Death Grips

Death Grips

Death Grips performing in New York City in 2012.
Background information
Also known as Flatlander[1]
Origin Sacramento, California, United States
Genres
Years active 2010-2014, 2014-present
Labels
Website thirdworlds.net
Members

Death Grips is an American hip hop group from Sacramento, California, United States, formed in 2010. The group consists of rapper Stefan Burnett (better known by his stage name, Ride), drummer Zach Hill, and producer Andy Morin.[6] The band's music has been described as combining hip hop, industrial music, and noise music,[7] and they have been described as "the first truly important band of the twenty-first century".[8] They released the mixtape Exmilitary in April 2011, followed by two studio albums in 2012, The Money Store in April, and No Love Deep Web in October, as well as a third album in November 2013, titled Government Plates. Their releases have received positive reviews from music critics all around, including The Money Store placing 9th in Pitchfork's Best Albums of 2012 [9][10] and Government Plates placing at 43 on Spin's 50 Best Albums of 2013 list.[11]

The group announced their disbanding on July 2, 2014, but have released material since, causing fans to question whether the group have actually ended activity, partly due to the fact that the band has an apparent tendency to confuse or mislead their own fans.[12] Though, on February 13, 2015, the group had posted a brand new rehearsal video on their YouTube channel, containing the first four tracks from The Powers That B's second disc, Jenny Death, and the first nine seconds of Lock Your Doors (from their sophomore album, No Love Deep Web) before abruptly ending the video, indicating signs that the band might tour again in the near future,[13] and on March 19, 2015, the group also posted on Facebook that they might 'make some more', hinting that they intend to continue making music.[14] On March 24, 2015, Death Grips announced a world tour[15] and posted North American dates for it on their Facebook page.

History

2010–2011: Formation and Exmilitary

Death Grips was formed in Sacramento, California on December 21, 2010, by Zach Hill, Andy Morin, and Stefan Burnett.[7]

On the first day of their formation they recorded their first song, "Full Moon (Death Classic)".[16] It was released on March 8, 2011 together with a video and a free self-titled EP which featured "Full Moon" together with five other songs.[17][18] On April 26, 2011, Death Grips released a free mixtape entitled Exmilitary, containing several tracks from the EP along with new cuts.[19][20]

Throughout the spring and early summer in 2011, Death Grips played small live shows while Exmilitary was spreading steadily throughout the Internet. It received several favorable ratings from music critics, with NBCNewYork.com calling it "an intense, dark listen".[21][22][23] During this time the band members were largely elusive, the only known member being Hill.[16]

2012: The Money Store and No Love Deep Web

Stefan Burnett (left) and Zach Hill (right) performing live in August 2011.

On February 27, 2012, Death Grips signed with Epic Records, under the recommendation of Epic's then-executive vice president of marketing Angelica Cob-Baehler,[7] and announced the release of two albums in 2012. The first album, The Money Store, was released on April 21, 2012 while the songs "Blackjack", "Get Got" and "The Fever (Aye Aye)" have been released as singles. Music videos have been released for all three, as well as the track "Lost Boys" alone with no video accompaniment.[24][25][26]

In May the band scheduled a thirty-show international tour to support The Money Store, but shortly afterward cancelled it so they could complete their second album of 2012, which angered many fans and their label.[7] They spent the next four months recording their next album, No Love Deep Web, in Sacramento.[7] During this period the band also remixed two Björk songs, "Sacrifice" and "Thunderbolt", as part of the Biophilia Remix Series[27] after receiving an artist-to-artist note of support[7] and released two songs; "@deathgripz", an unreleased track from The Money Store named after their Twitter account as part of the Adult Swim Singles Program 2012 was released on September 10,[28] and on September 29 the track "True Vulture Bare" was leaked and made known on YouTube.[29] A video for this track was released on October 17 featuring animation from Galen Pehrson. This project was created for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.[30]

On October 1, the band self-released their sophomore effort via a website which they linked to from Twitter and Soundcloud, and various filesharing services including BitTorrent.[31][32] This was apparently an effort to bypass the fact that their record label was unwilling to release the album until 2013.[33] The band was dropped by Epic Records on November 1 due to the issues surrounding this incident, including the release of private emails on Facebook.[34]

2013–2014: Government Plates, Niggas on the Moon, and supposed disbandment

In March 2013, the band released a series of videos to their YouTube account, called "No Hands". On March 20, 2013, a music video for "Lock Your Doors", which was recorded on a live show in SXSW was released.[35] Zach Hill did not attend the show physically, but played the drums via Skype.[36]

On May 10, 2013, it was announced that Hill is currently writing and directing an original feature film. Death Grips will be involved with the soundtrack of the film. The announcement also revealed that Hill is currently working on a new Death Grips album.[37] On July 8, it was announced that Death Grips had launched their new label, Third Worlds. The label was created via "a unique relationship with Harvest/Capitol" and will be distributed by Caroline Records.[38]

