TV on the Radio

TV on the Radio

TV on the Radio is an American group from Brooklyn, United States, active since 2001. Their sound is associated with art rock, electronic, experimental rock, indie rock, noise pop and psychedelic soul, and they are also described as an indie rock band and an experimental rock act.

Formation and line-up

The band forms in Brooklyn in 2001. For most of its history, the core line-up consists of Tunde Adebimpe, David Andrew Sitek, Kyp Malone, Jaleel Bunton and Gerard Smith. Adebimpe handles vocals and loops; Sitek plays guitars, keyboards and loops and also produces; Malone contributes vocals, guitars, bass and loops; Bunton plays drums, sings and also plays guitars and loops; Smith plays bass and keyboards. The band is described as a quartet in some contexts, while Gerard Smith remains listed among the members.

Releases

The group releases a number of EPs, including Young Liars in 2003. Its studio albums are Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes in 2004, Return to Cookie Mountain in 2006, Dear Science in 2008, Nine Types of Light in 2011 and Seeds in 2014. Seeds is identified as the fifth proper studio album.

Recognition and activity

Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes wins the Shortlist Music Prize, and Return to Cookie Mountain is named Spin's Album of the Year. Dear Science is named best album of 2008 by Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Spin, The New York Times, The Onion AV Club, MTV and Entertainment Weekly. Nine Types of Light receives a Grammy nomination. The band also appears on Saturday Night Live and The Colbert Report.

Collaborators and related work

TV on the Radio works with a range of collaborators, including Kelis, who appears on “Lazzeray”, and artists such as Trent Reznor, Nick Zinner, Peter Murphy, Kazu Makino, Martin Perna, Katrina Ford and David Bowie. The band records and performs with these musicians and is associated with a collaborative approach in which its members also pursue other musical work between albums.

Style

The group is known for music that changes across releases while keeping a strong shared identity. Its work is described as immediate, textured and often built around multiple voices and layered sound.