| Bio en français : |
Enfant du punk rock, Todd Drootin s’est tourné vers la musique électronique et au hip-hop pendant les années 90. Avec Matt Dennebaum, il fonde le duo Subverse, dont l’unique cassette autoproduite, Nobody Likes You (1998), bien que fort obscure, leur valut quelques accolades bien méritées. Malheureusement, le groupe dut se séparer presque aussitôt: Matt déménagea sur la côte est des États-Unis, à New York, et Todd finit par se retrouver sur la côte ouest, à Los Angeles. Fort de cette expérience, Todd commença une carrière solo sous le nom Books on Tape, le projet où il forgera sa signature, que l’on reconnaît maintenant instantanément à l’écoute. Contrairement à plusieurs créateurs de l’électronica moderne, Todd n’a pas peur de l’hérésie; il peut, par exemple, recréer un effet de grattage de guitare sur son séquenceur, ou organiser ses pièces sur des bases rythmiques peu orthodoxes. Cependant, deux qualités importantes se retrouvent partout dans son oeuvre: l’énergie, et le «groove». L’activité discographique de Todd est déjà foissonnante et pluriforme. Après un premier CD autoproduit, Take a Read on the Riding et de multiples apparitions en trame sonore des «reality shows» les plus populaires de MTV, Books on Tape s’est retrouvé sur les étiquettes web No Type et Subverseco. De nouvelles parutions en format CDR, 10" et 7" s’ensuivirent, ainsi que de nombreux concerts sur la côte ouest américaine. En décembre 2002, c’est la sortie de Throw Down Your Laptops, le premier CD de Books on Tape jouissant d’une véritable distribution mondiale, produit de l’étiquette de Seattle, Deathbomb Arc. Pour accompagner cet heureux moment, No Type met à la disposition du public un maxi 10" comprenant une version différente de la pièce Hey Typical! ainsi que du matériel inédit. En plus de tout ceci, un nouveau CD sur No Type, nommé Sings the blues, voit le jour en septembre 2003. En plus de Books on Tape, nous retrouvons Todd derrière les appellations Click Tracy, Dewey Decimator (avec Kerri Kerrang), Sluts on Tape (avec Eryk Salvaggio), Tape Science Version (avec Dustin Craig) et Box Social (avec David Klotz du groupe Fonda). On peut aussi l’entendre remixer ses amis et compagnons d’étiquette, sans compter son travail à maintenir sa propre étiquette web, Subverseco. |
| Bio en anglais : |
Raised on punk rock and related products, Todd Drootin got turned on to electronic music and hip-hop in the nineties. With Matt Dennebaum, he forms the duo Subverse, whose sole, self-released cassette Nobody Likes You (1998), although a fairly obscure item in itself, got them some well deserved kudos. Unfortunately, the band had to split shortly afterwards as their members moved to opposite coasts: Matt went to New York City, and Todd eventually found his way to Los Angeles. Fueled by this experience, Todd went solo under the name Books on Tape, a project in which he would craft his now instantly recognizable signature. Unlike many electronica producers (bedroom or otherwise), Todd is unafraid to do things you’re not supposed to do, like trying to recreate a guitar strumming effect in a sequencer, or laying his songs upon shockingly unorthodox rhythms. However, two important qualities can be found in equal measure in his entire oeuvre: energy and groove. Todd’s recorded activity has taken many shapes and turns already. Following a self-released CD, Take a Read on the Riding and multiple appearances in the backdrop of various popular MTV reality shows, Books on Tape was featured on weblabels No Type and Subverseco. Physical releases in various formats (CDR, 10", 7") ensued, as well as a large number of live performances on the West Coast. In December 2002, the first widely available Books on Tape CD was released by the Seattle-based Deathbomb Arc label under the title Throw Down Your Laptops. As a companion release, No Type is releasing a 10" EP featuring a different version of the song Hey Typical! plus unreleased material. On top of this, a new No Type CD, titled Sings the blues, is released in September 2003 in collaboration with Greyday Prouductions. Todd is also behind a number of projects besides Books on Tape, such as Click Tracy, Dewey Decimator (with Kerri Kerrang), Sluts on Tape (with Eryk Salvaggio), Tape Science Version (with Dustin Craig) and Box Social (with Fonda’s David Klotz). In October 2003, Books on Tape its first New York City appearance at the esteemed CMJ festival, garnering rave reviews. This was followed up by an eastern Canadian tour and more New York dates in early 2004. Todd has also appeared at Pop Montréal and the MACRoCk conference in Harrisonburg, VA. In late 2004 came the 40-minute EP The Business End (Greyday), which hit Chart Attack!'s electronic #1 slot for seven weeks and ended the year as the number two electronic record in Canada for 2004. In 2005, Books on Tape hit the road numerous times in preparation for his upcoming release on Alien8 exposing new parts of the country to the unique, high-energy live efforts that have made a name for him. Dinosaur Dinosaur is out now, and is widely being hailed as his finest release to date, and more closely representing Todd's punky live sound. Books on Tape's notoriously raucuos live shows have occured on bills with such diverse and respected acts as Daedelus, Stars as Eyes, The Good Life, Wolf Eyes, Shonen Knife, Prefuse 73 and many more. |