Takka Takka
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Takka Takka is an American indie rock band from
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,
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. Performing since 2006, the band's members include Gabe Levine, Conrad Doucette, Rene Planchon and Craig Montoro (formerly of Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!). Takka Takka began when Levine returned from a "near-disastrous" year in
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Back in
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, he began recording demos of new material, and recruited some old friends to help him work out a live set. Takka Takka soon played its first show in a basement in Williamsburg in March 2006. Takka Takka's constantly rotating line has seen a new band with each album. Doucette and Levine remain the only constant members. In April 2006, the group began recording in the Brooklyn studio Seaside Lounge, resulting in their first album, ''We Feel Safer at Night''. The album impressed
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is an indie rock band active since the early 2000s in and out of Philadelphia. The band was founded as a collaboration between singer-songwriter Alec Ounsworth, Sean Greenhalgh, Robbie Guertin, Lee Sargent, and Ty ...
, who invited the band to accompany them on a high-profile U.S. tour in fall 2006. Takka Takka traveled to Britain in February 2007 to play their first
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
gigs, and to Austin, Texas, for
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in March 2007. In May 2007, the band signed to Ernest Jenning Record Co. Takka Takka recorded a cover version of
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
' "
In the Air Tonight "In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album, ''Face Value (album), Face Value'', in January 1981. It was selected as the s ...
" for
Engine Room Recordings Engine Room Recordings is an independent record label with a roster of indie rock and alternative rock musicians. Beyond marketing and distribution for its artists, the label does booking and artist management. Engine Room Recordings is part of th ...
' compilation album ''
Guilt by Association Vol. 2 ''Guilt by Association Vol. 2'' is a compilation album released November 18, 2008 by Engine Room Recordings. Like its predecessor, ''Guilt by Association Vol. 1'', it features indie rock artists covering well-known pop and R&B songs. Overview Th ...
'', which was released in November 2008. In 2008, Takka Takka released their second full-length album, ''Migration''. Produced by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's drummer,
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, ''Migration'' was a departure from their first album. On ''Migration'', Takka Takka explored minimalistic synthesizer soundscapes, African guitars and percussion poly-rhythms. The album features
Bryan Devendorf Bryan Devendorf is an American drummer. He is best known as a founding member of the indie rock band The National, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums. Devendorf is also a member of the experimental rock bands Pfarmers and LNZNDRF. In ...
, the drummer for The National and sometime percussionist for Takka Takka. ''Migration'' was released to semi-critical praise receiving positive reviews from the ''
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'' and Pitchfork.com. ''Migration'' was released in Europe in 2010 by Lili-is-pi records which brought the band to tour continental Europe for the first time. In an interview at SXSW 2011, Takka Takka announced that they were working on a new album called ''Mover / Believer''. The album was eventually released as ''A.M. Landscapes'' on November 20, 2012, by Ernest Jenning Record Co. The album was produced by Phil Palazzolo (
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,
Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...
,
Nicole Atkins Nicole Atkins (born October 1, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter. Her influences include 1950s crooner music, 1960s psychedelia, soul music, and the Brill Building style of writing. Atkins has been compared to Roy Orbison and singers from t ...
) and had contributions from
Bryan Devendorf Bryan Devendorf is an American drummer. He is best known as a founding member of the indie rock band The National, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums. Devendorf is also a member of the experimental rock bands Pfarmers and LNZNDRF. In ...
(The National), Kyle Resnick (
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), Tim Albright, Hideaki Aomori, Alex Sopp and the Osso Quartet, as well as arrangements by Michael Atkinson. Levine released a solo album under the name Gabriel and the Hounds in 2011. Doucette has occasionally performed as a live percussionist with The National, most notably during New York stops on the band's ''
High Violet ''High Violet'' is the fifth studio album by The National, which was released on May 10, 2010, in Europe and on May 11, 2010, in North America via 4AD. The band produced the album themselves, assisted by Peter Katis with whom they worked on t ...
'' tour. In March 2012, he performed with
Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...
of the
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and members of The National for a
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awareness-raising webcast performance called The Bridge Session. In 2016 Doucette served as Co-Curator and performer on
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, a tribute to the Grateful Dead spearheaded by The National and released on
4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...
. Doucette also appears on Blue Mountain, a
Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...
solo album conceived and created by Weir as well as musicians involved with the 2012 The Bridge Session performance.


Members

* Gabriel Levine – vocals, keyboard, guitar * Craig Montoro – bass guitar * Conrad Doucette – drums, percussion


Discography

* ''Fall Apart Art'' (EP, 2006) * ''We Feel Safer at Night'' (LP, 2006) * ''Talk Faster'' (EP, 2007) * ''Migration'' (LP, 2008) * ''A.M. Landscapes'' (LP, 2012)


References


External links

*
''New York Times'' review''Pitchfork'' review''Time Out New York''

''Spin'' magazine

''The L'' magazine's Top 20 Albums of 2006''NME''

''Paper'' magazine
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups from Brooklyn