+81 (Deerhoof)
| Deerhoof | |
|---|---|
Deerhoof on stage in 2009
|
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels |
|
| Website | deerhoof |
| Members |
|
| Past members |
|
Deerhoof is an American independent music group formed in San Francisco in 1994. It currently consists of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Initially performing improvised noise punk, Deerhoof became widely renowned and influential in the 2000s through prodigious and self-produced creative output combining "noise, sugary [pop] melodies, and an experimental spirit into utterly distinctive music". They have released 14 studio albums since 1997; their latest album Mountain Moves was released in September 2017. Their live shows are characterized by minimal gear, maximal volume, and surrealist banter.
Deerhoof began in San Francisco in 1994 as an improvisational bass/drums duo of Rob Fisk and Greg Saunier. Satomi Matsuzaki joined Deerhoof within a week of moving to the United States from Japan in May 1995, with no prior experience playing in a band, and went on tour as Deerhoof's singer only a week later, opening for Caroliner. Their 1997 debut album The Man, the King, the Girl, recorded on four-track cassette, balanced the wild, clamorous playing of Fisk and Saunier with Matsuzaki's Jingle-like melodies and colorful instrumentation, including toy instruments and broken Casios. The album art of a magical cow and a rabbit on a unicycle was drawn by Fisk. Many of Deerhoof's enduring traits were already in place: mythical lyrics; exaggerated, gestural playing style; low-budget DIY recording techniques; concept-album format; memorable melodic writing; and left-wing political stance.
In 1997 they began recording new songs for what would eventually become Halfbird, but soon abandoned it in favor of a drastic change in style. Kelly Goode joined on Casio VL-1 and Matsuzaki taught herself to play the bass. They removed all traces of noise, improvisation, or unusual instrumentation from their sound, culminating in their 1999 album Holdypaws. The capricious change in style from one album to the next remains a Deerhoof hallmark. Cover art was by Fisk. From 1997 to 1999, Deerhoof had toured the U.S. with Sleater-Kinney, Lightning Bolt, Unwound, and Sonic Youth. But in fall 1999, with both albums and various singles selling poorly, Fisk and Goode quit. Fisk now performs in King Eider Common Eider. Halfbird was completed by Saunier and Matsuzaki and finally released in 2001, with artwork by Fisk.
...
Wikipedia