| Panda Bear |
|
| Background information |
| Born |
July 17, 1978 (1978-07-17) (age 31)[1] |
| Genres |
Psychedelic pop
Experimental
Neo-psychedelia
Freak folk |
| Instruments |
Vocals, drums, sampler,
guitar, piano |
| Years active |
1998–present |
| Labels |
Paw Tracks, FatCat Records, Domino Records, Catsup Plate, St. Ives, UAAR, Soccer Star |
| Associated acts |
Animal Collective, Jane, Together, John Maus |
| Website |
www.myspace.com/rippityrippity |
Noah Lennox (born July 17[1], 1978), known as Panda Bear, is an experimental musician and a founding member of Animal Collective. He chose the name "Panda Bear" because he drew pictures of pandas as artwork on the recordings he made as a younger musician.[2] Lennox grew up in the Roland Park section of Baltimore, Maryland, and had attended high school in Pennsylvania. As a child and teenager, he played sports, mainly soccer and basketball, and had studied piano until he was eight and then cello. He later sang tenor in his high school chamber choir.[2] At the age of 17 he started to listen to electronic music styles like House & Techno and especially Aphex Twin, which turned out to be a huge influence on his later work.[3]
Career
Early career
Lennox briefly attended Boston University where he majored in Religion because of his interest "in the concept of God"[3]. Though he and his family have never been very religious, Lennox tries to lead a "spiritually aware life"[3]. He sometimes reaches "another state of mind" by playing music and performing live which he thinks is comparable to religious experiences.
While a student at the University, Lennox starred in three student short films: Fish Sticks and Fecal Matters, both directed by Andrew Drazek; and Appy Halloween, directed by Black Nasty.
Animal Collective
Animal Collective member Deakin (Josh Dibb), who has been friends with Lennox since second grade[4], introduced him to his high school friends Avey Tare (Dave Portner) and Geologist (Brian Weitz). For years, the four of them had swapped homemade recordings, shared musical ideas and performed in different group configurations. Lennox, along with Deakin moved to New York in 2000.[5] The band started to become more collaborative in nature and had finally settled on the name "Animal Collective". Lennox and Avey Tare are the only members who have contributed to all of the band's releases.
In addition to singing, Lennox had mainly played drums in Animal Collective's live performances, seeing Stewart Copeland as the biggest influence on his drumming style[3]. But, since the 2007 releases of Panda Bear's Person Pitch and Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam, he has focused more on using samples and other electronics in their shows.
Solo work
At the age of 20 he finished his debut album Panda Bear which is also the very first Animal Collective related record. It was released in 1998 on Soccer Star Records. After focusing more on touring and recording with Animal Collective, he released the follow-up Young Prayer in 2004 and the highly acclaimed third solo album Person Pitch in 2007.
About his fast working style, Lennox says:
| “ |
I get impatient writing songs, I can't spend more than a couple of hours before I get frustrated. So I got to kind of spit it out real fast. My favorite songs are the ones where I worked really really fast on, when it comes all out in like two hours or something.[3] |
” |
In 2008, he stated in an interview that he is currently working on the follow up to Person Pitch.[6] A release date is yet to be mentioned, but Lennox has performed some new material at a show with No Age in Miami, FL on December 5, 2008. During an autographing session at Lollapalooza, Panda Bear said that progress on the record has stopped and will not be resumed until touring with Animal Collective has finished.
Outside musical collaborations
Lennox also plays in the band Jane. He also performed on some fashion shows with the other Animal Collective members and Rusty Santos as Together.
Lennox appears as a guest on the song "Walkabout" on the album Logos from Atlas Sound, the solo project of Bradford Cox of Deerhunter.
He also sings harmonizing vocals in the song "Anna" on the 2009, Taken by Trees album, "East of Eden".
Musical equipment
Personal life
In 2004, Lennox moved from New York to Lisbon, Portugal, after he went there for the first time at the end of a long Animal Collective tour with Dave Portner in 2003 for a short vacation. Lennox says about Lisbon: "Since I got off the airplane here [for the first time] I had a good feeling about this place." On this vacation he also met fashion designer Fernanda Pereira. After visiting each other in Lisbon and New York, Lennox eventually decided to move to Europe because he also felt "connected to the European way of life“[3], considering himself as a "slow moving kind of person“[3] and Lisbon as a "slow moving kind of place“[3]. They are now married and have a daughter, Nadja.[7] In 2007, he and Pereira collaborated a line of sweatshirts called 2nd Things. [8].
Solo discography
Albums
Singles
Remix(es)
- "Boneless" (remix of Notwist song "Boneless") on "Boneless" 7"
Discography with Jane
Discography with Animal Collective
Albums
- Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished (2000) - Animal
- Danse Manatee (2001) - Catsup Plate
- Hollinndagain (2002, 2006) - St. Ives, Paw Tracks
- Campfire Songs (March, 2003) - Catsup Plate
- Here Comes the Indian (June 17, 2003) - Paw Tracks
- Sung Tongs (May 3, 2004) - FatCat Records
- Feels (October 18, 2005) - FatCat
- Strawberry Jam (September 10, 2007) - Domino Records - (US #72)
- Merriweather Post Pavilion (January 12, 2009) - Domino Records - (US #13, UK #26)
References
- ^ a b YouTube video
- ^ a b Interview, The Milk Factory, March 2005.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Interview, Má Fama radio, January 8, 2007
- ^ Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam, PBS 106.7FM, 2007
- ^ Coyle, Jake. "Animal Collective Sings Alien Pop Tunes", The Washington Post, 2007-10-12.
- ^ Dickman, Orna. "A different breed of folk arrives" The Jerusalem Post October 16, 2008
- ^ Kelly, Jennifer. "Good Times, Other Realities: A Conversation with Panda Bear", PopMatters, March 26, 2007
- ^ 2ndthings @ Blogspot
External links
