Dirty Projectors

Dirty Projectors is an experimental pop group from Brooklyn, United States, formed in 2002 and led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Longstreth. The group is active from Brooklyn and has connections with the Portland, Oregon music scene. Its sound combines electronic experimentation with traditional instruments and harmonically complex vocals, and the group is also associated with avant-garde, post-rock, indie rock, folk, indie and freak folk.

Line-up

The current lineup includes Dave Longstreth on vocals, guitar and other instruments; Nat Baldwin on bass; Mike Johnson on drums; Maia Friedman on guitar, keyboards and vocals; Felicia Douglass on percussion, keyboards and vocals; and Kristin Slipp on keyboards and vocals. Other members associated with the group include Amber Coffman, Deradoorian, Haley Dekle and Brian McOmber.

Recorded output

Dirty Projectors’ recordings vary widely in approach. They include Prince-like one-person studio productions, arranged orchestral pieces, sparse voice-and-nylon-string-guitar recordings, and combinations of these methods. Examples named with these approaches include The Glad Fact, the “Slaves’ Graves” side of Slaves’ Graves & Ballads, the “Ballads” side of that release, the “glitch opera” The Getty Address, and the mixed-format New Attitude EP.

Style and influences

Longstreth’s sharply melodic singing gives the group a recognisable identity across its changing musical forms. His stated influences include Don Henley and Mariah Carey. The Getty Address is described as a conceptual opera presented from the viewpoint of Henley as a Spanish conquistador. Rise Above reworks the lyrics of Black Flag’s Damaged from memory over complex music shaped by contemporary African blues and funk, including the work of Ali Farka Touré and Konono No. 1.

Collaborations

Members of Dirty Projectors also work with Björk on an original composition by Longstreth for five voices and acoustic guitar, performed at a charity concert for Housing Works, a nonprofit organisation that provides shelter for homeless men, women and children affected by AIDS.