Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

All Music Guide:

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti crafts lo-fi recordings full of intrigue -- and full of contradictions. The Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist Pink writes songs that are melodic, catchy, and familiar -- and in their own unorthodox way, recall the most immediate, accessible, straightforward FM pop/rock of the '70s and '80s. As a songwriter, Pink has a real sense of pop/rock craftsmanship, with influences ranging from David Bowie, John Lennon, the Bee Gees, Hall & Oates, and the Raspberries to Frank Zappa, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, and late-'70s/early-'80s new wave. However, his very muddy way of producing and his oddball, kooky sound effects make his project sound highly eccentric. Pink recorded his first Haunted Graffiti project, The Doldrums, in 1999 and 2000; that disc was followed by Vital Pink a few years later. At first, The Doldrums and Vital Pink were only CD-Rs that Pink burned on his home computer and circulated himself, but in 2004 Pink landed a record deal with Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label, making him the first artist on the imprint that didn’t belong to that group. In October 2004, the label reissued The Doldrums, adding the Vital Pink material as well.

Likewise, Worn Copy, which was originally issued by Rhystop in 2003, was reissued by Paw Tracks in 2005. The following year was a busy one for Ariel Pink, with House Arrest -- a collaboration with another one of his projects, Ball Bearings Piñatas -- arriving at the beginning of 2006. That year, Pink also collaborated with Matt Fishbeck on the Holy Shit album Stranded at Two Harbors and contributed to the Latitude series with Pedestrian Pop Hits. In 2007, Pink released Scared Famous, a collection of 2002 recordings, on Human Ear Music. By 2008, Pink had solidified his backing band to multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Kenny Gilmore, drummer/vocalist/guitarist Jimi Hey, and guitarist Cole M. Greif-Neill; the bandmembers called themselves Haunted Graffiti and toured with Chairlift, the Vivian Girls, and Cryptacize. That year, Pink also released Unusual Animals, Vol. 3 with Half-Handed Cloud, a collaboration that was part of Asthmatic Kitty's limited-edition series. The following year, Pink signed to 4AD, which released the single Round & Round early in 2010. Before Today arrived that summer.

Wikipedia:

Ariel Pink (born Ariel Marcus Rosenberg; June 24, 1978) is a Los Angeles-based recording artist who is sometimes associated with the freak folk scene.

Biography

Ariel Pink was raised in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles, attending Beverly Hills High School and later the California Institute of the Arts. In high school, Pink was a fan of such Gothic rock acts as Christian Death, Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy, and The Cure (whom he cites as his favorite band). He started writing songs "around age 10" and has recorded over 500 songs on hundreds of cassette tapes since 1996.

Pink produces and plays almost all of his own music, and is noted for creating drum sounds using primarily his mouth, and sometimes his armpits. His home recording technique gives his music a very lo-fi sound, to the point where new listeners may mistake the era of his music. Pink's influences range from R. Stevie Moore--friend, mentor, and "father of home recording"—to Michael Jackson.

Aside from his music, Pink creates and sells semi-abstract and surreal grotesque drawings which can be viewed at his unofficial website.

Pink married Lisa Daniels in July 2002; they divorced in 2005. He currently lives alone.

Career

From 2000–2002, Pink collaborated with fellow Los Angeles recording artist coL, which resulted in each being featured on one another's albums. In the summer of 2003, Pink passed a CD-R on to New York based band Animal Collective after being introduced by mutual friend and occasional collaborator Jimi Hey (All Night Radio, Indian Jewelry, Beachwood Sparks, The Rapture) at one of their shows. Unbeknownst to Pink, Animal Collective had recently started their own record label, Paw Tracks. Animal Collective member Josh Dibb remembers:

Several weeks later they contacted him to sign him on Paw Tracks. Pink became the first musician on the label aside from the members of Animal Collective. The next year, the label reissued The Doldrums, an album which had been originally recorded in 1999. Since then, Paw Tracks (now co-owned by Carpark Records) has released two other reissues of Pink's previous recordings, Worn Copy and House Arrest.

Pink has gradually caught the attention of media sources around the United States as well as internationally. As most of his albums are self-made, many of them have never been heard by fans. Almost all of Pink's albums which have been commercially released come from his recently released "Haunted Graffiti" series and are thus the best known.

Pink's solo tours have generally been met with much negativity, primarily because his music was never intended to be performed live for commercial audiences. As he explained to LA Weekly:

In 2006, Pink's collaboration with Holy Shit front-man Matt Fishbeck led to the release of Stranded at Two Harbors.

After initially playing shows with pre-recorded music, Pink later employed the efforts of Gary War, Dana Young , Robert Robinson (Sore Eros), Tim Koh (White Magic), and John Maus while touring. In 2008, Pink formed a new band with keyboardist/guitarist/backing vocalist Kenny Gilmore, drummer/vocalist/guitarist Jimi Hey, and guitarist Cole M. Greif-Neill (Ethnik Klensr, The Samps, Nite Jewel), who became known as Haunted Graffiti. Drummer Aaron Sperske (Beachwood Sparks, Lilys) has since replaced Jimi Hey, and guitarist Joseph Kennedy has replaced Greif-Neill. Consistent touring with a fixed band lineup has led to a much more accessible and musically tighter show for concert goers.

In July, 2008, Haunted Graffiti toured with Chairlift. In March 2009, Haunted Graffiti toured the US with Cryptacize and in April 2009 with Vivian Girls; the tour culminated in a performance at Coachella.

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.