Biography
Throughout a career spanning multiple decades, Minneapolis-based musician Andrew Broder has connected elements of lo-fi indie rock with turntablism, improvisation, experimental electronics, and additional styles. International recognition first arrived through Fog, a project whose inventive approach moved unpredictably among abstract hip-hop, whimsical indie pop, and ambient drone experiments, as heard on releases such as the 2003 album Ether Teeth. Continued activity with Fog ran parallel to other endeavors, among them membership in the post-rock outfit Lateduster and work alongside several Anticon affiliates including Yoni Wolf and Doseone. Several experimental recordings appeared under Broder’s own name, among them 2014’s Visinvisible, prior to Fog’s return to more song-focused material with the 2016 album For Good. Later output, encompassing the 2017 Cousin Mask EP and the 2020 Denzel Curry collaboration “Bloodrush,” merged trap-influenced hip-hop with dark experimental techno.
As a teenager Broder took up multiple instruments—guitar, bass, and turntables among them—gaining initial experience in punk rock and hip-hop ensembles while harboring broader ambitions that resisted confinement to any single genre. After leaving college following a bout of pneumonia, he devoted himself fully to music-making. The self-titled Fog debut surfaced in 2000 on the Minneapolis label Dinkytown Records and included a spoken introduction by MF Doom. Broder also contributed turntables and guitar to the instrumental post-rock group Cropduster, which later adopted the name Lateduster after its second EP. Ninja Tune signed him as Fog, resulting in a 2002 reissue of the debut with a revised track listing. Under his own name Broder issued the 2002 EP Modern Hits, a collection of bootleg remixes of various hip-hop tracks, followed by More Modern Hits in 2003. Ether Teeth, Fog’s widely praised second album, appeared the same year. Collaboration with Yoni Wolf (Why?, cLOUDDEAD) produced the indie hip-hop project Hymie’s Basement, whose self-titled debut reached Lex Records in 2003. Fog’s Hummer EP arrived in 2004, while Merck released Easy Pieces, a compilation drawn from Lateduster’s earlier material on the Minneapolis label Firetrunk Records.
In 2004 Broder and George Cartwright (Curlew) issued a self-titled LP of improvisations on the experimental imprint Roaratorio. Fog’s first album recorded as a full band, 10th Avenue Freakout, came out on Lex in 2005. Broder lent contributions to projects by Anticon associates such as Odd Nosdam, Jel, and Dosh (also a Fog member), as well as Coldcut’s 2006 Ninja Tune album Sound Mirrors and Dntel’s 2007 release Dumb Luck. Fog’s fourth album, the folk-rock-leaning Ditherer, appeared in 2007 and featured prominent guests including Phil Elverum (the Microphones, Mount Eerie), Andrew Bird, and Low’s Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker. Alongside bandmate Tim Glenn, Broder formed the noise/drone project HeatdeatH, after which Fog entered a period of inactivity. Several Why? releases, including 2008’s Alopecia, included Broder’s participation. Ten experimental solo albums, among them Rap Ballads and I Must Fix All the Problems, were released digitally in 2009. A collaborative 7-inch single with Justin Broadrick appeared in 2010 as part of Hidden Hive’s Kissing Kin split series. Under the name Crook & Flail, Broder and Adam Drucker (Doseone) composed music for an audiobook recording of Alan Moore’s essay Unearthing, with additional contributions from Mike Patton, Zach Hill, and Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite. In 2010 Broder assembled the alternative rock group the Cloak Ox with former Fog bandmates Jeremy Ylvisaker, Mark Erickson, and Martin Dosh; their debut EP Prisen emerged on Totally Gross National Product in 2011, followed by the full-length Shoot the Dog in 2013.
Broder returned to Lex in 2014 with Brandished, an EP of abstract electronic beats issued under the name Wertheimer, and simultaneously released Visinvisible, a cassette of turntable-driven soundscapes, on Baro Records. The same label put out a 2015 EP with Crescent Moon, the project of rapper Alexei Moon Casselle. Picture of the Hostage Holding Today’s Newspaper, a limited box set containing five 20-minute beat tapes, appeared on Brian Records. Cornered Animal, an album of live improvisations, followed in 2016. After reactivating Fog as a solo endeavor, For Good arrived via Totally Gross, while an EP under his own name titled Wertheimer, featuring guest vocalist GABI, surfaced on Lex. Two further EPs, Cousin Mask (2017) and Arena of Dust (2019), examined broken post-industrial techno. Broder also joined Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Ryan Olson, and Psymun on the 2018 track “Star Mouth.” Vernon received co-writer credit on “Bloodrush,” Broder’s 2020 collaboration with Denzel Curry, Dua Saleh, and Haleek Maul, created for Alan Moore’s film The Show.
