Death from Above 1979

"We wanted our band to be like an elephant in your living room," says Jesse F. Keeler, one half of Death from Above 1979. "That’s why we gave ourselves trunks."

Of course there have been two-piece bands before. The two-piece is indelibly engrained in the lexicon of rock: the Righteous Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, the Chemical Brothers, the White Stripes. It is fair to say, however, that none before have managed to make as much noise with as little instrumentation as Death from Above 1979. Death from Above 1979 is a two-piece: two friends who met in prison, Jesse F.Keeler and Sebastien Grainger, who now live in a funeral parlor in Toronto. To hear them on record, it is hard to believe that (with the exception of the odd flute sample or moog oscillation) the only instruments being played are bass and drums. It’s a bit like Queen writing "no one played synthesizers" in the liner notes of their early albums. With Death from Above 1979, no one played guitars. "We don’t need them, and besides, why would we want to put anyone else on the payroll?"

So from where does this almost militant attitude toward the guitar come? Clearly, Death from Above 1979 is a band that rocks--really, really, really rocks--but they also understand dance music. "We have both always listened to dance music. It runs along the same road as rock music. Most hip hop and dance music is made with just bass and drums, so we wanted to see how far we could go with just those instruments. We wanted the music to be stripped down…and sweaty". Death from Above 1979 is trying to make as much noise as possible without compromising that ideal. Or compromising on anything else, for that matter.

"We have very primal ideas about everything," explains Sebastien. "Our music is an expression of those primal ideas. Ultimately we want our songs to make people completely lose it."

Death from Above 1979 recently completed a remarkable debut visit to the UK that involved tours with good bands like the Futureheads and shitty ones like the Killers, which also included three headlining shows in one night, and one indescribable date in a 15-year-old fan’s front room. The NME writes, "In the corner two inspired 13-year-old girls are discussing forming a death metal band."

After two EPs on Ache and Sonic Virus, Death from Above 1979 recorded their debut album You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine for VICE Records. Look for their first single and video, "Romantic Rights",along with US shows in September and the VICE Records Tour in November and December.