Battles

When American band Battles played their first gig in 2003 they were almost instantly labelled as a ‘super group.’ Delve deeper into the four pieces background and you can see why it’s a more than appropriate association.

Battles are - guitarist and keyboardist Ian Lawrence (formally Don Caballero), vocalist Tyondai Braxton (son of the jazz musician Anthony Braxton), bassist Dave Konopka (guitarist in Lynx), and drummer, John Stanier (formerly of Helmet).

The group’s origins can be traced back to 2000 when Williams – who has been heralded as the pioneer of the genre Math rock - was playing solo shows across New York City. It was at one of these shows where the guitarist bumped into Braxton and they decided to do something together. From here, Battles continued to grow organically with Williams adding Konopka, who his previous band had toured with and then Stanier who was keen to go in a new musical direction. Suddenly, Battles were born.

The band released their debut EP, entitled, ‘EP C’ in June 2004 after gaining a notable reputation on the live scene for their experimental and warped technical abilities. The EP was soon followed by, ‘B EP’ in September 2004.

Following the success of their debut EP’s the band were signed to Warp Records towards the end of 2006. Warp’s first decision was to group the bands two debut EP’s into a single package in order to make the band more commercially viable in Europe. Entitled, ‘EP C/ B EP,’ the ‘album’ brought the band new recognition around the globe and meant that they continued to tour extensively throughout 2006.

The band released their debut album, ‘Mirrored,’ May 2007 to much critical acclaim and will play a number of festival dates across the world during 2007.