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battles
Four-string slingers who don’t do the
math. Words: cameron macdonald photo: paul o’valle
Battles pencils in rock and roll so pristine and mathematically
precise that a slight breeze might shatter
it. Each guitar note, microtone, and beat is fixed like
leaves on a tree branch that break off and continue
the music as they skitter down the sidewalk. Just
don’t call the New York quartet “math rock.”
“Is it fair to call a chef salad with a multitude
of ingredients ‘lettuce’” quips guitarist Tyondai
Braxton. Battles does not play songs as much as
they concoct loops, with three guitars blurting their
simple parts into a grand argument. The instrumental
band’s excursions range from mechanical
trance-rock to noise-loop experiments that flow like
amniotic fluid in the womb.
“The effect of it all could still add up to something
that was complicated, but I wanted the phrases
to be simple,” guitarist Ian Williams says. “From
what I read about the band, people don’t always see
it that way, but what you aim for and what you are
aren’t always the same thing.”
Battles, originally christened Abomination
Restitution, formed in New York in 2002 when solo
guitarist Braxton bounced ideas off of Williams (of
Storm & Stress and Don Caballero fame). Guitarist
David Konopka (Lynx), and heavyweight champion
drummer John Stanier (Helmet, Tomahawk) later
figured in. “The thing is [that] everyone in the band
has a strong musical background already, so as far
as that is concerned, we all knew the ingredients,”
Braxton details. “It was just a matter of rehearsing and writing
to see what would sift to the bottom.”
Earlier this year, Battles toured the States with Scott
Herren (Prefuse 73), who later joined them for an encore
at the Sonar Festival in Barcelona. Braxton mentioned that
Herren defended his honor at a Florida gig by throwing his
sandwich and a fist at a drunk who tried to strangle Braxton.
The poor victim later counter-attacked a UK heckler who
hated on his The Fall shirt. “Well, we’re a seminal British
band and if you’re from Britain, you should be kissing my ass
right now,” Braxton recalled lying.
As for Battles’ more peaceful side, their record covers
typically strike the eye with simple, wordless photographs of
pastoral fields and trees, heightening the band’s mystique.
“The photos are really beautiful and that is the statement in
itself,” Braxton said. “There is a sense of neutrality in the way
we build our music and [we] wanted that same sense with our
visuals. It lends itself to multiple interpretations.”
Battles’ B, C, and Tras, Fantasy EPs are out now on Dim Mak, Monitor, and Cold
Sweat, respectively. www.bttls.com
Battles: Ian Wiliams, John Stanier,
Tyondai Braxton, and David Konopka
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