums & EPs
- 3.2 Singles
4 Videography
5 Trivia
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Band Members

TV on the Radio is comprised of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals/loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars/keyboards/loops), Kyp Malone (vocals/guitars/loops) along with Jaleel Bunton (drums) and Gerard Smith (bass).

Other contributors include Katrina Ford of the band Celebration (vocals), Martin Perna (saxophones, flute) of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, David Bowie (vocals) and Nick Zinner (guitar) of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

[edit] History

The first album from TV on the Radio (initially just founding members Adebimpe and Sitek) was the self-released OK Calculator (the title being a reference to Radiohead's seminal album OK Computer), the majority of which is wildly different from their later sound, with elements of electronica, hip hop and turntablism. Later they were joined by Kyp Malone and released the Young Liars EP in 2003 to great critical acclaim. This was followed by their full-length debut, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes which earned the band the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize. They released a second EP, New Health Rock, later in 2004. Their most recent album, Return to Cookie Mountain, leaked in early 2006 and garnered pre-release praise from such outlets as Pitchfork Media^[1] before its official release in July overseas. U.S. and Canadian audiences had to wait until September for an official release, on major label Interscope. The album received critical acclaim after its release from many sources, including Spin Magazine which named Return to Cookie Mountain its Album of the Year for 2006. ^[2]

Founding member David Andrew Sitek has produced records with such bands as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Celebration, and Liars. Currently building his own studio, Sitek is in the process of producing the first LP for Dragons of Zynth, and working with them on a collaboration with Massive Attack for an upcoming New Gothic/soul album. He has also recently mixed the debut album by The Longcut.

Tunde Adebimpe has also worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, producing and animating their Pin video.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums & EPs

Release date	Title	Label
2002	OK Calculator	self-released
July 8, 2003	Young Liars (EP)	Touch and Go Records
March 9, 2004	Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes	Touch and Go Records
October 12, 2004	New Health Rock (EP)	Touch and Go Records
July 6, 2006 - Worldwide September 12, 2006 - United States & Canada	Return to Cookie Mountain	Interscope Records and 4AD

[edit] Singles

"Staring at the Sun" [CD & 7"] (2004), 4AD
"Wolf Like Me" [CD & 7"] (2006), 4AD

[edit] Videography

Staring at the Sun (March 2004, directed by Elliot Jokelson)
Dreams (May 2004, directed by Elliot Jokelson & UVPhactory)
Wolf Like Me (September 2006, directed by Jon Watts)
Province (January 2007, directed by Jeff Scheven)

[edit] Trivia

TVOTR Live in Boston

Rock icon David Bowie considers TV on the Radio one of his favorite active acts. He contributed backing vocals to the track "Province" from their latest effort, Return to Cookie Mountain.
The band takes its name from British DJ Tommy Vance's famous catchphrase "This is T. V. on the radio" referring to his (pseudonymous) initials.
Before Tunde Adebimpe formed TV on the Radio he was best known for playing the lead role in the independent film Jump Tomorrow. He also directed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs video for "Pin" and was an animator for the MTV show Celebrity Deathmatch.
Before joining TV on the Radio, Kyp Malone starred in the independent film Scumrock directed by Jon Moritsugu.
Dave Sitek's nickname, by the band, is "coach" or "warden".
In the song, "Mr. Grieves", Tunde Adebimpe recorded 28 separate tracks of his own voice.
Katrina Ford of Celebration appeared in the music video for Staring at the Sun.
Tunde Adebimpe has introduced the song "Wolf Like Me" as "Unicorpse" when performing live.
They have covered "Modern Romance" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Mr. Grieves" by the Pixies, "Dead" by They Might Be Giants, and "Walking the Cow" by Daniel Johnston.