As a teenager Broder took up multiple instruments—guitar, bass, and turntables among them—gaining initial experience in punk rock and hip-hop ensembles while harboring broader ambitions that resisted confinement to any single genre. After leaving college following a bout of pneumonia, he devoted himself fully to music-making. The self-titled Fog debut surfaced in 2000 on the Minneapolis label Dinkytown Records and included a spoken introduction by MF Doom. Broder also contributed turntables and guitar to the instrumental post-rock group Cropduster, which later adopted the name Lateduster after its second EP. Ninja Tune signed him as Fog, resulting in a 2002 reissue of the debut with a revised track listing. Under his own name Broder issued the 2002 EP Modern Hits, a collection of bootleg remixes of various hip-hop tracks, followed by More Modern Hits in 2003. Ether Teeth, Fog’s widely praised second album, appeared the same year. Collaboration with Yoni Wolf (Why?, cLOUDDEAD) produced the indie hip-hop project Hymie’s Basement, whose self-titled debut reached Lex Records in 2003. Fog’s Hummer EP arrived in 2004, while Merck released Easy Pieces, a compilation drawn from Lateduster’s earlier material on the Minneapolis label Firetrunk Records.
In 2004 Broder and George Cartwright (Curlew) issued a self-titled LP of improvisations on the experimental imprint Roaratorio. Fog’s first album recorded as a full band, 10th Avenue Freakout, came out on Lex in 2005. Broder lent contributions to projects by Anticon associates such as Odd Nosdam, Jel, and Dosh (also a Fog member), as well as Coldcut’s 2006 Ninja Tune album Sound Mirrors and Dntel’s 2007 release Dumb Luck. Fog’s fourth album, the folk-rock-leaning Ditherer, appeared in 2007 and featured prominent guests including Phil Elverum (the Microphones, Mount Eerie), Andrew Bird, and Low’s Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker. Alongside bandmate Tim Glenn, Broder formed the noise/drone project HeatdeatH, after which Fog entered a period of inactivity. Several Why? releases, including 2008’s Alopecia, included Broder’s participation. Ten experimental solo albums, among them Rap Ballads and I Must Fix All the Problems, were released digitally in 2009. A collaborative 7-inch single with Justin Broadrick appeared in 2010 as part of Hidden Hive’s Kissing Kin split series. Under the name Crook & Flail, Broder and Adam Drucker (Doseone) composed music for an audiobook recording of Alan Moore’s essay Unearthing, with additional contributions from Mike Patton, Zach Hill, and Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite. In 2010 Broder assembled the alternative rock group the Cloak Ox with former Fog bandmates Jeremy Ylvisaker, Mark Erickson, and Martin Dosh; their debut EP Prisen emerged on Totally Gross National Product in 2011, followed by the full-length Shoot the Dog in 2013.
Broder returned to Lex in 2014 with Brandished, an EP of abstract electronic beats issued under the name Wertheimer, and simultaneously released Visinvisible, a cassette of turntable-driven soundscapes, on Baro Records. The same label put out a 2015 EP with Crescent Moon, the project of rapper Alexei Moon Casselle. Picture of the Hostage Holding Today’s Newspaper, a limited box set containing five 20-minute beat tapes, appeared on Brian Records. Cornered Animal, an album of live improvisations, followed in 2016. After reactivating Fog as a solo endeavor, For Good arrived via Totally Gross, while an EP under his own name titled Wertheimer, featuring guest vocalist GABI, surfaced on Lex. Two further EPs, Cousin Mask (2017) and Arena of Dust (2019), examined broken post-industrial techno. Broder also joined Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Ryan Olson, and Psymun on the 2018 track “Star Mouth.” Vernon received co-writer credit on “Bloodrush,” Broder’s 2020 collaboration with Denzel Curry, Dua Saleh, and Haleek Maul, created for Alan Moore’s film The Show.
Albums