Death Grips were scheduled to perform at Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 3, 2013, but their performance was cancelled after the band failed to show up for an "after party" show the previous night at the Bottom Lounge. Fans at the Bottom Lounge show destroyed the band's equipment after being informed of the cancellation.[39][40][41][42] Their subsequent performance scheduled for Montreal's Osheaga Music and Arts Festival on Sunday, August 4, 2013 was also cancelled.[43] It was later discovered that Death Grips never actually planned to appear at Lollapalooza, and the drum kit that was destroyed was a child's learning kit.[44]

On November 13, 2013, Death Grips released Government Plates on their website and shared the link on their Facebook page, as well as music videos for each of the eleven new songs.[45][46] Included in the album was the song "Birds", which had been released earlier in the year. The band's press has said that Government Plates is not an official record, but is only "where they are right now".[47] On November 19, 2013, No Love Deep Web was released on vinyl and CD through Harvest Records,[48] as well as being made available on Spotify.[49] On January 14, 2014, Government Plates was officially released through iTunes and Spotify.[50] On January 16, 2014, it was announced that Warp Music Publishing signed an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with the group. This agreement covers the previous and future releases by Death Grips.

On January 19, 2014, Zach Hill stated that the band has started recording new material for the next album and is planning to tour in summer.[51] On March 15, 2014, it was confirmed that Death Grips would be touring in support of Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden throughout their 2014 Summer tour.

On June 8, 2014, Death Grips announced a double album titled The Powers That B, along with a download of disc 1, Niggas on the Moon. The second disc was announced to be titled Jenny Death, with a full release via Harvest Records/Third Worlds scheduled for later in 2014.[52]

On July 2, 2014, Death Grips officially announced their disbandment via Facebook, posting an image of the following message written on a napkin:

“We are now at our best and so Death Grips is over. We have officially stopped. All currently scheduled live dates are canceled. Our upcoming double album The Powers That B will still be delivered worldwide later this year via Harvest/Third Worlds Records. Death Grips was and always has been a conceptual art exhibition anchored by sound and vision. Above and beyond a “band”. To our truest fans, please stay legend.”[53]

2014–present: Post-disbandment, Fashion Week, and Jenny Death

On October 10, 2014, Death Grips announced the completion of The Powers That B via their website and Facebook page, as well as revealing the album artwork.[54] A song from Jenny Death (part two of The Powers That B), entitled "Inanimate Sensation", was released on December 9, 2014.[55]

On January 4, 2015, without any prior notification, Death Grips released a free instrumental soundtrack, entitled Fashion Week. The song titles, follow as: "Runway J", "Runway E" and so on; acrostically spelling out the phrase "JENNY DEATH WHEN", in reference to the upcoming second disc of The Powers That B. Many people believed the Fashion Week title was a hint that Jenny Death would be released during New York Fashion Week or London Fashion Week, both of which fell in February 2015, but passed without the release of the album.

On February 13, 2015 Death Grips uploaded a new video, to their YouTube channel.[13] It showed the group rehearsing new material.

On March 6, 2015, a mysterious Twitter account that had been heavily speculated as being run by the band (@bbpoltergiest[56]), made a surprise announcement that The Powers That B would finally be released on March 31, pre-orders would be available on March 17, and a tour announcement would also be revealed on March 24 (with tickets going on sale, that very same week).[57] This same Twitter account was also responsible for posting a screenshot of the Inanimate Sensation music video, four months before it was released, blatantly announcing at one point that they were "going on tour" and that they've never actually broken up, posting a never-before-seen photo of the inflatable "Blackjack" pills that had been used during previous live Death Grips shows (indicating that there would be a tour coming in the near future), and yet another never-before-seen picture of Hill, Morin, and Burnett all attending Disneyland together, therefore validating the account's probable legitimacy. However, almost all posts from the alleged Twitter account, including their latest announcements, have since been deleted.

On March 10, 2015, thirty second snippets of each song from Jenny Death, leaked onto the internet, via Dutch music retailer Bol.com.[58]

On March 12, 2015, Death Grips published a video to their YouTube channel, for the song "On GP".[59] The video features the band members sitting inside an echo chamber at Studio 1, Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California.

On March 13, 2015, Death Grips released the "official" music video for, "On GP".[60] It features various magic tricks, from Sacramento magician, Russell Brown.

