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Ratatat

Ratatat

Formed:
2001

  • Genre: Rock
  • Active: 2000s
  • Major Members: Mike Stroud, Evan Mast

Biography

Formerly known as Cherry, New York's rock-meets-electronica duo Ratatat features multi-instrumentalist/programmer Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud. Mast is also the brains behind the pretty laptop pop of E*vax, and with his brother E*Rock he runs the indie electronic label Audio Dregs. Stroud also plays, in the studio and on tour, with artists including Ben Kweller and Dashboard Confessional. Between these duties (and Mast's job as a graphic designer), the duo found time to work on their collaboration. Mast worked beats and song ideas in his bedroom studio, which he gave to Stroud to develop while the guitarist was on the road. Though Mast and Stroud began working together in 2001, things began to really come together for the pair in 2003: in May, while they were still called Cherry, they played their first gig; by September they changed their name to Ratatat; and that November they issued their first single on Audio Dregs, which had a limited run of 1,100 copies. Dates with Franz Ferdinand, Interpol, and Batles followed, and Ratatat signed to XL Records. The duo's self-titled debut album arrived in spring 2004, coinciding with another round of dates with bands including !!!, Electrelane, and Tortoise, and two years later their sophomore record, Classics, was released. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Representative Albums:

Classics, Ratatat

Similar Artists:

Velella Velella, Out Hud, !!!, Plone

Influences:

Daft Punk

Followers:

Panther
 
 
Wikipedia: Ratatat
Ratatat
Birth name Evan Mast, Mike Stroud
Origin New York City
Genre(s) Electronic, Alternative, Hip hop
Instrument(s) Guitar, Bass, Synthesizer
Years active 2001 – present
Label(s) XL Recordings, Rex Records
Website Official Website

Ratatat is a New York City electronic music duo consisting of guitarist Mike Stroud and synthesizer driver and producer Evan Mast.

History

Mike Stroud and Evan Mast, met as Skidmore College students, but did not work together until they recorded "Cherry" in 2001, a track that later would end their debut album. Their 2004 debut, Ratatat, was written and recorded in Mast's Crown Heights, Brooklyn apartment on Stroud's PowerBook.[1] This album is entirely instrumental, except for occasional excerpts of dialogue at the beginning and end of some tracks.

The band started out on the independent label Rex Records, on which they released their first single, Seventeen Years. They released that single again on Evan and his brother's record label Audio Dregs. They then signed for XL Recordings, releasing their debut album and the single Germany to Germany. Ratatat occasionally remix other artists' songs, most notably on their limited 2004 release Ratatat Remixes Vol. 1 which garnered the attention of Rolling Stone, as well as the later second volume.

Both musicians have had experience with other projects, such as Mast's E*vax and Stroud's stage work with Ben Kweller, and Dashboard Confessional. Ratatat has toured with bands such as Mouse on Mars, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, CSS, The Faint, Clinic, The Killers and more recently they supported Mogwai in Japan.

On October 10, 2006 a new demo album from Ratatat entitled 9 Beats was leaked on the Internet. This new set of tracks is not listed on any discography associated with the band. They are all short instrumental electronic musical pieces.[2]

Recently a new remixes album has been released. Titled Ratatat Remixes Vol 2.. It again features a variety of rappers such as Bun B, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, Slim Thug, Devin the Dude, Young Jeezy, T.I., Beanie Sigel, Pimp C, Ludacris, Young Buck, Saigon, Juvenile, Z-ro, Memphis Bleek, Kanye West and exclusive tracks from rappers Despot and Beans. A CD has been available for purchase ($5) at April 2007 live shows. The album leaked on March 27, 2007. It has been rumored that they would be signed by Star Trak as the understudies of the Neptunes.

Several of the mixtape tracks feature beats from 9 Beats as their backing music:[3]

  • Memphis Bleek’s Alright uses beat #1
  • Young Buck’s Shorty Wanna Ride uses beat #2
  • Notorious B.I.G.'s Dead Wrong uses beat #3
  • Young Buck, T.I., The Game & Ludacris’s Stomp uses beat #4 (This song is a mix of the two versions of the song. it switches from T.I. to The Game at various times in their respective verses.)
  • Slim Thug, Bun B, and T.I.’s 3 Kings uses beat #6

Mast recently collaborated with ex-Shudder to Think vocalist Craig Wedren on a record for Tokyo independent label, Mold Recordings.

Discography

Studio albums

Ratatat
(April 20 2004)
XL Recordings
Ratatat Remixes Vol. 1
(2004)
Self-released
Classics
(August 22 2006)
XL Recordings
Ratatat Remixes Vol. 2
(2007)
Self-released

Singles

Song Album Date Label
"Seventeen Years" (US Release) Ratatat 2003 Rex Records
"Seventeen Years" (UK Release) Ratatat November 25 2003 Audio Dregs
"Germany to Germany" Ratatat October 4 2004 XL Recordings
"Wildcat" Classics July 25 2006 XL Recordings
"Lex" Classics October 30 2006 XL Recordings
"Loud Pipes" Classics 2007 XL Recordings

Remixes

Artist Title Year
Shout Out Louds "The Comeback - Big Slippa Remix by Ratatat" 2005
The Knife "We Share Our Mothers' Health - Ratatat Remix" 2006
Biz Markie "Just a Friend - Remix by Ratatat" 2006
Television Personalities "You Kept Me Waiting Too Long - Ratatat Remix" 2007

Interviews

Uses in media

The song "Seventeen Years" has been featured in a Hummer television commercial, on British television show Soccer AM's "Crossbar Challenge" segment and in Level One Productions's ski movie Shanghai Six.[1]

The song "Lex" has been featured in a Zune commercial.[2]

In February of 2007 Cartoon Network aired a commercial for My Gym Partner Is a Monkey in which "Wildcat" played in the background. An episode of the same show contained over two minutes of the song, edited slightly with a few parts cut out.

In 2007, "Loud Pipes" was used in the soundtrack of 989 Sports "MLB 07 - The Show".

The movie "Knocked Up" [2007], played "Tropicana" during the various gestation time lapse scenes within the story.

The website GOOD Magazine used the song "Gettysburg" in an animated video about nuclear weapon proliferation. [http://youtube.com/watch?v=N-lADZG6-PI YouTube Video

Numerous Ratatat works have been featured in excerpts on NPR (National Public Radio)

References

  1. ^ http://www.level1productions.com/movies.php?id=26
  2. ^ https://www.zune-arts.net/

External links

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Artist. Copyright © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ® , a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ratatat".  Read more

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