Battles

Battles
Battles at the 2008 Moers Festival. From left to right: Ian Williams, John Stanier, Dave Konopka, Tyondai Braxton
Background information
Origin	New York, New York, United States
Genres	Experimental rock Math rock Post-rock Progressive rock
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Warp
Associated acts	Helmet Storm & Stress Tomahawk Don Caballero
Website	www.bttls.com
Members
Ian Williams John Stanier Dave Konopka Tyondai Braxton

Battles is an American experimental rock group, founded in 2003 in New York City. The band's current line-up comprises guitarists Ian Williams (formerly of Don Caballero) and Dave Konopka (formerly of Lynx), drummer John Stanier (formerly of Helmet), and Tyondai Braxton (son of avant-garde composer Anthony Braxton), who plays keyboard and guitar and creates live voice samples.

Biography

Following a string of EPs, the band released their debut album on the Warp Records label in February 2006, which was titled EP C / B EP. It is a compilation of their increasingly hard-to-find early releases, EP C, B EP and the single Tras.

Their first full-length album Mirrored, recorded by Keith Souza at Machines with Magnets, was released on May 14, 2007. The album received positive reviews and appeared on several top album lists for 2007.

The first single from the album, "Atlas," was released on February 21, 2007 as streaming audio, and the accompanying streaming video was released on February 28, 2007. It was voted "Best Single of the Week" by NME magazine^[1], and received a glowing review in the British Clash Magazine, as well as ranking at number one in the second Dandelion Radio Festive Fifty. The song was performed by the band on BBC television's Later With Jools Holland in November 2007. The song also went on to be featured in the Media Molecule developed video game LittleBigPlanet, available for the Playstation 3, and appears on the soundtrack for the second season of the Channel 4 program Skins.

The video for the track "Atlas" also appeared in a set of videos from Warp Films shown at the 2009 Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

The 'Atlas' audio track was featured on American Airlines in-flight radio programming.

Battles released a streaming video for the track "Tonto", in which they collaborated with celebrated lights artists UVA (United Visual Artists). The accompanying single was released in late 2007.

Battles scored their first UK cover feature in April 2007, talking to The Skinny magazine about the making of Mirrored.

The song "Race : In" was recently featured in a UK advertisement for Audi.

Battles' performance of Atlas from the All Tomorrow's Parties that took place in 2007 was used as the introduction to the movie of the same name which was then released in October of 2009.

Members

Battles performing at the 2008 Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN.

• Tyondai Braxton - guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Dave Konopka – bass, guitar, effects
• Ian Williams – guitar, keyboards
• John Stanier – drums

Discography

Albums:

• Mirrored (Warp Records, 27 May 2007) - #70 (UK)

EPs:

• "EP C" (Monitor Records, 8 June 2004)
• "B EP" (Dim Mak Records, September 2004)
• "EPC (The EP) (Japan only special mix edition)" (Dotlinecircle, October 2004)
• "EP C / B EP" (Warp Records, 21 February 2006)
• "Tonto+" (Warp Records, October 22 2007 World, November 6 2007 USA)

Singles:

• "Tras" (15 June 2004, 12")
• "Atlas" (April 2007, 12")
• "Tonto" (October 2007)

Filmography:

• "All Tomorrow's Parties" (October, 2009)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Battles

• Official Battles website
• Battles at Allmusic
• Battles at Last.fm
• Live pictures of Battles
• Interview on Tiny Mix Tapes
• Interview/Photos with ignore Magazine
• Battles discography at MusicBrainz
• Interview from Hate Something Beautiful
• Concert photos
• 'Musical Mathletes' The Guardian Interview May 19 2007
• Battles article June 2007
• Contact Music: interview
• Ignore Magazine: article
• BBC: article