Vampire Weekend

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This article is about the band. For the band's self-titled album, see Vampire Weekend (album).
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend, performing in Hamburg, 02. November 2007
Vampire Weekend, performing in Hamburg,
02. November 2007
Background information
Origin New York, NY
Genre(s) Indie rock
Afro-pop
Baroque pop
Indie pop[1][2]
Years active 2006 - present
Label(s) XL Recordings
Website http://www.vampireweekend.com/
Members
Ezra Koenig
Rostam Batmanglij
Chris Tomson
Chris Baio

Vampire Weekend is an indie rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and signed to XL Recordings.

Contents

[edit] History

Vampire Weekend came to public attention via a variety of blogs, first Canadian Matt Yanchyshyn's African and world music audioblog "Benn loxo du taccu",[3] and then six months later on Stereogum.[4] The band is influenced by both African popular music and Western classical music. They describe their genre of music curiously as"Upper West Side Soweto", performing such songs as "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", which references Congolese soukous music.

The members of the band met while attending Columbia University; they then self-produced their first album after graduation while concurrently working full time jobs. Lead vocalist, Ezra Koenig, and drummer, Chris Tomson, first collaborated as members of the comedy-rap band "L'Homme Run".[5]

The band takes its name from a film they made together with members of the band Ra Ra Riot entitled Vampire Weekend. The film told the story of a boy named Walcott charged by an elder to dispatch a vampiric horde in Cape Cod and escape. The song "Walcott" from their debut album details the plot of the film.[6]

In 2007, their hit "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" was ranked 67th on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of the year as they toured the United Kingdom with The Shins.[7] They were declared "The Year's Best New Band" in the March 2008 issue of Spin magazine and were the first band to ever be shot for the cover of the magazine before releasing their debut CD.[8]

[edit] Band members

  • Ezra Koenig (lead vocals, guitar)
  • Rostam Batmanglij (keyboard, guitar, vocals)
  • Chris Tomson (drums)
  • Chris Baio (bass guitar)

[edit] Previous bands

The most notable previous project of the band is L'Homme Run, a rap group that Ezra Koenig formed during his time at college. The group was meant to be funny, but not actually a joke, a distinction which Ezra says ultimately doomed the project.[5]

Ezra Koenig also played saxophone in the free jazz improvisation collective Total War and avant-afro pop band The Dirty Projectors, both based in NYC.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

  • Vampire Weekend EP (2007)

[edit] Singles

[edit] Compilation tracks

[edit] References

  1. ^ Abebe, Nitsuh. "Record Review: Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend", Pitchfork, Pitchfork Media Inc., 2008-01-28. 
  2. ^ Stewart, Alison. "Vampire Weekend's African Transfusion", The Washington Post, 2008-01-29, p. C05. 
  3. ^ Yanchyshyn, Matt. "Benn loxo remixed", Benn loxo du taccu, 2006-10-18. 
  4. ^ "Band to Watch: Vampire Weekend", Stereogum, 2006-04-13. 
  5. ^ a b Greenwald, Andy. "Vampire Weekend: The Graduates", Spin, 2007-02-25. 
  6. ^ "VAMPIRE WEEKEND", Internet Vibes, 200-11-24. 
  7. ^ "The 100 best Songs of 2007", Rolling Stone, 2007-12-27. 
  8. ^ "Vampire Weekend: The Graduates", Spin, 2008-02-25. 
  9. ^ "Top 30 Independent Label Singles", BBC Radio 1. 
  10. ^ "Vampire Weekend: A Punk", αCharts. Retrieved on 2008-03-27. 
  11. ^ "The Official UK Top 75 Singles", Yahoo! Music UK & Ireland. 
  12. ^ "Artist Chart History: Vampire Weekend: Singles", Billboard. Retrieved on 2004-03-27. 

[edit] Interviews

[edit] External links

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