Atlas Sound

Atlas Sound

Atlas Sound is the solo project of Bradford Cox, the lead singer of Deerhunter. Cox is born in 1982 and is from Marietta, United States. The project sits within indie rock, psychedelic rock and shoegaze, and it is also associated with experimental, ambient and electronic music.

Early recording and name

Cox begins recording under the Atlas Sound name in 1994, when he is in sixth grade, using a cassette karaoke machine. He takes the name from the company that makes the tape machine.

Albums and label work

Atlas Sound releases its first album, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, in early 2008 on Kranky and 4AD. The second album, Logos, follows in 2009 and receives critical acclaim.

Creative approach and collaborators

Cox describes the project as a place for ideas that do not fit a five-piece rock band, and as a means of using a different palette of sounds from Deerhunter. He names Cindy Wilson of the B-52's and Laura Carter of the Athens punk band the Bar-B-Q Killers among his heroes. He meets his collaborator and close friend Lockett Pundt in high school.

Other recording work

Alongside Atlas Sound, Cox records with other acts. He plays drums in the short-lived all-girl garage/noise band Wet Dreams, and he contributes drums to the Black Lips album We Did Not Know the Forest Spirit Made the Flowers Grow, including the track "Notown Blues".