Ratatat

Ratatat (pronounced ) is a Brooklyn-based rocktronica duo consisting of Mike Stroud (guitar, melodica, synthesizers, percussion) and producer Evan Mast (bass, synthesizers, percussion).
==History==
=== Beginnings and first album (2001–2005) ===
Evan Mast and Mike Stroud first met as students at Skidmore College. When they started working together in 2001, recording several songs under the name "Cherry", Stroud had previously toured with Dashboard Confessional in 2000.
In 2003, the group debuted by releasing the single "Seventeen Years" on Mast's and his brother Eric's (E*Rock) record label Audio Dregs in the US and Rex Records in the UK.
In the following year, Ratatat supported the band Interpol on their tour. Mike Stroud stepped down as touring member of Ben Kweller's band after two years of touring and after appearing on the 2004 album, On My Way. Having signed for XL Recordings, Ratatat released their self-titled debut album, Ratatat and the single "Germany to Germany". The album was written and recorded in Mast's Crown Heights, Brooklyn apartment on his laptop. It is entirely instrumental with the exception of vocal excerpts at the beginning and end of select tracks.
Also in 2004, Ratatat released Ratatat Remixes Vol. 1 in co-operation with Audio Dregs, a compilation of remixed tracks by other artists, thereby garnering the attention of Rolling Stone.
=== Second album, Classics (2006–2008)===
On 22 August 2006, Ratatat released their second album entitled Classics on XL Recordings.
On October 6, 2006, Ratatat became the first band to perform a public show inside the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
On October 10, 2006, a new demo album from Ratatat titled 9 Beats was leaked online. This set of tracks does not appear on any official discography listings. 9 Beats was not an official album, the tracks consist of short instrumental electronic musical pieces and demos for their next mixtape. In 2007, this release was followed by their second volume of remixed tracks, Ratatat Remixes Vol 2..
From June 2007 until October 2008, Ratatat had Martin Bonventre accompany them on their European tour and Fall shows in America as the pianist/synthesizer player. Bonventre drew much attention due to his erratic dance movements on stage. The reason for him leaving the performance is unknown.
=== Third album, LP3 (2008–2009) ===
Leading up to the release of Ratatat's third album LP3 on 8 July 2008, their official website showed the videos of the three first singles. "Shiller", "Shempi" and then "Mirando" have all been released (or announced) on 7" or 12" singles. "Shiller", the first to be released, featured a special b-side, the track "Mahalo"Beggars Group USA - Releases which was later also included on the fourth album, LP4.
In 2008, it was rumored that they would be signed by Star Trak Entertainment as the understudies of The Neptunes.
Ratatat contributed two songs to Man on the Moon: The End of Day, the debut album by alternative rapper Kid Cudi, released September 15, 2009. They performed together on Late Show with David Letterman on September 11, 2009. The two songs are produced in the similar electronic style Ratatat is known for; those titled "Alive" and "Pursuit Of Happiness" featuring MGMT.
=== Fourth album, LP4 (2010-2014) ===
According to Mike Stroud in an interview with Paste Magazine released on August 4, 2009, "most of [LP4] was recorded during the same studio sessions that yielded LP3". Ratatat's fourth album, LP4, was released on June 8, 2010, via XL Recordings.
In 2010, Ratatat supported Vampire Weekend on their UK tour at The Brighton Centre and Alexandra Palace. Meanwhile, their song Neckbrace was used in the ski film "The Way I See It" by Matchstick Productions. In 2011, their track "Mirando" was used in Prada's SS2011 ad campaign.
In August 2011, Ratatat was featured in the song "Red Alert" on CSS's new album La Liberación.
On September 29, 2012 past collaborator Kid Cudi confirmed that Ratatat would be featured and producing on his upcoming third studio album Indicud, however the collaboration didn't make the final cut after Kid Cudi decided to produce the whole album by himself, with the exception of an additional production by Hit-Boy on the track "Red Eye" featuring Haim.
In May 2013 they entered the Austrian Singlecharts after the Austrian network provider A1 used "Loud Pipes" for a radio-advertisement.
