Ariel Pink

Working at a record store, Rosenberg carried an immense knowledge of the pop canon, listening and absorbing everything from Michael Jackson and 80's radio pop to obscure experimental artists such as R. Stevie Moore, Throbbing Gristle, Can and death metal. He has cited The Cure - particularly their early albums - as his favorite band of all time. He started writing songs at "around age 10" and has since recorded over 500 songs in various shapes and forms on hundreds of cassette tapes, the majority of which has never been released. Pink produces and plays almost all of his own music, and, in his early days, is noted for creating drum sounds and effects using his mouth, creating an unmistakably and highly original sound. This recording technique gave his music a very lo-fi sound, which was heavily criticized upon initial release, yet has since gone on to inspire innumerable imitators and other artists, oddly making Rosenberg a pioneer of a large array of modern genres. He was one of the first artists to subvert the idea that songwriting is more important than production, being a pioneer of making the recording medium and sound texture a large part of the artwork itself. Despite having an initially extremely slow rise since the mid-to-late nineties, Ariel Pink's music persona and approach to self-recorded music have been hugely influential on contemporary music culture as a whole. Career: In the summer of 2003, Pink passed a CD-R on to Baltimore, Maryland based band Animal Collective at a random gig after being introduced by a mutual friend at one of their shows. Unbeknownst to Pink, Animal Collective had recently started their own record label, Paw Tracks. Recalling the time, the band says the CD " sat on the floor of the van for a week or so .... One day, we noticed it and randomly threw it on and were immediately blown away. It was just like 'Woah, what is this!? We knew it could have only been made by this individual, and so made it our goal to officially release his records on our new label.' Several weeks later they contacted him to sign him on Paw Tracks, making Pink the first non-Animal Collective musician on the label. The next year, the label reissued The Doldrums, an album which had been originally recorded in 1999. It is considered his most cohesive and groundbreaking work, with fan, friend and collaborator John Maus saying "it achieved something completely unforeseen with the language of pop." Paw Tracks (now co-owned by Carpark Records) soon after released two other reissues of Pink's previous recordings, Worn Copy and House Arrest. " Although the music was widely misunderstood at the time, over the years, Pink has gradually caught the attention of fans and media sources around the world, with many now deeming his earlier work as way ahead of its time. In 2006, Pink's collaboration with Holy Shit front-man Matt Fishbeck led to the release of Stranded at Two Harbors. Having been primarily a recording artist up until this point, Pink's early solo tours and performances were generally met with much negativity, because "it was music that was never intended to be performed live for commercial audiences." However, after initially spending years playing shows with pre-recorded music, karaoke style, Pink slowly attracted what would become his full-time band, composed of renowned musicians who have since helped bring his recordings to life. The band, known as Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, consisted of keyboardist/guitarist/backing vocalist Kenny Gilmore, drummer/vocalist/guitarist Jimi Hey, and guitarist Cole M.G.N. (Ethnik Klensr, The Samps, Nite Jewel), and bassist Tim Koh'. Consistent touring with a fixed band lineup led to a much more accessible and musically tighter show for concert goers. In November 2009, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti was signed to 4AD records. He released a new mp3 single "Round and Round" in March 2010, marking a studio quality departure from his former lo-fi recordings. 4AD released it as a 7" single, backed with "Mistaken Wedding". A new album, Before Today, followed on June 8, 2010.Before Today was recognized by Pitchfork in their "Best New Music" category. The album includes some new versions of songs released on previous records, notably "L'Estat (acc. to the widow's maid)", "Round and Round" (formerly titled "Frontman/Hold On (I'm Calling)") and "Beverly Kills". In December 2010, Pitchfork named "Round and Round" the number 1 song on their list of The Top 100 Tracks of 2010. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti were chosen by Animal Collective to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that they curated in May 2011. On August 20, 2012, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti released a new album, Mature Themes, to critical acclaim. On November 17, 2014, Ariel Pink released pom pom, which was his first studio release without his band moniker Haunted Graffiti. The album includes several songs written by Kim Fowley, who wrote them from his hospital bed for Ariel to perform. Since early 2014, the band has expanded to include Australian artist and musician Shags Chamberlain, as well as Don Bolles, the drummer from LA punk legends The Germs.