Biography
Formed in Baltimore, the duo Ed Schrader's Music Beat pairs vocalist and drummer Schrader with bassist Devlin Rice. Early performances delivered a lean garage punk approach that swung between high-energy outbursts and measured, open croons, later incorporating additional keyboards alongside shifting rhythmic patterns. Emerging alongside numerous other projects from the Wham City collective, the pair maintained close ties through repeated tours and joint work with fellow members including Dan Deacon and Future Islands. Their first release, the high-velocity Jazz Mind, arrived in 2012, after which the Deacon-produced Riddles expanded the palette in 2018 and the moody yet rhythmic Nightclub Daydreaming followed in 2022. A more new wave and pop-oriented set, Orchestra Hits, surfaced in 2024.
Schrader supplied backing vocals on Deacon’s initial two Carpark albums, Spiderman of the Rings and Bromst. Within Wham City’s comedic side, Schrader gained notice through standup routines and podcasts, especially precise imitations of David Bowie. Solo touring began in 2009 with concise, straightforward numbers supported only by a floor tom, and Wham City issued the debut album The Choir Inside that same year. Collaboration with bassist Devlin Rice, previously of Nuclear Power Pants, started in 2010 under the name Ed Schrader’s Music Beat. Extensive road work preceded the 2012 release of Jazz Mind on Providence’s Load Records, which featured audience staples “Rats” and “I Can’t Stop Eating Sugar” along with appearances by Matmos and Randy Randall of No Age. Also that year the duo issued a split 7" with Future Islands, and Schrader contributed vocals to Matmos’ “Very Large Green Triangles.”
After further touring that included first European dates, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat joined JEFF the Brotherhood’s Infinity Cat Recordings, which put out the follow-up Party Jail in 2014. Subsequent runs with Chain and the Gang and Dope Body led into sessions for a third album, Riddles. Deacon produced, arranged, and supplied synthesizers throughout, enabling the band’s most expansive and detailed recording to date and moving well past the spare declarations of prior work; Carpark Records released Riddles in 2018. New songs were tested live in early 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic stopped performances, at which point the duo had planned a collection of “sunny disco bangers.” The death of touring drummer Kevin O'Meara (Videohippos) shifted the material toward a darker atmosphere while retaining certain danceable post-punk traits, resulting in the March 2022 release of Nightclub Daydreaming. Orchestra Hits, an approachable and somewhat nostalgic full-length, appeared on Upset the Rhythm in 2024.
Schrader supplied backing vocals on Deacon’s initial two Carpark albums, Spiderman of the Rings and Bromst. Within Wham City’s comedic side, Schrader gained notice through standup routines and podcasts, especially precise imitations of David Bowie. Solo touring began in 2009 with concise, straightforward numbers supported only by a floor tom, and Wham City issued the debut album The Choir Inside that same year. Collaboration with bassist Devlin Rice, previously of Nuclear Power Pants, started in 2010 under the name Ed Schrader’s Music Beat. Extensive road work preceded the 2012 release of Jazz Mind on Providence’s Load Records, which featured audience staples “Rats” and “I Can’t Stop Eating Sugar” along with appearances by Matmos and Randy Randall of No Age. Also that year the duo issued a split 7" with Future Islands, and Schrader contributed vocals to Matmos’ “Very Large Green Triangles.”
After further touring that included first European dates, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat joined JEFF the Brotherhood’s Infinity Cat Recordings, which put out the follow-up Party Jail in 2014. Subsequent runs with Chain and the Gang and Dope Body led into sessions for a third album, Riddles. Deacon produced, arranged, and supplied synthesizers throughout, enabling the band’s most expansive and detailed recording to date and moving well past the spare declarations of prior work; Carpark Records released Riddles in 2018. New songs were tested live in early 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic stopped performances, at which point the duo had planned a collection of “sunny disco bangers.” The death of touring drummer Kevin O'Meara (Videohippos) shifted the material toward a darker atmosphere while retaining certain danceable post-punk traits, resulting in the March 2022 release of Nightclub Daydreaming. Orchestra Hits, an approachable and somewhat nostalgic full-length, appeared on Upset the Rhythm in 2024.
Albums
