As we have moved on to the digital era, every 2nd person who can play the guitar thinks he is the next Jimmi Hendrix or Slash, and is producing songs and albums. The number of music releases per day has increased to such an extent that it is difficult to keep track of what is good and what is not. But there is something that separates regular artists from GOOD artists. In this section I will try and keep you updated about some new upcoming bands and artists that have the potential to make it big in the near future, and this time the featured artist is the New York based Indie Rock band – Vampire Weekend!
Vampire Weekend
Genre(s) - Indie rock, Worldbeat, Baroque pop
Members -
- Ezra Koenig : Lead vocals and guitar
- Rostam Batmanglij : Keyboards and guitar
- Chris Tomson : Drums
- Chris Baio : Bass guitar
Studio Albums – 2
- Vampire Weekend (2008)
- Contra (2010)
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L-R: Rostam Batmanglij, Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, Christopher Tomson (laying down)
From the beginning itself, the catchy name grabs your attention and as you can well imagine there is a very interesting story behind it. The lead singer Ezra Koeing was deeply inspired by the movie Lost Boys and started working on an amateur movie with his friends named ‘Vampire Weekend’. The film never got made but the band borrowed the name.
The band become an internet sensation in 2008 and their debut album was being shared months before its official release. All the members of this New York based band met when they were attending Colombia University and produced their first studio album after graduation along with their actual full time jobs. The band feels that their music is a mixture of a lot of popular music genres and it is difficult to just put it under one. Some people also judge the music to have African Influences.
The band released their debut single ‘Mansard Roof’ on October 23 , 2007.
The fourth single by the band, “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (released on 18 August 2008), was rated 67th best song of 2007 by Rolling Stone magazine.
Click Music described the track as “beautiful, high-brow indie-pop sparklers that feel like sunshine and roll through the body like smoke expelled from Sinatra’s lungs” .
Vampire Weekend ( 2008 )
Vampire Weekend Cover
This was the first studio albums and debuted the Billboard 200 at number 17.It peaked at number 11 in UK Charts and 30,000 odd copies were sold in just a few days after release. Some parts of the albums were actually recorded in basements , a barn and apartments of the members. The locations also affected the sound of the recording.
The albums has 11 tracks and 2 Japanese bonus tracks. Some of the good songs from the album are : “Mansard Roof” , “Oxford Comma” , “A-Punk” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” .
The Song ‘Oxford Comma’ is really catchy and gained worldwide popularity. It was also featured in one of the episodes of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and also the movie ‘I Love You, Man’.
Contra ( 2010 )
Contra Album Cover
This is the second studio album and was released on 11th January 2010.Yes you got that right ,the name has indeed been taken from the legendary video game Contra.
The album debuted at number 1 on Billboard 200.The music is slightly heavier and more adventurous than the first album , experimenting with an even broader array of world-music textures and beats.
The album has 10 tracks with 2 bonus tracks.
‘Cousins’ was the first from single released from Contra. It was recorded by the band in Mexico City and was on released November 17, 2009 .
Find Out More about Vampire Weekend Here
They are different. They are good. Do check them out and let us know if you liked them. Chip in with the kind of music you are hooked on to right now.
