TV On The Radio

Growing from Brooklyn-based experimenters into a highly acclaimed outfit, TV on the Radio mix post-punk, electronics, soul, funk, and more in vibrantly creative ways. This eclectic sonic blend -- heightened by David Andrew Sitek's enveloping production and Tunde Adepimbe and Kyp Malone's passionate vocals and songwriting -- immediately distinguished the band from their contemporaries within the early 2000s New York scene. TV on the Radio's intense yet inviting sound arrived more or less fully formed on 2003's Young Liars EP; on the following year's full-length Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, they embellished on their intense yet inviting sound brilliantly. Praise for their music only grew with 2006's Return to Cookie Mountain, which featured a cameo by David Bowie, one of the band's earliest and biggest fans. They continued to innovate on their later albums by adding more momentum on 2008's Dear Science, leaning into easy grooves on 2011's Nine Types of Light, and confronting loss with the clear-eyed meditations of 2014's Seeds. Later in the decade and into the 2020s, fiery live performances upheld TV on the Radio's reputation as one of alternative music's most dynamic acts. TV on the Radio began when multi-instrumentalist/producer David Andrew Sitek moved into the building where vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Tunde Adebimpe had a loft. They had each been recording music on their own, but realized their sounds worked well together, and shared a love of artists as wide-ranging as Brian Eno, Earth, Wind & Fire, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Prince. Sitek's brother Jason began playing drums and other instruments with the pair during their recording sessions, which resulted in OK Calculator, a self-released disc of four-track recordings. Jason Sitek left the band for a short time due to other musical commitments but returned to the band when it recorded its Touch & Go debut, July 2003's Young Liars EP. Also featuring the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Brian Chase and Nick Zinner, the EP quickly earned critical acclaim. After Young Liars was completed, TV on the Radio added vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Kyp Malone to the fold and toured with the Fall. To make their debut album, TV on the Radio recorded at Brooklyn's Headgear Studio with Sitek as producer. Appearing in March 2004, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes built on Young Liars' dense sonics; like that EP, the album received rave reviews and ultimately won that year's Shortlist Music Prize. That October, they released the New Health Rock EP, which paired the previously unreleased title track with songs from their debut album and a cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Modern Romance." The band remained busy for the rest of the year, embarking on headlining tours as well as dates with the Faint and Pixies. Though TV on the Radio's touring commitments extended into 2005, they found time to return to Sitek's Stay Gold studio to work on their second album, joined by drummer/multi-instrumentalist Jaleel Bunton and keyboardist Gerard Smith. They also made "Dry Drunk Emperor," a song criticizing President George W. Bush, available on their website. July 2006's Return to Cookie Mountain was the band's first album for 4AD (in the U.S., it was released by Interscope). Its lush, expansive sound was echoed in its many guests, which included Zinner, David Bowie, Celebration's Katrina Ford, and Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino. Return to Cookie Mountain became the band's first album to chart in multiple countries, reaching number 41 on the U.S. 200 Albums Chart, 90 on the U.K. Albums Chart, and appearing on charts in Europe and Australia. While touring in support of the album, the band invited Bauhaus' Peter Murphy and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor to perform Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Undead" and other songs with them. TV on the Radio went in a sleeker direction on their next album, September 2008's Dear Science. Rounded out performances by Ford, Antibalas, and saxophonist Colin Stetson among others, the album peaked at number 12 on the U.S. 200 Albums Chart and number 33 on the U.K. Albums Chart, and was certified gold in 2009 for its sales throughout Europe. Gang Gang Dance, the Glitch Mob, and Jneiro Jarel contributed to the Dear Science remix EP Read Silence, which appeared in April 2009. In September 2009, TV on the Radio began a year-long hiatus. During that time, Malone worked with his project Rain Machine and appeared on Iran's 2009 album Dissolver. Sitek produced Holly Miranda's The Magician's Private Library and formed the collaborative pop project Maximum Balloon, which released its self-titled debut in 2010. That year, TV on the Radio returned to record their fourth full-length, April 2011's Nine Types of Light. A mellower, more groove-oriented affair than the band's previous work, the album, like Dear Science, reached number 12 in the U.S. and 33 in the U.K. Shortly after Nine Types of Light's release, Smith died of lung cancer at age 34. Later in 2011, the band released World Cafe Live, taken from a set recorded for National Public Radio. Following their role as curators and headliners of 2013's All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands, England, TV on the Radio started work on their fifth album. Recorded in Sitek's home studio in Los Angeles, November 2014's Seeds was a reflective yet hopeful set of songs shaped by the loss of Smith. The album peaked at 22 on the 200 Albums Chart in the U.S. and at 78 on the U.K. Albums Chart. After the conclusion of the Seeds tour -- which included 2015 dates at Red Rocks Amphitheatre as well as the Shaky Knees festival -- TV on the Radio took another break. Sitek concentrated on production work, collaborating with artists such as Pussy Riot, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Weezer, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and Chelsea Wolfe. Malone pursued acting as well as music, snagging roles in the TV show Broad City and the sci-fi film Doors and producing and performing on Matana Roberts' 2023 album Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden. Similarly, Adepimbe balanced a successful acting career with making music. His TV credits included Adventure Time, The Girlfriend Experience, Perry Mason, and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and he performed in films such as Spider-Man: Homecoming, Marriage Story, and Twisters. Meanwhile, he collaborated with Mike Patton and Doseone as Nevermen, who released their self-titled debut album in 2016, and appeared on Run the Jewels' 2017 album Run the Jewels 3 among other projects. TV on the Radio toured in 2018 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Dear Science's release and played a 2019 show at Madison Square Garden opening for Weezer and Pixies, but didn't perform live again until late 2024, when they celebrated the 20th anniversary of Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes' release with a brief tour. They also issued a deluxe version of the album featuring demos and other bonus material. ~ Heather Phares The band went on hiatus following Dear Science. Malone worked on his own project, Rain Machine, and appeared on Iran's 2009 album Dissolver, while Sitek formed the collaborative pop project Maximum Balloon, which released its self-titled debut in 2010. As planned, their hiatus ended the following year, and TV on the Radio released their fifth album, Nine Types of Light, early in 2011. In March of that year, the band announced that bassist Gerard Smith, who had joined the TV on the Radio lineup in 2005, was suffering from lung cancer; the following month, on April 20, 2011, Smith passed away at the age of 34 as a result of the disease. Later that year, the band released World Cafe Live, taken from a set recorded for National Public Radio. Late in 2014, TV on the Radio returned with Seeds, a hopeful, streamlined-sounding set once again featuring production by Sitek.
© Heather Phares /TiVo