On March 17, 2015, Death Grips released the song "The Powers That B" to their YouTube channel, as well as the release date and pre-order links for the album via their Facebook page.[61][62]

On March 19, 2015, Jenny Death was put up to stream on the band's YouTube channel in full, after it had been discovered to have leaked. The same day, the group revealed on Facebook that they 'might make some more', hinting that they intend to continue making music.[14]

On March 24, 2015 Death Grips announced via Facebook that they were going on tour.[63] The tour is said to be the beginning of a world tour & launches in Seattle, WA on June 19. It is currently set to wrap with a concert in San Francisco, CA on July 25. Their announcement reads "additional dates to be announced,".[64]

On March 27, 2015, concert tickets for their 2015 North American tour did go on sale via their Facebook page. On the same post, it had a link to their new video of "I Break Mirrors With My Face in the United States" via YouTube, showing two different performances from the band of the same song from different perspectives, one from one of Zach Hill's drumsticks and another from Burnett's microphone.

Style and attitude

The band's music has been described as combining noise music, hip hop, punk[65] and industrial music.[7] The group is also known for Ride's bleak, dark and highly cryptic lyrics and aggressive rapping style. They have also received considerable attention for their wild physical stage performances and stage presence, in which Ride and Hill often appear topless. Their live performances are notable for containing various amounts of instrument destruction, Zach Hill drumming to the point of severe injury (sometimes performing in handcuffs), Ride's intense and violent stage persona, and Andy Morin's spontaneous movements on stage. The band is also notable for engaging in extended periods of live musical improvisation interwoven seamlessly into their set as bridges between songs, typically performed on the fly by Morin and Hill. Ride has been known to adopt many different vocal styles on record and during live performances and such as shouting, screaming, spoken word-style talking and even whispering. Andy Morin's unorthodox style of production and sampling and drummer Zach Hill's noisy, fast and unconventional drumming styles and patterns are also distinct features of Death Grips' unique sound. The band is also notable for their distinctive and low-fidelity visual style, often made clear in their music videos and performances and their minimal style, with drummer Zach Hill often only using two drums and a cymbal and the band releasing an album with the title all in lower case.

In popular culture

Björk is a fan of the band and they remixed two tracks for Bastards, a collective album of remixes of tracks from her Biophilia album. Björk recorded original vocal samples for the band which they used on every track of Niggas on the Moon. Sergio Pizzorno of Kasabian is also a fan of Death Grips and cited them as an influence for their album, 48:13, a UK Number 1 album.[66] Actor Robert Pattinson is a fan of the band, too, and plays guitar on the song "Birds" from Government Plates. Pattinson has also appeared in a photo with Death Grips and Beyoncé.[67]

The group's song "Hacker" is featured in the video game Battlefield Hardline. Their songs have also been used on TV shows like Waterloo Road and BoJack Horseman.

