Deerhoof are an American experimental punk rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. Their records have been characterized by an eclectic mix of styles.
The group were originally formed by Rob Fisk and Greg Saunier, as a bass and drum pairing who focused on improvisation. A year later, singer Satomi Matsuzaki moved to San Francisco from her native Japan and quickly joined the band, despite having no previous experience of playing music. After a slew of early, four-track recorded singles and some support tours, the band released their debut album, ‘The Man, the King, the Girl’, in 1997. Since then, their output has been prodigious; they’ve put out a further twelve records, with six dropping between 2001 and 2005 alone.
They’ve continued to push the envelope sonically during that time; one of their signaure moves is to change sound abruptly between albums - take the jump from album one to two, which saw the noise rock element completely excised from their sound. They’ve turned their collective hand to electronica, girl-group pop and aggressive punk rock over the years; the 2011 full-length ‘Deerhoof vs. Evil’ is one of the best encapsulations of their constantly experimental sound. They’ve collaborated widely, too, with the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Busdriver and Of Montreal having contributed to their series of remixed seven-inch singles. They’ve toured with the likes of Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips and Sleater-Kinney, a further testament to their versatility.
Tracey Nelson
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