James Scott "Jimmy" Tamborello, also known by his stage name Dntel , is an American

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

artist and DJ. Aside from his main solo project, Tamborello is also known as a member of the groups The Postal Service, Headset, and

Figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with clay ...

, where he is sometimes cited as James Figurine.

Personal life

Tamborello's father was a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

player, flautist, and a songwriter for many

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning " Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West ...

-based bands. His mother, Joyce Menges was an actress who starred in the sitcom '' To Rome with Love'' starring John Forsythe,

Kay Medford Margaret Kathleen Regan (September 14, 1919 – April 10, 1980), better known as Kay Medford, was an American actress. For her performance as Rose Brice in the musical '' Funny Girl'' and the film adaptation of the same name, she was nominated ...

, and Melanie Fullerton, in 1969, and later in the

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

film '' Now You See Him Now You Don't'', starring

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (1963–1964). In the late 1960s, he signed a ten-year contract with The ...

, in 1972.

Musical career and Dntel

Tamborello first began creating music in 1989, when he was in junior high school in Santa Barbara. His father bought him a drum machine, a sequencer, a keyboard and an eight track recorder, primarily for the possibility to create music on his own. Tamborello recorded an album under the name Antihouse in 1993, which was released the following year, then beginning work on the first Dntel EP. During these years, Tamborello attended

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

was a DJ and music director at KXLU. He engineered on several albums recorded at the station including " KXLU LIVE: Volume 1," for which he also designed the album artwork. Tamborello was also the bass player for a band known as Strictly Ballroom. The band was often described as "Enocore," as

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...

soundscapes were an important influence in their music. Strictly Ballroom recorded one album, ''Hide Here Forever'', which was released in 1997 on the Waxploitation Records label. They released a single in 1995 titled "Dear XXX" on the Chou Chou records label. A collection of the demos during the period of 1995 to 1997 was released as '' Early Works for Me If It Works for You'', in 1998, and work from the first Dntel EP was released as ''

Something Always Goes Wrong ''Something Always Goes Wrong'' is the second album by Dntel James Scott "Jimmy" Tamborello, also known by his stage name Dntel , is an American electronic music artist and DJ. Aside from his main solo project, Tamborello is also known as a ...

'', in 2000, both on the Phthalo label. As a pioneer of contemporary

glitch A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among ...

and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

, Dntel gained a cult following. After writing a track for the ''Voices in My Lunchbox'' collaboration for the Plug Research label, he was asked to work with them. Tamborello released a 12-inch LP, ''Anywhere Anyone'', in 2000. Tamborello released the debut Dntel full-length album, ''

Life Is Full of Possibilities ''Life Is Full of Possibilities'' is the third studio album by American electronic music producer Dntel. It was released on October 30, 2001 by Plug Research. "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan", a collaboration with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab ...

'', in 2001. The album featured several guest artists on vocals and instruments, including

Ben Gibbard Benjamin Gibbard (born August 11, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums, and as a membe ...

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (ke ...

Mia Doi Todd Mia Doi Todd (born June 30, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter. She was described by ''Dusted Magazine'' as "one of those artists that seem to function not just as creators in their own right, but as connecting links between other musicians." ...

, fellow Figurine member

Meredith Figurine Meredith Landman is an American singer and linguist. She is one of two vocalists for the band Figurine. She has also recorded the track "A Symphony for Eric B." for Simball Rec's ''45 seconds of'' compilation, sung "Diamond Ring" with Jason Co ...

, Chris Gunst of

Beachwood Sparks Beachwood Sparks are an American alternative country band from Los Angeles. An article in ''The Daily Telegraph'' on America's underground psychedelic pop scene described Beachwood Sparks as " country through a kaleidoscope". Biography The band ...

, Brian McMahan of Slint,

The For Carnation The For Carnation are a slowcore/post-rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1994. The band was formed by Brian McMahan, who is the only constant group member. McMahan's previous band Slint hinted at the distinctive sound and sombre aest ...

, and

Rachel Haden Rachel Haden (born October 11, 1971 in New York City) is an American musician and one of the triplet daughters of jazz bassist Charlie Haden. In the early 1990s, Haden played bass guitar for That Dog, a band that also included her sister Petra. ...

of that dog. The track " (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan" from the album was very well-received, which led to the song being released in 2002 as the only single from ''Life Is Full of Possibilities''. A remix of the song by

Superpitcher Aksel Schaufler better known by his stage name Superpitcher, is a German producer affiliated with Cologne's Kompakt music label. Background Superpitcher made his first appearance on Kompakt's ''Total 2'' compilation album in 2000 with the song ...

was voted the 17th best dance track of the decade by a

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. It was established in 2001. ''RA''s editorial team provides news, musi ...

poll in 2010. On April 24, 2007, Tamborello released his third album '' Dumb Luck'' on Subpop Records to generally positive critical reception. This, coinciding with Death Cab For Cutie's release, '' Narrow Stairs'' moved any future plans of The Postal Service recording past the end of the decade. Tamborello released a surprise new album called ''Hate In My Heart'' on August 2, 2018, through Leaving Records.

