Takka Takka

Formed in 2004 once Gabe Levine moved from Texas to New York, the Brooklyn group Takka Takka produces music that merges folk-rooted songcraft with indie rock arrangements. Initial members comprised drummer Conrad Doucette, bassist J.P. Jones, and guitarist Damion Jurrens, with Jones yielding his role to Grady Jurrens during 2006 and Damion stepping aside in July 2007 for Rene Planchon and Drew Thurlow. The ensemble tracked its first full-length, We Feel Safer at Night, locally in Brooklyn before spending the second half of 2006 on the road with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Upon returning, the band welcomed Grady Jurrens, Damion’s brother, on bass and headed to Seaside Lounge to capture a successor to its independently released debut. The resulting EP, Talk Faster, appeared in early 2007. Performances across the U.K. together with a prominent appearance at the 2007 South by Southwest festival raised the group’s visibility, prompting Ernest Jenning Recording Co. to sign Takka Takka that May. September brought a reissue of We Feel Safer at Night bundled with the three-track Talk Faster, after which the band delivered its second album, Migration, in 2008.