Faunts is an

electronic rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...

band, formed in 2000

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Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada, by Paul Arnusch and brothers Steven and Tim Batke. Faunts creates ambient music by arranging electronic beats with rock music, synthesizers, and drums. In 2009 the band was described as "slow-motion shoegazers reborn as purveyors of luminous and deeply affecting electronic pop."

History

Faunts was formed in the fall of 2000 by musicians Paul Arnusch, Steven Batke, and Tim Batke. Their debut album, '' High Expectations/Low Results'', was released in 2003 by

Friendly Fire Recordings Friendly Fire Recordings is an independent record label based in Brooklyn that was founded by Dan Koplowitz in 2004. Bands under the label include Asobi Seksu, Faunts and David & the Citizens. Friendly Fire is distributed in the United States by R ...

and was met with a positive reception. In 2005, the band began writing their first EP, '' M4''. Faunts desired to have their music crafted to accompany short films for the Film and Video Arts Society. Keyboardist Joel Hitchcock and mixer Rob Batke joined the band, and Dave Swanson and Nathan Seattler assisted with writing the album's lyrics. ''M4'' released in 2006 and achieved notoriety when the song "M4, Pt. II" was featured in the final credits of

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's 2007 video game ''

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''. This raised the band's profile and "a sizeable new audience was exposed to Faunts’ moody, subdued melodies." On November 18, 2008, Faunts released a remix album titled ''Faunts Remixed'', featuring remixes by acts such as Mark Templeton and DVAS. This was followed by their second full studio album, '' Feel.Love.Thinking.Of'', which was released on February 17, 2009 and is the result of songwriting over the course of touring across America. The song "Das Malefitz" was featured during the final credits of ''

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''. On November 17, 2012, the band released "Left Here Alone," described by a press release as "an offering of a handful of unreleased yet essential songs that fill in the empty spaces between ''High Expectations/Low Results'' and ''M4'' in Faunts' evolutionary map. Listening to this record is like traveling through the band's back catalogue." Between ''Feel.Love.Thinking.Of'' and ''Ostalgia,'' Tim Batke formed the band Duplekita with fourteen friends from other bands, and Rob Batke left Faunts indefinitely to pursue a solo career under the pseudonym Artisan Loyalist. On February 12, 2016, Faunts announced the upcoming release of ''Ostalgia'', "a five-volume compilation of new music." Volume 1, released August 12, 2016, is a five-part song titled "Thirty-Three," the sound of which hearkens back to the band's early work while exploring new musical territory. On September 9, 2017, Faunts announced on their Facebook page they were "Busy working on Volume 2 and are planning to release a new single soon." On August 27, 2019, the band released a new single titled "There Will Be Blood".

Members

Current

*Steven Batke -

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

*Tim Batke - vocals, guitar,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

*Paul Arnusch -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Former

*Joel Hitchcock - keyboard *Rob Batke - keyboard,

laptop A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a Clamshell design, clamshell form factor (design), form factor with a flat-panel computer scree ...

*Scott Gallant -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Discography

Studio albums

*'' High Expectations/Low Results'' (October 18, 2005) *'' Feel.Love.Thinking.Of'' (February 17, 2009)

EPs

*'' M4'' (December 11, 2007) *''Left Here Alone'' (November 17, 2012) *''Ostalgia, Volume 1'' (August 12, 2016)

Remix albums

*''Remixed'' (November 18, 2008)

Singles

*"There Will Be Blood" (August 27, 2019)

References

External links

Faunts' Bandcamp pageThere Will Be Blood Song Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faunts Canadian indie rock groups Canadian experimental musical groups Canadian post-rock groups Canadian dream pop musical groups Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups from Edmonton Canadian post-punk revival music groups 2000 establishments in Alberta