Biography
It was on a dancefloor that Delia Gonzalez and Gavin Russom first connected, which made their emergence as one of the DFA roster’s least rhythm-focused outfits feel entirely natural. Rather than drawing from British post-punk or early house like most of their label peers, the New York pair took primary cues from German electronic pioneers of the 1970s, among them Tangerine Dream, Harmonia, and Manuel Göttsching of Ash Ra Tempel. Their introduction to listeners came via a 12-inch single issued in early 2004, whose B-side featured a beat-driven remix crafted by DFA’s James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy. That remix overshadowed the beat-free A-side so thoroughly that many were caught off guard when the duo’s debut album, The Days of Mars, proved entirely devoid of percussion, unfolding instead across four extended pieces built exclusively on Russom’s collection of hand-built analog synthesizers. Gonzalez and Russom also joined Murphy, Goldsworthy, and Christian Holstad for a side project called Black Leotard Front, which issued the Casual Friday single on DFA in 2004. Additional singles and EPs followed, among them 2006’s Relevee and 2010’s Track Five, before Gonzalez turned her attention to fine art; Russom, meanwhile, kept releasing music under his own name as well as with the Crystal Ark and other endeavors.
Albums
