Biography
Growing out of their origins as Brooklyn experimenters, TV on the Radio developed into a widely praised group whose sound fused post-punk, electronics, soul, funk, and additional elements through vividly inventive combinations. Their distinctive approach, shaped by David Andrew Sitek’s immersive production alongside Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone’s fervent vocals and songwriting, set them apart early from others in the New York milieu of the 2000s. The band’s gripping yet welcoming style emerged essentially complete with the 2003 Young Liars EP; their debut full-length, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, expanded that approach with striking results the next year. Acclaim intensified with 2006’s Return to Cookie Mountain, which included a guest spot from David Bowie, an early and devoted supporter. Subsequent releases pushed further: Dear Science in 2008 brought added drive, Nine Types of Light in 2011 leaned into relaxed rhythms, and Seeds in 2014 offered clear-eyed reflections on loss. Through the later 2010s and into the 2020s, their charged stage shows sustained a standing among alternative music’s most compelling live acts.
The group formed after multi-instrumentalist and producer David Andrew Sitek relocated to the building containing vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Tunde Adebimpe’s loft. Both had previously recorded solo material, yet their styles meshed effectively, united by admiration for figures spanning Brian Eno, Earth, Wind & Fire, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Prince. Sitek’s brother Jason joined on drums and additional instruments, yielding the self-released four-track collection OK Calculator. Jason departed briefly for other projects but rejoined for the Touch & Go debut, the July 2003 Young Liars EP, which also featured the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Brian Chase and Nick Zinner and quickly drew strong reviews. Once that EP was finished, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kyp Malone joined, after which the band toured with the Fall.
For their first album the group tracked at Brooklyn’s Headgear Studio under Sitek’s guidance. Issued in March 2004, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes extended the dense textures of Young Liars; like the EP, it earned enthusiastic notices and captured that year’s Shortlist Music Prize. October brought the New Health Rock EP, pairing its previously unheard title track with album cuts and a cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Modern Romance.” The remainder of the year kept them active with headline runs and support slots alongside the Faint and Pixies.
Although touring obligations carried into 2005, the band reconvened at Sitek’s Stay Gold studio for their second album, now augmented by drummer and multi-instrumentalist Jaleel Bunton and keyboardist Gerard Smith. They also posted “Dry Drunk Emperor,” a track critical of President George W. Bush, on their site. Released in July 2006, Return to Cookie Mountain marked their first outing on 4AD (Interscope in the U.S.). Its rich, wide-ranging palette was mirrored by contributions from Zinner, David Bowie, Celebration’s Katrina Ford, and Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino. The album became their first to register on charts across multiple territories, reaching number 41 on the U.S. Billboard 200, number 90 on the U.K. Albums Chart, and listings in Europe and Australia. While supporting the record live, TV on the Radio invited Bauhaus’ Peter Murphy and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor onstage for Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Undead” and further material.
A sleeker course defined their following effort, September 2008’s Dear Science. Additional performances came from Ford, Antibalas, and saxophonist Colin Stetson among others; the album climbed to number 12 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 33 on the U.K. Albums Chart, earning gold certification across Europe in 2009. Gang Gang Dance, the Glitch Mob, and Jneiro Jarel reworked tracks for the April 2009 Dear Science remix EP Read Silence.
TV on the Radio entered a year-long hiatus in September 2009. During the break Malone focused on Rain Machine and appeared on Iran’s 2009 album Dissolver, while Sitek produced Holly Miranda’s The Magician’s Private Library and launched the collaborative pop project Maximum Balloon, whose self-titled debut arrived in 2010. The band regrouped the next year to record their fourth full-length, April 2011’s Nine Types of Light. A mellower, groove-centered record compared with prior work, it matched Dear Science’s chart peaks at number 12 in the U.S. and number 33 in the U.K. Shortly afterward Smith succumbed to lung cancer at age 34. Later in 2011 the group issued World Cafe Live, drawn from a National Public Radio session. After curating and headlining 2013’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in Camber Sands, England, they began their fifth album. Cut at Sitek’s home studio in Los Angeles, November 2014’s Seeds presented reflective yet hopeful material informed by Smith’s passing, reaching number 22 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 78 on the U.K. Albums Chart.
Following the Seeds tour, which included 2015 appearances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Shaky Knees festival, the band paused again. Sitek turned to production, working with Pussy Riot, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Weezer, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and Chelsea Wolfe. Malone pursued acting alongside music, taking parts in Broad City and the film Doors while producing and performing on Matana Roberts’ 2023 album Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden. Adebimpe likewise balanced acting with music, logging television roles on Adventure Time, The Girlfriend Experience, Perry Mason, and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and appearing in films such as Spider-Man: Homecoming, Marriage Story, and Twisters; he also joined Mike Patton and Doseone in Nevermen, whose self-titled debut surfaced in 2016, and contributed to Run the Jewels’ 2017 album Run the Jewels 3 among other projects. TV on the Radio toured in 2018 marking the tenth anniversary of Dear Science and opened for Weezer and Pixies at Madison Square Garden in 2019, yet did not return to the stage until late 2024, when they marked the twentieth anniversary of Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes with a short run and issued a deluxe edition containing demos and further bonus material.