=== Fifth album, Magnifique (2015–present) ===
The band played Coachella Festival and Governor's Ball Music Festival in 2015. They debuted their new song "Cream On Chrome" just a few hours before their night-ending Coachella set on April 11, 2015. The band also played a concert in Pomona, California on April 15, 2015, and also played at Primavera Sound in Barcelona in May.
In May 2015, the band announced that their fifth album, Magnifique, would be released on July 17, 2015, and feature a cover of the 1971 Springwater single "I Will Return".Evan Minsker, "Ratatat Announce New Album Magnifique," Pitchfork, May 19, 2015.
== Live performances ==
Ratatat's live performances bear strong similarities to the performances of the psychedelic rock bands out of San Francisco in the 1960s, with energetic light shows, swirling colors projected onto a screen, and clips of movies thrown in. Evan Mast creates and edits the videos that are projected on the screen. Many of them are included on their YouTube account.
Ratatat has toured with bands such as Björk, Daft Punk, Mouse on Mars, Franz Ferdinand, CSS, The Faint, Super Furry Animals, Clinic, Panther, and The Killers.
==Discography==
===Studio albums===
Album 	Date 	Label
Ratatat 	April 20, 2004 	XL Recordings
Ratatat Remixes Vol. 1	2004 	Self-released
Classics 	August 22, 2006	XL Recordings
Ratatat Remixes Vol. 2	2007 	Self-released
LP3 	July 8, 2008 	XL Recordings
LP4 	June 8, 2010 	XL Recordings
Magnifique 	July 17, 2015 	Because Music (Europe)XL Recordings (US)
===Singles===
Song 	Album 	Date 	Label
"Seventeen Years" 	Ratatat 	2003 	Rex Records, Audio Dregs
"Cherry" 	Ratatat 	October 4, 2004 	XL Recordings
"Wildcat" 	Classics 	July 25, 2006 	XL Recordings
"Lex" 	Classics 	October 30, 2006 	XL Recordings
"Loud Pipes" 	Classics 	2007 	XL Recordings
"Shiller" 	LP3 	May 6, 2008 	XL Recordings
"Mirando" (video clip)	LP3 	June 2008 	XL Recordings
"Shempi" 	LP3 	September 23, 2008	XL Recordings
"Mirando" (single) 	LP3 	February 3, 2009 	XL Recordings
"Party with Children" 	LP4 	2010 	XL Recordings
"Drugs" 	LP4 	2010 	XL Recordings
"Cream on Chrome" 	Magnifique	April 11, 2015 	XL Recordings
"Abrasive" 	Magnifique	June 16, 2015 	XL Recordings
"Nightclub Amnesia" 	Magnifique	July 2, 2015 	XL Recordings
;Featured in 
*2012: "Pursuit of Happiness" (Kid Cudi feat. MGMT & Ratatat) 3x PlatinumLesCharts.com Charting position of "Pursuit of Happiness" song page 
===Remixes===
Artist 	Title 	Year
Shout Out Louds 	"The Comeback" (Big Slippa Remix by Ratatat) 	2005
The Knife 	"We Share Our Mothers' Health" (Ratatat Remix)	2006
Biz Markie 	"Vapors" (Remix by Ratatat) 	2006
Television Personalities	"You Kept Me Waiting Too Long" (Ratatat Remix)	2007
Björk 	"Wanderlust" (Ratatat Remix) 	2008
The Notorious BIG 	"Party and Bullshit" (Ratatat Remix) 	2008
==References==
==External links==
*
*
*Official XL Recordings site
*2008 Ratatat Interview at Bandega.com
*Radio Interview. November 2006 - 3SYN 90.7FM Melbourne, Australia
*Fader Magazine interview
*Rehearsal Space: Ratatat
*[ Ratatat at Allmusic]
*Audio interview with Ratatat on public radio program The Sound of Young America
*Ratatat appearance in travel show Jet Set Zero
Category:Electronic music groups from New York
Category:Electronic music duos
Category:Musical groups established in 2001
Category:Musical groups from Brooklyn
Category:Remixers
Category:Alternative rock groups from New York
Category:XL Recordings artists
Category:Indie pop groups from New York
Category:Electronic rock musical groupsCategory:Pages stolen off Wikipedia