Members

Discography

References

  1. ↑ http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/suspicious-minds-the-resolute-mission-of-death-grips
  2. ↑ Roberts, Randall (January 10, 2015). "Essential Tracks: Death Grips, N.E.R.D., Cairo Liberation Front". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  3. ↑ Connick,Tom (January 8, 2015). "Life After Death: Could Death Grips’ Continued Existence Be The Latest of Their Artistic Statements?". DIY. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cowler, Jasmine (November 30, 2014). "New Death Grips Vinyl Reveals Actor Robert Pattinson Guitar Part". Gigwise. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Death Grips Split". The Quietus. July 2, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Suspicious Minds - The Resolute Mission Of Death Grips". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Weingarten, Christopher (2012-11-20). "ARTIST OF THE YEAR: DEATH GRIPS". Spin. Retrieved 2012-11-30.
  8. ↑ ""Death Grips: "There's a lot of recycling and destruction in the making of our music""". TheSkinny. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Powell, Mike (December 20, 2012). "The Top 50 Albums of 2012". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Death Grips' Scores". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-11-30.
  11. ↑ "Drake, Nothing Was the Same (OVO/Young Money/Cash Money/Republic) - SPIN's 50 Best Albums of 2013". SPIN. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Death Grips - Timeline Photos - Facebook". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Death Grips February 13, 2015". YouTube.com. 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Death Grips - you're right, we might make some more". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  15. ↑ "Death Grips - Timeline Photos". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Death Grips. The First Interview". 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
  17. ↑ "Full Moon (Death Classic) video". Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  18. ↑ "Death Grips EP". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  19. ↑ "Death Grips - Exmilitary review". Drowned in Sound.
  20. ↑ "Suspicious Minds - The Resolute Mission Of Death Grips". Clash Music. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  21. ↑ Eisinger, Dale W. (2011-09-15). "Death Grips Album Review: "Exmilitary"". NBC New York. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
  22. ↑ Patrin, Nate (2011-06-30). "Death Grips - Exmilitary - Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-11-30.
  23. ↑ Calvert, John (2011-04-26). "Death Grips - Exmilitary Review". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2012-11-30.
  24. ↑ Pelly, Jenn (March 27, 2012). "Video: Death Grips: "The Fever (Aye Aye)"". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  25. ↑ Fitzmaurice, Larry (February 7, 2012). "Death Grips - "Blackjack"". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  26. ↑ Coplan, Chris (March 7, 2012). "Video: Death Grips – "Get Got"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  27. ↑ Pelly, Jenn. "Listen: Björk Remixed by Death Grips | News". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
  28. ↑ Minsker, Evan (2012-09-10). "New Death Grips: "@DEATHGRIPZ"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  29. ↑ Minsker, Evan (2012-10-01). "Listen to Death Grips' Album NO LOVE DEEP WEB Now, Check Out the Extremely Graphic Cover Art". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  30. ↑ Darville, Jordan (2012-10-17). "Death Grips and Galen Pehrson collaborate for insane "True Vulture" video". Chart Attack. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  31. ↑ Van Buskirk, Eliot (October 1, 2012). "Death Grips Top BitTorrent's List of Most Legally Downloaded Music". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  32. ↑ Raymond, Adam K. (June 21, 2013). "Public Enemy and Death Grips Use New BitTorrent Bundle to Connect With Fans". Spin. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  33. ↑ "Death Grips defy their label with free album release - listen". NME. October 1, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  34. ↑ Stutz, Colin (2012-11-02). "Death Grips Dropped By Epic Records Following Album Leak". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  35. ↑ Battan, Carrie (March 20, 2013). "Watch: Death Grips Share Disorienting "Lock Your Doors" Video, Explain "No Hands" Series". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  36. ↑ Marthins, Chris (March 20, 2013). "See Death Grips' Disorienting Head-Cam and Skype-Shot 'Lock Your Doors'". Spin. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  37. ↑ Pelly, Jenn (May 10, 2013). "Death Grips to Soundtrack Feature Film Directed and Written by Zach Hill, Working on New Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  38. ↑ Pelly, Jenn (July 8, 2013). "Death Grips Launch New Label Third Worlds". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media Inc. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Death Grips Fans Turn Violent After Band Skips Lollapalooza After Party Appearance". Billboard. August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  40. ↑ "Death Grips Lollapalooza Set Cancelled, Band Replaced After No-Show To Official Afterparty". The Huffington Post. August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  41. ↑ Gilmer, Marcus (August 3, 2013). "Death Grips bail on Lollapalooza after-show, fans destroy band’s equipment". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  42. ↑ Coleman, Miriam (August 3, 2013). "Fans Trash Death Grips' Equipment After Lollapalooza No-Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  43. ↑ Mongrain, Marc-André (August 3, 2013). "OSHEAGA 2013 - Death Grips annule à son tour" (in French). sorstu.ca. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  44. ↑ "Death Grips Never Planned on Actually Appearing at Their Scheduled Shows". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  45. ↑ "Death Grips - Timeline Photos - Facebook". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  46. ↑ "Death Grips Release Free Album Government Plates". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  47. ↑ "Clarification from DG press contact regarding gov't plates : deathgrips". reddit. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  48. ↑ Worlds, Third. "iTunes - Music - No Love Deep Web by Death Grips". iTunes. iTunes Store. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  49. ↑ "No Love Deep Web". Spotify. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  50. ↑ "New Signings: Morrissey Signs with Harvest Records, Warp Music Publishing Inks Death Grips, and More". Billboard. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  51. ↑ Battan, Carrie (January 20, 2014). "Zach Hill Says He's Working on New Death Grips Album and Film, Possible Tour, New Hella Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  52. ↑ "Death Grips drop surprise, Björk-featuring album niggas on the moon; download it now". Fact. June 8, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  53. ↑ "Death Grips Break Up". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. July 2, 2014.
  54. ↑ "Death Grips - Timeline Photos - Facebook". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  55. ↑ "Death Grips Share "Inanimate Sensation"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  56. ↑ "Ꭰeath Ꮹrips (@bbpoltergiest)". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  57. ↑ "Album release details" (JPG). Pbs.twimg.com. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  58. ↑ "The Powers That B, Death Grips | Muziek" (in Dutch). Bol.com. 2015-03-27. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  59. ↑ "Death Grips - On GP". YouTube.com. 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  60. ↑ "Death Grips - On GP (Official Video)". YouTube.com. 2015-03-13. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  61. ↑ "Death Grips - The Powers That B". YouTube.com. 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  62. ↑ "Death Grips - The album comes out March 31st. THE...". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  63. ↑ "Death Grips - Timeline Photos". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  64. ↑ "Death Grips 2015 North American Tour Schedule". ConcertTourNewsHub.com. March 26, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  65. ↑ Tacopino, Joe (2012-04-24). "Death Grips Implode Punk and Rap Borders on New LP". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  66. ↑ "Kasabian: 'Our new album's influenced by Nirvana + Kanye West'". Gigwise.com. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  67. ↑ "Death Grips - Timeline Photos". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-04-03.

External links