Faunts

In 2000 Tim Batke and his brother Steven Batke founded Faunts in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, shaping a moody, introspective pop sound that combined intelligence, melody, drive, and gentle sorrow. Tim supplied guitar, keyboards, and vocals while Steven handled vocals and guitar, and the addition of percussionist Paul Arnusch completed the initial trio. Keyboardist Joel Hitchcock and bassist Scott Gallant later joined, enabling the group to gain attention across Northern Canada’s club circuit and earn opening slots alongside Broken Social Scene, Do Make Say Think, and Stars. Two favorably received Canadian tours followed, after which the band secured a deal with the independent Friendly Fire label and issued its debut album, High Expectations/Low Results, in fall 2005. A five-song EP titled M4 surfaced in late 2007 as a digital-only release whose tracks were written to accompany short films in a multimedia project. Around the same time Hitchcock exited and Rob Batke entered on keyboards and laptop manipulations.