Austin Shockley

Talk about an interesting musical group. RATATAT is composed of producer/musicians Mike Stroud and Evan Mast and they are far from your everyday band.

RATATAT foremost releases instrumental, guitar intensive, experimental, rock-ish music that focuses heavily on the production aspect. Not to say they don’t have songwriting in mind. Their melodies, harmonies, use of dynamics, and song structure are incredibly interesting and would likely make a music theory professor’s head explode upon listening. To give you a taste… they apparently have a knack for writing melodies on guitar…then learning them backwards…then recording them backwards… then reversing them again. All in an effort to get a swelling sound rather than a decaying sound. Now if you don’t think that’s a cool musical idea then you are clearly an idiot. So leave. Being the forward-thinking group that they are, no words are used because they don’t want to influence the listeners perception of a particular song. This version of RATATAT has most recently released the album humbly titled ‘Classics’ in 2006.

But wait… there’s more…

They make hip-hop beats with the best of them. Yep, you heard read right. They recently released ‘Remixes Vol. II’ a 14 trackmix tape including rap heavyweights such as BIggie Smalls, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Slim Thug, T.I., and Ludacris to name a few. Still using the gnarly guitar riffs and the most interesting sound possible they manage to make classic rap songs sound as fresh as when they first came out.

Go to RATATATmusic.com to get the link for the free download.

Now, I’m a big fan of Kanye West (going to see Glow In The Dark Tour this Wednesday) but RATATAT came through and kicked his ass with their version of Kanye’s Diamonds. One of the baddest songs I have ever heard(period) complete with a slick violin riff and a little harpsichord. Let’s just say that if you go to a party and this remix is playing, then there is a 99.99% chance you are at a good party.

But be warned… some of the rapping used over these killer beats is questionable because 1) it has a dated sound and 2) because some of it is just totally wack (*cough* Beans).

But wait… there’s more…

They also have remixed Bjork’s ‘Wanderlust’ and I have to say that it is one of the most interesting songs I have ever heard. Tabla sounds, swinging bass drum, sliding tones, and Bjork’s unforgettable voice make a song that is probably not digestible by many individuals. Really tho, it should be no suprise… mix together a ground breaking musical group and artist and you get a song that I literally listened to 30 times straight and did not come even close to wrapping my head around.

RATATAT’s intense focus on interesting and meaningful sound and fearlessness of creating genre makes them an instant classic for me and hopefully for you too.

Austin says:

• Get RATATAT Remix Vol. II (free on ) listen to ‘Diamonds’… preferably loud
• Buy RATATAT ‘Classics’ (stealing sucks)
• Give Wanderlust a chance (preview on itunes) then buy it because it’s amazing

For more information on RATATAT:

• Wikipedia
• AllMusic.com
• MySpace.com (piss poor sound quality)