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The five-piece, who debuted in 2004 at the University of Chicago, arrived just as a new scene and sound was beginning to form in the city. They had previously rehearsed for a few months as complete free spirits, using mostly vintage synths and live drums, and for the next two years crafted their approach and technique, developing an electronic sound melded to a traditional rock set-up. Chandeliers were one of several local bands that incorporated mainly electronic instruments but no laptops, and performed as a group of musicians, not a novelty act. Having adopted the collective spirit of kraut-rock bands like Can and Faust, the group functions as a unified whole with no dominant members. This approach gives them a more intuitive and unpredictable approach to composing.

The band befriended Blue Hawaii (a.k.a. Griffin Rodriguez), the engineer at the Shape Shoppe, who had recently worked with Beirut and Man Man. After recording a few songs there, Chandeliers moved into the space to rehearse and begin working on new material. Around the same time they met Mahjongg's engineer, Benjamin Balcom, at Elephant, his new studio, and began recording their debut record.

An album with the flow of a mix-tape, The Thrush is at home bangin' in your trunk or hypnotizing on your headphones. Kraftwerk is a clear reference, but with influences ranging from Eastern melodies to the sonically dirty rhythmic propulsion of Konono No.1, and the crunked-out, psychedelic hip-hop of J-Dilla, Chandeliers always keep listeners on their toes.

"The Thrush is so thumpingly immediate, you would never guess at any kind of committee decision making. The opening 20 seconds of "Mr Electric" flick between Ed Banger directness and a Kraftwerk-like neon lyricism. The remix of "Body Double" closes the album in a furious hustle of Afrobeat drumming and rich Italo disco keyboards. In between, the synths mesh into arpeggios that seem as influenced by the post-punk end of the disco spectrum as Giorgio Moroder."
--The Wire

Icy Demons' exciting new touring group will blaze trails across the States this summer and fall. The band has supported Slint, Arcade Fire, and Man Man, as well as headlined their own tours. Their live shows are energetic and fast-paced, with the multi-instrumentalist members dancing around the stage playing interlocking rhythms. Rodriguez sings of dreams and endurance, alien paranoia and fun food, time travel and the western frontier. Outside of Icy Demons, Powell plays in Man Man and Rodriguez runs his Chicago recording studio, the Shape Shoppe. Both were previously members of the influential Philadelphia group Need New Body. Guest musicians on Miami Ice include Jeff Parker (Tortoise), Josh Abrams (Prefuse 73, The Sea and Cake), Tomeka Reed (highly esteemed Chicago improvisationalist/cellist), and Man Man guitarist Russell Higbee.

"... one hell of a unique concoction, like a prog-fusion orchestron gone completely nuts." --Pitchfork

"... delightfully unclassifiable." --Prefix

"Repping the indie-psych corner of the snooty post-rock sub-world is Philadelphia's not-snooty-at-all Icy Demons." --Paperthinwalls

"Bablicon member Griffin Rodriguez and former Need New Body and current Man Man drummer Chris Powell demonstrate an astounding ability to seamlessly blend a melange of influences, ranging from jazz and electronic music to African rhythms and Zappa-isms, into some of the most affecting songs I've heard in many a year. These boys have, to put it bluntly, dropped a whopper of a record." --Tiny Mix Tapes

30-second MP3 excerpts:

Buffalo Bill
Miami Ice
1850
Summer Samba
Jantar Mantar
Who There???
Spywatchers
Centurion
Crittin' Down to Baba's

If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the link immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to that album's iTunes page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

Go to iTunes to browse downloads for ICY DEMONS "Miami Ice"

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