Figurine

Since 1994, Tamborello has also been a member of the

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

band

. Consisting of Tamborello (as James Figurine),

, and David Figurine, the trio were high school friends and created music based mostly on the theme of long distance love, releasing their debut album, ''

Transportation + Communication = Love ''Transportation + Communication = Love'' is the debut album by American electronic band Figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or anim ...

'', in 1999. The group released their second album, ''

The Heartfelt ''The Heartfelt'' is an album by Figurine, released in 2001. It was re-released in 2005. Critical reception '' Tiny Mix Tapes'' wrote that "there is little room to breathe, as we are continually fed the same staccato synth noises, coated with e ...

'', in 2001, and a remix album, ''

Reconfigurine ''Reconfigurine'' is a remix album by Figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. ...

'', in 2002. Tamborello released a solo album under the name James Figurine, ''

Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake ''Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake'' is an album by James Figurine, released in 2006 under the Plug Research record label. It includes ten tracks. Track listing # "55566688833" # "Leftovers" # "Ruining The Sundays" # "Pretend It's a Race and I'm ...

'', in 2006, featuring a

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may b ...

electronica style.

The Postal Service

The success of the collaboration between Tamborello and

on the song " (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan" from ''

'', which features lyrics and vocals from Gibbard, led the two to form their own side-project The Postal Service in 2001. The duo released their debut album, '' Give Up'', in 2003 on Sub Pop Records, receiving very positive reviews from critics and eventual platinum certification from the Recording Industry of America. The album spawned the successful singles "

Such Great Heights "Such Great Heights" is a song by American indie pop band The Postal Service. It was released as the lead single from their debut studio album, '' Give Up'', on January 21, 2003 through Sub Pop Records. The single includes a previously unreleas ...

", " The District Sleeps Alone Tonight", and " We Will Become Silhouettes". Along with additional member

Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child a ...

, who performed vocals on the album, the group toured in support of ''Give Up'' despite their main projects also being active at the time. The Postal Service became largely inactive after 2005, until 2013 when the group reunited for a tour to celebrate the tenth anniversary of ''Give Up''. However, on August 3, 2013, Ben Gibbard announced via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that The Postal Service would permanently disband after the tour. On December 9, 2009,

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

named the song "Such Great Heights" the 27th best song of the decade.

Other projects

Tamborello is also the host of a regular music show called ''Dying Songs'' heard on the internet radio station Dublab. In 2004, Tamborello was credited for programming on the song "

Take It Easy (Love Nothing) "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" is a single by Bright Eyes, released in October 2004. It, along with " Lua", took the top two spots on ''Billboard'' magazine's Hot Singles Sales chart, something that had not been accomplished by one artist since 19 ...

" by Bright Eyes, which reached number two on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

US Singles Chart The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in ...

. As Headset he collaborated with Plug Research record label owner Allen Avanessian and a number of guest

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

s on the 2004 album ''Space Settings''.

Equipment

Tamborello uses a large variety of electronic equipment to create his sound. He uses

Logic Pro Logic Pro is a digital audio workstation (DAW) and MIDI sequencer software application for the macOS platform. It was originally created in the early 1990s as Notator Logic, or Logic, by German software developer C-Lab which later went by E ...

for programming, a

Rode Rode may refer to: People *Ajmer Rode, Canadian writer *Bernd Michael Rode (born 1946), Austrian chemistry professor *Bernhard Rode (1725–1797), German painter *Ebbe Rode (1910–1998), Danish stage and film actor *Franc Rode (born 1934), Slove ...

k2 microphone for vocals, and Dynaudio Air series speakers. His studio has a

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The gloc ...

, Avalon Design VT-747sp compressor, MicroKorg, Elektron Machinedrum, Vostok Matrixsynth,

Elektron Monomachine The Elektron Monomachine is a synthesizer and music sequencer by Elektron. The Monomachine was available as SFX-60 model, which is a desktop sound module, and was available as the SFX-6 model, which has a keyboard and a joystick controller. Du ...

, Vermona Retroverb, Empirical Labs EL8X Distressor Compressor, MOTU MIDI Timepiece, Vermona DRM1 MKII (drum machine), Dave Smith Poly Evolver Rack,

Minimoog Voyager The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002 by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a s ...

, two Motu 828 MKII, Mackie 1604 mixer,

Kurzweil K2000 The Kurzweil K2000 is a digital synthesizer and music workstation produced by Kurzweil Music Systems between 1991 and 2000 in a variety of standard configurations, including rack-mountable versions and models that came with 16-bit user sampling. ...

synthesizer, Jomox Xbase 999, Moogerfooger MF-104Z Analog Delay, DigiTech IPS33 Smartshift Intelligent Pitch Shifter, Nord Modular G1, an

Omnichord The Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument introduced in 1981 by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It typically features a touch plate known as "Sonic Strings", preset rhythms, auto-bass line functionality, and buttons for ...

, accordions,

jingle bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed t ...

, Line 6 Delay, and an

M-Audio M-Audio (formerly Midiman) is a business unit of inMusic Brands that designs and markets audio and MIDI interfaces, keyboards and MIDI controllers, synthesizers, loudspeakers, studio monitors, digital DJ systems, microphones, and music softw ...

Radium MIDI controller.

Discography

Studio albums

*2001 – ''

'' ( Plug Research) *2006 – ''

'' ( Plug Research) (as James Figurine) *2007 – '' Dumb Luck'' (

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...

) *2012 – '' Aimlessness'' (Pampa) *2014 – ''

Human Voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

'' (Leaving Records) *2018 – ''Hate in My Heart'' (Leaving Records) *2021 – ''The Seas Trees See'' ( Morr Music) *2021 – ''Away'' (Morr Music)

Compilation albums

*1998 – '' Early Works for Me If It Works for You'' (Phthalo) *2001 – ''

'' (Phthalo) *2009 – '' Early Works For Me If It Works For You II'' (Phthalo)

EPs

*2001 – ''Anywhere Anyone'' ( Plug Research) *2002 – '' (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan'' ( Plug Research) *2010 – ''Early Works, Later Versions'' (Phthalo) *2010 – ''After Parties 1'' (

) *2010 – ''After Parties 2'' (

)

Singles

*2001 – "Season" (Vynalogica) *2002 –

Styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), commonly called "Blue Board", manufactured as foam continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and water barrie ...

/ Dntel Split ( Rocket Racer) *2006 – ''Jukebox Series #10'' (AIM Records) *2006 – ''Eleven Numbers'' (

Monika Enterprise Monika Enterprises is a Berlin, Germany-based independent record label. In 2001, Wallpaper magazine described the label's musical style as " cupying a twilight zone between electronic pop, easy listening and bedsit angst" and " earheading a new g ...

) (as James Figurine) *2006 – ''Forgive Your Friends'' (

) (as James Figurine) *2007 – ''Covers'' ( Plug Research) (as James Figurine) *2007 – "The Distance" ( Moshi Moshi) *2008 – "Dreams" – ''Lawrence Remixes'' (Deal) *2011 – "Jitters" / "Swells" (Edit) (Dying Songs) *2012 – ''Dntel – The Robag Wruhme Remixes'' (Pampa)

Other appearances

– '' Make the Cowboy Robots Cry'' (2002 ·

) *Giardini Di Mirò – ''Little Victories (Dntel Remix)'' (2002 · 2nd rec) *Barbara Morgenstern – ''Aus heiterem Himmel (Dntel Remix)'' (2003 ·

) * Bright Eyes – ''

'' (2004 ·

Saddle Creek Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...

) *

Rilo Kiley Rilo Kiley ( ) was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Dave Rock. The group released their debut album ''Take-Offs and Landings' ...

– '' Accidntel Deth'' (2004 · Brute/Beaute Records) * Bright Eyes – ''

Digital Ash in a Digital Urn ''Digital Ash in a Digital Urn'' is the seventh studio album by American band Bright Eyes, released on January 25, 2005 by Saddle Creek Records, the same day as their sixth album ''I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning''. It peaked at number 15 in the ...

'' (2005 ·

) *

Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

– ''Merge (Dntel Remix)'' (2005 · Kanine Records) *

– ''Deep at Sea (Dntel Remix)'' (2006 · City Zen Records) *Nobody & Mystic Chords of Memory – ''Feet Upon the Sand (Dntel Remix)'' (2006 · Mush) *Gudrun Gut – ''The Wheel (Dntel Remix)'' (2007 ·

) *

Idiot Pilot Idiot Pilot is an alternative rock duo from Bellingham, Washington, consisting of Michael Harris and Daniel Anderson. History After their previous band, pop-punk outfit Azero Cherry, broke up, high schoolers Michael Harris and Daniel Anders ...

– ''Cruel World Enterprise (Dntel Remix)'' (2007 ·

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

/ WEA) * Why? – ''By Torpedo or Crohn's (Dntel Remix)'' (2008 ·

Anticon Anticon (often styled as anticon.) is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It is now collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and m ...

) * Free Moral Agents – ''Sound At Sea (Dntel Remix)'' (2010 · Gold Standard Labs) *dné – ''Like Physical (Dntel Remix)'' (2012) *Mia Doi Todd – ''Little Bird (Dntel Remix)'' (2021 · City Zen Records) ;Notes 1. First edition released on 250 CD-Rs, later re-issued by Phthalo Records
2. Contains material recorded between 1994 and 2000
3. Reissue of ''Early Works for Me If It Works for You'', ''Something Always Goes Wrong'' plus additional material recorded between 1999 and 2003

References

External links

News and media

"Sometimes a song kind of turns 3D" – 2012 Dntel Interview at Drowned In Sound

2008 Dntel Interview at Bandega.com

Dntel Dumb Luck Announced
{{Authority control American electronic musicians Intelligent dance musicians Year of birth missing (living people) Living people The Postal Service members Sub Pop artists Plug Research artists