Ariel Pink

Ariel Pink

Ariel Pink in 2010
Background information
Birth name Ariel Marcus Rosenberg
Born (1978-06-24) June 24, 1978
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • producer
  • singer-songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • various instruments
Years active 1996–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website ariel-pink.com

Ariel Marcus Rosenberg (born June 24, 1978), better known by his stage name Ariel Pink, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer based in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his musical eclecticism, influenced by 1970s and 80s pop radio and cassette culture.[2][3] He first gained recognition after signing to Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label in 2003, where several of his limited-edition home recordings were first reissued.[2] He has since signed to 4AD and released three studio albums on the label.

Biography

Ariel Pink was born on June 24, 1978,[4] the son of Mario Z. Rosenberg and Linda Rosenberg-Kennett.[5] His father, a gastroenterologist, was born in Mexico City and his family is Jewish.[5][6][7] His parents divorced when he was two years old.[8] Rosenberg was raised in the Beverlywood[9] area of Los Angeles, in his youth, he attended Beverly Hills High School and later entered the California Institute of the Arts studying visual art. After dropping out, he joined a Hindu ashram before focusing on music, wanting to "hide my personality, I could sing in different voices, use cover pictures that looked nothing like me".[8]

Working at a record store, Rosenberg developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the pop canon, listening and absorbing everything from Michael Jackson and '80s radio pop to more obscure, experimental music, 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.[10] He started writing songs at "around age 10"[9] and has since recorded over 500 songs in various shapes and forms on hundreds of cassette tapes, the majority of which have never been released.[11]

Rosenberg's early recordings, often conspicuously DIY, foregrounded a distinctive lo-fi sound[12] that has since gone on to inspire various artists and styles, most notably chillwave in the mid-2000s. His approach subverts the common privileging of songwriting over production, making the recording medium and sound texture a large part of the artwork itself.[13][14] Pink produces and plays almost all of his own music, and, in his early days, was noted for creating drum sounds and effects using his mouth.[15][16] Despite having a low profile in the mid-to-late nineties, his self-recorded music was considered to be influential on the development of the DIY culture in music.[17]

Career

In the summer of 2003, Pink passed a CD-R on to Baltimore, Maryland-based band Animal Collective[10][18] 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 in the CD-booklet that it

“ 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,[16] making Pink the first non-Animal Collective musician on the label.[19] The next year, the label reissued The Doldrums, an album which had been originally recorded in 1999, described by John Maus as "it achieved something completely unforeseen with the language of pop." Paw Tracks (now co-owned by Carpark Records) 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, the work gradually received recognition.[20]

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.[21]

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'.[22] 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.[23] He released a new mp3 single "Round and Round" in March 2010, marking a studio quality departure from his former lo-fi recordings.[24] 4AD released it as a 7" single, backed with "Mistaken Wedding".[25] A new album, Before Today, followed on June 8, 2010.[26] 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".[27]

Ariel Pink circa 2010

In December 2010, Pitchfork named "Round and Round" the number 1 song on their list of The Top 100 Tracks of 2010.[28] 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.[29]

In 2011, JesusWarhol Records released a four-song EP featuring Ariel Pink called the Similarly Different EP.[30] The EP was a collaboration between Pink and another Los Angeles artist called coL. Together, the act was called Atheif.[31]

On August 20, 2012, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti released a new album, Mature Themes, to critical acclaim.[32]

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.[33] In interviews supporting the release, Pink made a number of controversial[34] comments.[8]

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.

Discography

Studio albums

References

  1. ↑ "vdo_presskit_en.pdf" (PFD). Dropbox. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 Ariel Pink by Simon Reynolds | Field Day Festival
  3. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti | Biography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  4. ↑ Harkin, Michael (May 5, 2010). "LA Story: Ariel Pink and Warpaint Contemplate Fake Michael Jacksons, First Crushes, and 10 Days of Silence. | XLR8R". XLR8R. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Beta, Andy (September 13, 2012). "Cover Story: Ariel Pink | Features | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  6. ↑ Carew, Anthony. "Ariel Pink Interview – An Interview with Ariel Rosenberg of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (Part 2)". About.com. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  7. ↑ Turner, Gustavo (May 20, 2010). "Pitchfork Deliberately Quotes Ariel Pink Out of Context to Make Him Seem Anti-Semitic | West Coast Sound | Los Angeles | Los Angeles News and Events | LA Weekly". LA Weekly. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Samadder, Rhik (November 15, 2014). "Ariel Pink: 'I'm not that guy everyone hates'". The Guardian.
  9. 1 2 Simonini, Ross (January 13, 2006). "Interview with Ariel Pink – Identity Theory". Identity Theory. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Griffey, Mark (March 14, 2005). "Junkmedia: Ariel Pink | An Interview with Ariel Pink". Junkmedia. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  11. ↑ Hoinski, Michael (April 14, 2005). "The Weirdo | Music | Los Angeles | Los Angeles News and Events | LA Weekly".
  12. ↑ "Worn Copy - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffit". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Secret, Ben (June 29, 2007). "Noise-Pop Recording Artist Ariel Pink | Dazed Digital Incoming from UK Magazine Dazed & Confused". Dazed Digital. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  14. ↑ Rebick, Stephanie (2011). "Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti". Left Hip Magazine. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  15. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (April 22, 2005). "Animal Collective "Sung Tongs" Fat Cat Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "Worn Copy" Paw Tracks". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Tiny Mix Tapes News: Ariel Pink Tours With or Without Farty Armpit Sounds?". Tiny Mix Tapes. July 14, 2008. Archived from the original on July 18, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  17. ↑ Richardson, Mark (June 7, 2010). "Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: Before Today | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Uncut Magazine - Ariel Pink". Angelfire.com. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Ariel Pink". Paw-tracks.com. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  20. ↑ "NERO-PDF-SI.pdf" (PDF). Nero. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  21. ↑ "DISCORDER Ariel Pink February 2006". Web.archive.org. Archived from [discorder.citr.ca/features/06ariel.html the original] Check |url= value (help) on May 25, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  22. ↑ http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?fid=69547631. Retrieved August 4, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ↑ "4AD signs Ariel Pink". Music Week. November 26, 2009. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  24. ↑ "New Ariel Pink: "Round and Round" | News". Pitchfork. March 12, 2010. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  25. ↑ Archived July 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  26. ↑ Archived April 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  27. ↑ "Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: Before Today | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. June 7, 2010. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  28. ↑ "Staff Lists: The Top 100 Tracks of 2010 | Features". Pitchfork. December 13, 2010. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  29. ↑ "ATP: All Tomorrow's Parties". Atpfestival.com. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Atheif - Similarly Different". Jesuswarhol.com. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  31. ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Atheif-Similarly-Different/release/6930094
  32. ↑ "Review – Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti – Mature Themes". Nymn.com. August 21, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  33. ↑ "pom pom is Ariel Pink's third studio album for 4AD, following his Haunted Graffiti releases Before Today (2010) and Mature Themes (2012)". 4AD. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  34. ↑ Diego Ballani (November 21, 2014). "Ariel Pink. Pop Malgrado tutto" (in Italian). sentireascoltare.com.

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