Tame Impala

Tame Impala
Tame Impala performing in 2014
Background information
Origin	Perth, Western Australia
Genres	Psychedelic rock psychedelic pop neo-psychedelia
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Modular Universal Fiction Interscope
Associated acts	Pond Gum The Growl Melody's Echo Chamber Mink Mussel Creek The Dee Dee Dums Space Lime Peacock Allbrook/Avery Relation Longue Distance Felicity Groom Barbagallo MGMT Koi Child
Website	www.tameimpala.com
Members	Kevin Parker Dominic Simper Jay Watson Cam Avery Julien Barbagallo
Past members	Nick Allbrook

Tame Impala (pronunciation: /teɪm ɪmˈpɑːlə/) is an Australian psychedelic band created by Kevin Parker in 2007. The group began as a home recording project for Parker, who writes, records, performs, and produces the music. As a touring act, the project consists of Parker (guitar, vocals), Jay Watson (synthesiser, vocals, guitar), Dominic Simper (guitar, synthesiser), Cam Avery (bass guitar, vocals), and Julien Barbagallo (drums, vocals). Previously signed to Modular Recordings, Tame Impala is signed to Interscope Records in the US, and Fiction Records in the UK.

After a series of singles and EPs, in 2010, Tame Impala released their debut studio album, Innerspeaker, which was certified gold in Australia and well received by critics. The group's 2012 follow-up, Lonerism, was also acclaimed, reaching platinum status in Australia and receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. The band's third album, Currents, was released on 17 July 2015. Parker won the APRA Award for Song of the Year 2016 for the album's first track "Let It Happen".

The origins of the band can be found in the Perth music scene. Parker played in a number of bands, one being the Dee Dee Dums, a rock duo that consisted of Parker (guitar) and Luke Epstein (drums). Tame Impala emerged in 2007 as a Kevin Parker home-recording project in this period and he posted a number of tracks on Myspace. This brought interest from a number of labels and eventually, he signed a worldwide deal with the independent Modular Recordings in July 2008. To transfer these recordings to a live-stage, Parker enlisted the help of Dominic Simper (bass) and Jay Watson (drums) and began playing at some local gigs.