Animal Collective Tickets

Short Biography

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE

ARE RETURNING TO NEW ZEALAND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THREE YEARS, PLAYING AT THE POWERSTATION ON 14TH JANUARY 2013.

The band have been releasing music in one form or another for 15 years, and across a near uncountable slew of solo releases, collaborations and full-length albums have built up a matchless reputation as one of the most enigmatic and progressive bands in modern music.

Growing out of childhood friendships established on the rural outskirts of Baltimore on the East Coast of the United States, Animal Collective have honed an astonishingly broad and inviting sonic palette, which encompasses everything from tribal drums to field recordings, always remaining uniquely compelling due the richly textured melodic instincts of the band.

The 2000s were a long, steady swell for Animal Collective, as albums like 'Merriweather Post Pavillion', 'Feels' and 'Sung Tongs' earned endless plaudits including high placings in albums-of-the-decade lists from the likes of Pitchfork Media and Uncut magazine.  Despite the acclaim, and invitations to create installations at institutions as prestigious as the Guggenheim in New York, the band still have retained a cult-like aura, speaking to both the band's creative approach and the esteem in which they're held by their very ardent fans.

They arrive in New Zealand as a full four piece for the first time, touring their just-released 'Centipede Hz' album - described by the BBC as "dense and detailed, invigorating and intoxicating".

The band played the same venue in stripped down form in 2009, and the opportunity to witness their full line-up in the flesh will make this show one of the most hotly anticipated in years.

In-depth Biography
Animal Collective was formed in Baltimore County, MD, by longtime friends and musical collaborators Avey Tare (David Porter), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Deakin (Josh Dibb), and Geologist (Brian Weitz). With a penchant for genre-hopping and studio experimentation, the group began drawing comparisons to everyone from the Residents and the Flaming Lips to the Incredible String Band and the Holy Modal Rounders. Solo and side projects proved to be a continual occupation for most of the group's members, particularly Panda Bear (Young Prayer, Person Pitch) and Avey Tare (Pullhair Rubeye), but Animal Collective proved to be the most successful of all the musicians' ventures.

The Collective released its debut album, Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished (originally titled Avey Tare and Panda Bear) in 2000 on the band's own Animal imprint. It was the first in a pair of captivating releases; the other was 2001's Danse Manatee (originally titled Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Geologist), which explored the fringes and intersecting boundaries of freak folk, noise rock, ambient drone, and twisting, melodic psychedelia. The live album Hollinndagain, which documented the band's debut tour alongside Black Dice, arrived in 2002, followed by 2003's Campfire Songs and Here Comes the Indian, the first albums to commit to the name Animal Collective and the first to feature all four members. The latter record was released on the group's newly minted Paw Tracks label.

As the Collective's popularity grew, so did their reach, resulting in a distribution deal with English independent label Fat Cat, which issued their first two albums as a package deal and paved the way for subsequent releases. The band returned in May 2004 with the triumphant Sung Tongs, a mysterious, fragilely melodic album that garnered positive press both at home and overseas, resulting in a series of successful international tours. The Prospect Hummer EP, which featured a collaboration with underground British folk legend Vashti Bunyan, arrived in early 2005, followed by the commercially and critically acclaimed full-length Feels later in the year. The band released the People EP in 2006, followed by the much heralded full-length Strawberry Jam in 2007, the band's first for Domino Records.

Merriweather Post Pavilion, the group's eighth and most accessible record to date, was released in 2009. It cracked the Top 20 in America and peaked at number 26 in the U.K., making Animal Collective the toast of the international blogosphere while also establishing the group's strength as a commercial force. Touring kept the band busy for much of the year, but they did find some time to return to the studio and finish a short EP, Fall Be Kind, which appeared in November. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi