The Brooklyn-based group
TV on the Radio mixes post-punk, electronic, and other atmoshperic elements in such a creative way that it only makes sense that its core duo, vocalist
Tunde Adebimpe and multi-instrumentalist/producer
David Andrew Sitek, are both visual artists as well as musicians.
Adebimpe is a graduate of NYU's film school and specializes in stop-motion animation, which his Brothers Quay-like video for the
Yeah Yeah Yeahs single "Pin" demonstrates amply. He is also a painter, as is
Sitek, who also produced
the Yeah Yeah Yeahs'
Machine EP and their full-length
Fever to Tell.
The duo met when
Sitek moved into the building where
Adebimpe had a loft; each of them had been recording music on his own, but realized their sounds would work well together.
Sitek's brother Jason began playing drums and other instruments with the pair during their recording sessions, which resulted in a self-titled, 24-track CD released by the Brooklyn Milk imprint. Jason Sitek left the band for a short time due to other musical commitments but returned to the band when they recorded their Touch and Go debut, the
Young Liars EP.
After the EP was completed,
TV on the Radio added guitarist/vocalist
Kyp Malone to their fold.
Young Liars, which also features
the Yeah Yeah Yeahs'
Brian Chase and
Nick Zinner, was released in summer 2003 to critical acclaim, coinciding with their gigs opening for
the Fall. Their first full-length release,
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes arrived in spring 2004. The band remained busy for the rest of the year, embarking on their own tours as well as dates with
the Faint and
the Pixies. That fall, they released the
New Health Rock EP and won the 2004 Shortlist Prize.
In 2005, the band kept busy with touring and returned to
Sitek's Stay Gold studio to work on their second album. They also made an MP3 criticizing President George W. Bush, "Dry Drunk Emperor," available on their website.
TV on the Radio signed with 4AD for European distribution of their albums and moved to Interscope in the U.S. In summer 2006 they resurfaced with
Return to Cookie Mountain, a more polished but still searching collection of songs that featured
David Bowie on backing vocals. The band went in a sleeker direction on 2008's
Dear Science, which featured cameos from
Antibalas and
Celebration's
Katrina Ford. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide