Black Dice
Encyclopedia
Black Dice is an experimental electronic music
group currently based in Brooklyn
, New York
, USA.
and bassist Sebastian Blanck
when they were students at the Rhode Island School of Design
. Eric Copeland (vocals) was still attending high school in Maine and would visit on weekends. Early shows seldom lasted more than fifteen minutes and were characterised by violent performances where injuries were often sustained by the band and audience alike. Live sets mixed structured songs with improvised sound manipulation, and shows differed from night to night. Later joined by Bjorn's brother Eric Copeland
on vocals their early sound has been described by Tiny Mix Tapes as thrash
-influenced noise
. They released several 7"s and embarked on a few brief tours before Blanck left the group.
think we've been in this weird in-between space the entire length of the band. There will be these moments where people can identify really strongly to this one (sound)... Once it got kind of weird, the kids that were into hardcore really didn't like it.".
The band began incorporating more pedals into their setup and slowly leaving their earlier hardcore
-leaning style in favor of more rhythmic music similar to motorik
and dub music
. Eric Copeland describes this transition as "...it stopped being thrashy and started being more sounds instead of songs." "Our shows used to be "all songs." Then it would be songs with these long transitions between things, instead of just flat or silent. When Aaron came along, we got better at that stuff, and that became more what we wanted to play. Playing the songs became secondary."
It was around that time that the emphasis shifted from conventional song structures to more open-ended sonic investigations. Shows of this era maintained an equally physical presence through the use of high volume levels and an extreme range of frequencies, and violent performance became less frequent. The music bore more resemblance to crude first generation industrial music or contemporary power electronics
than straight noise or hardcore. Eric describes this era as "we were like heavy noise dudes, and it got a lot of industrial people would ask "Oh, you guys to listen to Whitehouse
?""
Warren recounts when he lived in Los Angeles, "I remember seeing like Merzbow
and stuff when he was just doing all pedals, and that was the first time I had ever seen a performance with no guitars, no keyboards, no anything. When I saw Masonna, he just had a coin purse, a microphone, and stacks behind him. That was a revolutionary musical experience for me, but I still played guitar for five years after that, and sang, and it never occurred to me to that that was something I was going to do."
By the fall of 2001 live shows had grown in length to almost five or six times of the earlier sets, with the occasional song reaching 45 minutes. An emphasis on signal processing provided a broader sonic palette. While volume and physical presence of sound remained crucial, melody and repetition became key compositional elements. During this time, the band recorded with post-industrial/noise
band Wolf Eyes
initially meeting them because they wanted to book a show in Michigan and Wolf Eyes member John Olson book them in his basement. The brothers recall recording with Wolf Eyes in an interview for Tiny Mix Tapes "We probably burned through like $100 worth of grass
... On the first day!".
/Fat Cat
and its follow-up, 2004's Creature Comforts
saw the band reaching a worldwide audience. The album would later be awarded by Pitchfork Media
as number 97 of The Top 100 Albums of 2000-04.
In spring of 2004, the band parted ways with long-time drummer and friend Hisham Bharoocha. the band was set back with the departure of Bharoocha and their cancellation of a heavily-planned tour co-headlined by their friends Animal Collective
. Nonetheless, reduced to a trio, Black Dice recorded Broken Ear Record
in Australia in early 2005. Without a drummer, their music took another turn towards Afrobeat
and breakbeat
. Metamorphosed once again, Black Dice emerged as a tight compositional unit, with little emphasis remaining on improvisation or long-form songs. A near-pop sensibility was embraced, with shorter and catchier tunes. Also in 2004, the band's song "Skeleton" was featured in HBO's documentary Thinking XXX
. Though they were not included in the film's soundtrack the song is listed in the films credits.
In summer 2005, the group released its first non-music object; a 128-page book of collage art made in collaboration with photographer Jason Frank Rothenberg.
on the Animal Collective label Paw Tracks. The band made their first music video, a visual mash up of images culled from television and the Internet featuring the single “Kokomo” off the album. In 2009 the band released their fifth studio album Repo
.
Visual art has been a key counterpart to the music, with all record-sleeve design made by band members. Artists Ara Peterson and Danny Perez have made videos for songs, and Mr. Perez has contributed a live video mix to the band's live set since fall of 2005, Perez would later direct ODDSAC
with Animal Collective supplying the music. Animal Collective member Noah Lennox said about Black Dice in an interview with The Milk Factory in 2005: "[...] I feel like the wisest things I’ve learned about being in a band I learned by watching them." In early 2009, he confirmed in an interview with Magic
that he looks to Black Dice "as a model for a band. [...] I feel like as a band, I can't speak for the other guys [of Animal Collective], but certainly for myself, like I modelled the way I approach to everything with the band watching the way Black Dice did it."
and Godspeed You Black Emperor. In 2005, the trio recorded an album in Byron Bay, Australia following a tour. In 2006, the band played in Brazil and a live set was captured on national television in Lima, Peru. Virtually any and every type of venue has served as the backdrop for Black Dice shows; from basements and warehouses to art galleries and museums, from house shows to gigantic outdoor festivals or formal seated theaters. Placing the music in a context contrary to the average show remains a compelling inspiration for unique performances. The band had been chosen by Animal Collective
to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties
festival that they curated in May 2011.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group currently based in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA.
Early years
Black Dice formed in spring 1997 soon after guitarist Bjorn Copeland met drummer Hisham BharoochaHisham Bharoocha
Hisham Akira Bharoocha was born in Niigata, Japan and is an ex-member of the Providence, Rhode Island bands Lightning Bolt and Black Dice. Currently, Bharoocha is involved in his band Soft Circle and works an artist in New York City.- Biography :...
and bassist Sebastian Blanck
Sebastian Blanck
Sebastian Blanck is an American artist and musician.-Life and work:Blanck was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He is a founding member of the experimental electronica group Black Dice along with Bjorn Copeland, Hisham Bharoocha and Eric Copeland.On 22 June 2010, Blanck released a solo album called...
when they were students at the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
. Eric Copeland (vocals) was still attending high school in Maine and would visit on weekends. Early shows seldom lasted more than fifteen minutes and were characterised by violent performances where injuries were often sustained by the band and audience alike. Live sets mixed structured songs with improvised sound manipulation, and shows differed from night to night. Later joined by Bjorn's brother Eric Copeland
Eric Copeland
Eric Copeland is an experimental musician based in New York. He is a core member of Black Dice and forms half of the duo Terrestrial Tones with Animal Collective's Avey Tare....
on vocals their early sound has been described by Tiny Mix Tapes as thrash
Thrashcore
Thrashcore is a fast tempo subgenre of hardcore punk that emerged in the early 1980s. Thrashcore is essentially sped-up hardcore punk, with bands often using blast beats. Songs can be very brief, and thrashcore is in many ways a less dissonant, less metallic forerunner of grindcore...
-influenced noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
. They released several 7"s and embarked on a few brief tours before Blanck left the group.
Move to New York and Troubleman Unlimited
In the summer of 1998 the band relocated to NYC where Eric was attending college. At an early New York performance the band met current member Aaron Warren who had recently moved from Los Angeles to attend NYU. began to experiment with their sound, While their earlier sound can be described as a mix of early-eighties-inspired thrash and harsh noise, the band has changed their music with each record and era of performance, Eric Copeland has stated about the band "We definitely have eras; we have records that feel like they indicate all the songs we were playing at that time.". and Bjorn has said that it's always been a very gradual progression for the bands evolution of sound stating "To be honest, Ithink we've been in this weird in-between space the entire length of the band. There will be these moments where people can identify really strongly to this one (sound)... Once it got kind of weird, the kids that were into hardcore really didn't like it.".
The band began incorporating more pedals into their setup and slowly leaving their earlier hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
-leaning style in favor of more rhythmic music similar to motorik
Motorik
Motorik is a term coined by music journalists to describe the 4/4 beat often used by "Krautrock" bands such as Neu! and Kraftwerk...
and dub music
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
. Eric Copeland describes this transition as "...it stopped being thrashy and started being more sounds instead of songs." "Our shows used to be "all songs." Then it would be songs with these long transitions between things, instead of just flat or silent. When Aaron came along, we got better at that stuff, and that became more what we wanted to play. Playing the songs became secondary."
It was around that time that the emphasis shifted from conventional song structures to more open-ended sonic investigations. Shows of this era maintained an equally physical presence through the use of high volume levels and an extreme range of frequencies, and violent performance became less frequent. The music bore more resemblance to crude first generation industrial music or contemporary power electronics
Power electronics (music)
Power electronics was originally coined by William Bennett as part of the sleevenotes to the Whitehouse album Psychopathia Sexualis, and is related to the early industrial records scene but later became more identified with noise music...
than straight noise or hardcore. Eric describes this era as "we were like heavy noise dudes, and it got a lot of industrial people would ask "Oh, you guys to listen to Whitehouse
Whitehouse (band)
Whitehouse are a pioneering English power electronics band formed in 1980, largely credited for the founding of the power electronics subgenre.-History and personnel:...
?""
Warren recounts when he lived in Los Angeles, "I remember seeing like Merzbow
Merzbow
is the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician , born in 1956. Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic...
and stuff when he was just doing all pedals, and that was the first time I had ever seen a performance with no guitars, no keyboards, no anything. When I saw Masonna, he just had a coin purse, a microphone, and stacks behind him. That was a revolutionary musical experience for me, but I still played guitar for five years after that, and sang, and it never occurred to me to that that was something I was going to do."
By the fall of 2001 live shows had grown in length to almost five or six times of the earlier sets, with the occasional song reaching 45 minutes. An emphasis on signal processing provided a broader sonic palette. While volume and physical presence of sound remained crucial, melody and repetition became key compositional elements. During this time, the band recorded with post-industrial/noise
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
band Wolf Eyes
Wolf Eyes
Wolf Eyes is a post-industrial/noise band from Detroit, Michigan, United States.-History:Wolf Eyes began as a solo project of former Nautical Almanac member Nate Young, with Aaron Dilloway joining in 1998, and John Olson in 2000...
initially meeting them because they wanted to book a show in Michigan and Wolf Eyes member John Olson book them in his basement. The brothers recall recording with Wolf Eyes in an interview for Tiny Mix Tapes "We probably burned through like $100 worth of grass
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
... On the first day!".
DFA and Fat Cat Years
Four months after recording with Black Dice they would record Beaches and Canyons. The release of the album Beaches and Canyons on DFADFA Records
DFA Records is an independent record label and production team, launched in September 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. The label has an exclusive distribution deal with major record label EMI....
/Fat Cat
Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output includes electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop...
and its follow-up, 2004's Creature Comforts
Creature Comforts (album)
Creature Comforts is the second album by American experimental noise band Black Dice. It was released in June 2004 by DFA Records.-Track listing:#"Cloud Pleaser" – 1:43#"Treetops" – 6:23#"Island" – 1:13#"Creature" – 8:54#"Live Loop" – 1:28...
saw the band reaching a worldwide audience. The album would later be awarded by Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
as number 97 of The Top 100 Albums of 2000-04.
In spring of 2004, the band parted ways with long-time drummer and friend Hisham Bharoocha. the band was set back with the departure of Bharoocha and their cancellation of a heavily-planned tour co-headlined by their friends Animal Collective
Animal Collective
Animal Collective is an experimental psychedelic band originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare , Panda Bear , Deakin , and Geologist...
. Nonetheless, reduced to a trio, Black Dice recorded Broken Ear Record
Broken Ear Record
Broken Ear Record is the third album by American experimental noise band Black Dice. It was released on 6 September 2005 on DFA Records. "Smiling Off" was released as single.-Track listing:#"Snarly Yow" – 8:14#"Smiling Off" – 9:23...
in Australia in early 2005. Without a drummer, their music took another turn towards Afrobeat
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to...
and breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
. Metamorphosed once again, Black Dice emerged as a tight compositional unit, with little emphasis remaining on improvisation or long-form songs. A near-pop sensibility was embraced, with shorter and catchier tunes. Also in 2004, the band's song "Skeleton" was featured in HBO's documentary Thinking XXX
Thinking XXX
Thinking XXX is a 2004 television documentary about the process photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders went through to create his book XXX: 30 Porn Star Portraits...
. Though they were not included in the film's soundtrack the song is listed in the films credits.
In summer 2005, the group released its first non-music object; a 128-page book of collage art made in collaboration with photographer Jason Frank Rothenberg.
Paw Tracks Years
After their contract with DFA/Fat Cat was over, Black Dice took the remaining DFA material in 2007 and released it as Load BlownLoad Blown
Load Blown is the fourth album by American experimental noise band Black Dice. It was released on 23 October 2007 on Paw Tracks Records.- Track listing :#"Kokomo" - 3:35#"Roll Up" - 7:10#"Gore" - 4:12#"Bottom Feeder" - 2:50#"Scavenger" - 5:16...
on the Animal Collective label Paw Tracks. The band made their first music video, a visual mash up of images culled from television and the Internet featuring the single “Kokomo” off the album. In 2009 the band released their fifth studio album Repo
Repo (album)
REPO is the fifth album by American experimental noise band Black Dice. It was released on April 7, 2009 on Paw Tracks Records.- Track listing :#"Night Creme" - 5:31#"Glazin" - 3:51#"Earnings Plus Interest" - 2:22#"Whirligig" - 0:21...
.
Visual art has been a key counterpart to the music, with all record-sleeve design made by band members. Artists Ara Peterson and Danny Perez have made videos for songs, and Mr. Perez has contributed a live video mix to the band's live set since fall of 2005, Perez would later direct ODDSAC
ODDSAC
ODDSAC is an experimental "visual album" by Animal Collective, featuring psychedelic visuals directed and edited by Danny Perez.First announced in August 2006, the film took over four years to complete...
with Animal Collective supplying the music. Animal Collective member Noah Lennox said about Black Dice in an interview with The Milk Factory in 2005: "[...] I feel like the wisest things I’ve learned about being in a band I learned by watching them." In early 2009, he confirmed in an interview with Magic
Magic (music magazine)
Magic is a French music magazine which is released on a monthly basis. It was formed out of the ashes of a small fanzine produced by music aficionados from France in 1995. The magazine's target readership is composed of young adults, students and young professionals who are keen to pursue the...
that he looks to Black Dice "as a model for a band. [...] I feel like as a band, I can't speak for the other guys [of Animal Collective], but certainly for myself, like I modelled the way I approach to everything with the band watching the way Black Dice did it."
Touring
The band has toured America and Europe dozens of times, and has visited Japan twice. Having been together almost ten years, the group has performed shows in five continents sharing the stage with artists including The ResidentsThe Residents
The Residents is an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. The first official release under the name of The Residents was in 1972, and the group has since released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs....
and Godspeed You Black Emperor. In 2005, the trio recorded an album in Byron Bay, Australia following a tour. In 2006, the band played in Brazil and a live set was captured on national television in Lima, Peru. Virtually any and every type of venue has served as the backdrop for Black Dice shows; from basements and warehouses to art galleries and museums, from house shows to gigantic outdoor festivals or formal seated theaters. Placing the music in a context contrary to the average show remains a compelling inspiration for unique performances. The band had been chosen by Animal Collective
Animal Collective
Animal Collective is an experimental psychedelic band originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare , Panda Bear , Deakin , and Geologist...
to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
festival that they curated in May 2011.
Studio albums
- Beaches & CanyonsBeaches & CanyonsBeaches & Canyons is the first full-length album by experimental noise band Black Dice.-Track listing:# "Seabird" – 6:37# "Things Will Never Be the Same" – 9:56# "The Dream Is Going Down" – 11:06# "Endless Happiness" – 15:26# "Big Drop" – 16:39...
(2002), DFA / Fat Cat RecordsFat Cat RecordsFat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output includes electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop... - Creature ComfortsCreature Comforts (album)Creature Comforts is the second album by American experimental noise band Black Dice. It was released in June 2004 by DFA Records.-Track listing:#"Cloud Pleaser" – 1:43#"Treetops" – 6:23#"Island" – 1:13#"Creature" – 8:54#"Live Loop" – 1:28...
(2004), DFA / Fat Cat Records - Broken Ear RecordBroken Ear RecordBroken Ear Record is the third album by American experimental noise band Black Dice. It was released on 6 September 2005 on DFA Records. "Smiling Off" was released as single.-Track listing:#"Snarly Yow" – 8:14#"Smiling Off" – 9:23...
(2005), DFA / EMI - Load BlownLoad BlownLoad Blown is the fourth album by American experimental noise band Black Dice. It was released on 23 October 2007 on Paw Tracks Records.- Track listing :#"Kokomo" - 3:35#"Roll Up" - 7:10#"Gore" - 4:12#"Bottom Feeder" - 2:50#"Scavenger" - 5:16...
(2007), Paw Tracks - RepoRepo (album)REPO is the fifth album by American experimental noise band Black Dice. It was released on April 7, 2009 on Paw Tracks Records.- Track listing :#"Night Creme" - 5:31#"Glazin" - 3:51#"Earnings Plus Interest" - 2:22#"Whirligig" - 0:21...
(2009), Paw Tracks
EPs and singles
- Untitled (a.k.a. Printed Paper) (1998), Vermin ScumVermin ScumVermin Scum is an Annapolis, Maryland-based record label founded by Kenny Hill of the bands Spastic Rats and, later, the Hated. The name was given to fit the theme of the label's first release, the Spastic Rats' "Rodentia."...
- Black Dice #3 (2000)
- Cold Hands (2001), Troubleman Unlimited / Catsup Plate
- Lost Valley (2003), Catsup Plate
- Miles of SmilesMiles of SmilesMiles of Smiles is an EP by experimental band Black Dice, released in 2004....
(2004),DFA / Fat Cat Records - Smiling Off (2005), DFA/EMI
- Manoman (2006), DFA
- Load Blown (2007), Paw Tracks
- Chocolate Cherry (2009), Catsup Plate
Singles
- Lambs Like Fruit (1998), Gravity
- Semen of the Sun (2000), Tapes
- Ball / Peace in the Valley (2001), 31G
- Cone Toaster (2003), DFA
- Roll Up / Drool (Paw-Tracks, 2007)
Splits and collaborations
- split with Erase ErrataErase ErrataErase Errata is a band from San Francisco, California. They often name experimentalists such as Captain Beefheart, The Fall, and the Minutemen as inspirations...
(2001), Troubleman Unlimited - WasteredWastered"Wastered" is a tour-only, vinyl-only release with a new song each by Black Dice and Animal Collective. It was released as an edition of 1000 copies. It is not available for mailorder and is now sold out. Animal Collective also released a live version of their song on a bonus disc for their Feels...
with Animal CollectiveAnimal CollectiveAnimal Collective is an experimental psychedelic band originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare , Panda Bear , Deakin , and Geologist...
(2004), Paw Tracks
With Wolf Eyes
- Chimes in Black Water 1 (2001)
- Chimes in Black Water 2 (2002)
- Black Dice & Wolf Eyes (2003)
- Chimes in Black Water 3 (2003)