The group formed after multi-instrumentalist and producer David Andrew Sitek relocated to the building containing vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Tunde Adebimpe’s loft. Both had previously recorded solo material, yet their styles meshed effectively, united by admiration for figures spanning Brian Eno, Earth, Wind & Fire, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Prince. Sitek’s brother Jason joined on drums and additional instruments, yielding the self-released four-track collection OK Calculator. Jason departed briefly for other projects but rejoined for the Touch & Go debut, the July 2003 Young Liars EP, which also featured the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Brian Chase and Nick Zinner and quickly drew strong reviews. Once that EP was finished, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kyp Malone joined, after which the band toured with the Fall.
For their first album the group tracked at Brooklyn’s Headgear Studio under Sitek’s guidance. Issued in March 2004, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes extended the dense textures of Young Liars; like the EP, it earned enthusiastic notices and captured that year’s Shortlist Music Prize. October brought the New Health Rock EP, pairing its previously unheard title track with album cuts and a cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Modern Romance.” The remainder of the year kept them active with headline runs and support slots alongside the Faint and Pixies.
Although touring obligations carried into 2005, the band reconvened at Sitek’s Stay Gold studio for their second album, now augmented by drummer and multi-instrumentalist Jaleel Bunton and keyboardist Gerard Smith. They also posted “Dry Drunk Emperor,” a track critical of President George W. Bush, on their site. Released in July 2006, Return to Cookie Mountain marked their first outing on 4AD (Interscope in the U.S.). Its rich, wide-ranging palette was mirrored by contributions from Zinner, David Bowie, Celebration’s Katrina Ford, and Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino. The album became their first to register on charts across multiple territories, reaching number 41 on the U.S. Billboard 200, number 90 on the U.K. Albums Chart, and listings in Europe and Australia. While supporting the record live, TV on the Radio invited Bauhaus’ Peter Murphy and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor onstage for Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Undead” and further material.
A sleeker course defined their following effort, September 2008’s Dear Science. Additional performances came from Ford, Antibalas, and saxophonist Colin Stetson among others; the album climbed to number 12 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 33 on the U.K. Albums Chart, earning gold certification across Europe in 2009. Gang Gang Dance, the Glitch Mob, and Jneiro Jarel reworked tracks for the April 2009 Dear Science remix EP Read Silence.
TV on the Radio entered a year-long hiatus in September 2009. During the break Malone focused on Rain Machine and appeared on Iran’s 2009 album Dissolver, while Sitek produced Holly Miranda’s The Magician’s Private Library and launched the collaborative pop project Maximum Balloon, whose self-titled debut arrived in 2010. The band regrouped the next year to record their fourth full-length, April 2011’s Nine Types of Light. A mellower, groove-centered record compared with prior work, it matched Dear Science’s chart peaks at number 12 in the U.S. and number 33 in the U.K. Shortly afterward Smith succumbed to lung cancer at age 34. Later in 2011 the group issued World Cafe Live, drawn from a National Public Radio session. After curating and headlining 2013’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in Camber Sands, England, they began their fifth album. Cut at Sitek’s home studio in Los Angeles, November 2014’s Seeds presented reflective yet hopeful material informed by Smith’s passing, reaching number 22 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 78 on the U.K. Albums Chart.
Following the Seeds tour, which included 2015 appearances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Shaky Knees festival, the band paused again. Sitek turned to production, working with Pussy Riot, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Weezer, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and Chelsea Wolfe. Malone pursued acting alongside music, taking parts in Broad City and the film Doors while producing and performing on Matana Roberts’ 2023 album Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden. Adebimpe likewise balanced acting with music, logging television roles on Adventure Time, The Girlfriend Experience, Perry Mason, and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and appearing in films such as Spider-Man: Homecoming, Marriage Story, and Twisters; he also joined Mike Patton and Doseone in Nevermen, whose self-titled debut surfaced in 2016, and contributed to Run the Jewels’ 2017 album Run the Jewels 3 among other projects. TV on the Radio toured in 2018 marking the tenth anniversary of Dear Science and opened for Weezer and Pixies at Madison Square Garden in 2019, yet did not return to the stage until late 2024, when they marked the twentieth anniversary of Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes with a short run and issued a deluxe edition containing demos and further bonus material.
Albums
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
2024
Seeds
2014
Nine Types of Light (Deluxe)
2012
Nine Types of Light
2011
Dear Science
2008
Return To Cookie Mountain
2006
Young Liars
2003
Singles
