Mixel Pixel

Mixel Pixel crafts tunes that merge sharp intelligence with intentional innocence, pairing whimsical and ethereal melodies evocative of Beat Happening’s impish younger relatives with a spirited yet forceful adoption of low-cost keyboards, samplers, and electronic playthings that let the tracks either surge with pulse or float aimlessly. The act, which sometimes appears under the billing Mr. Mixel Pixel, first took shape in 1995 when Rob Corradetti, whose early touchstones included Beck, Ween, the Vaselines, and Royal Trux, began capturing four-track cassette sketches and trading them through the mail with sympathetic peers while employed on a Minnesota farm. Two years afterward, Corradetti had moved to Delaware and started collaborating with Matt Kaukeinen; although the pair concentrated on home recordings, they also performed at house parties and the rare club date. By 1999 the musicians had shifted once more, this time settling in New York, where their experimental sessions persisted until Corradetti and Kaukeinen finished the debut Mr. Mixel Pixel album, Mappyland, in 2001. After relocating their base to Brooklyn, they launched live performances following the record’s release and invited Kaia Wong into the lineup. The trio then established a proper studio inside their communal loft and delivered a second album, Rainbow Panda, in 2004. By 2005 the group had built an expanding audience across the United States and Canada through its exploratory sound and inventive stage shows, prompting New York indie label Kanine Records to sign them for the third album, Contact Kid. Music for Plants arrived in fall 2006, at which point Matt Snee’s arrival expanded the ensemble to a quartet.