Member Spotlight: Vampire Weekend
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Vampire Weekend is not a typical Indie Rock Band. Their broad musical interests build an important cornerstone for their unique sound reaching out to Western music and African traditional sounds. Even before the relase of their debut album in 2008 the quartet (Koenig, Batmanglij, Tomson, Baio) was what you would call “hyped” with (blog-driven) coverage by Spin (being the first band to be put on cover before release of their debut), Pitchfork and many others – and justifiably so. With three albums released up to now and their last one “Modern Vampires of the city” winning a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album in 2014 the band has a large fan base around the world.
The band started as a Rap collaboration between Koenig and Tomson during their times at Columbia University almost 10 years ago. The two self-produced their debut release while simultaneously following their full time jobs. “Vampire Weekend” was a big success in US and UK reaching 15 on the UK Albums Charts and 17 on the Billboard 200. Two years later “Contra” would top this success with debuting at No.1 on the Billboard 200. The album was also nominated Best Alternative Music Album which they lost to the Black Keys’ “Brothers” – not a shame. “Modern Vampires of the City” their third album could top their predecessors with getting the Grammy Award ad debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 again.
After their music being featured in TV shows and feature films as well as computer games we are proud having them agreeing to synch their song “Run” from their second album to Visa’s latest multinational “Always On” campaign.
Got into the Vampire Weekend mood ? Check the track here: