Violens

Formed in New York during the final months of 2007 by alumni of Lansing-Dreiden, the group Violens took its name from a blend of the words “violence” and “violins.” Its founding roster featured Jorge Elbrecht handling vocals and guitar, Iddo Arad on vocals and synthesizer, Ben Brantley on bass, and Kris King on drums; the quartet made its live debut that December. Drawing on Zombies-style psych-pop, shoegaze, post-punk, and Miami freestyle, Violens issued a self-titled EP through Static Recital in March 2008. In the wake of that recording the band toured across the United States and Europe, produced remixes for MGMT and the Very Best, wrote runway scores, and posted a series of seasonal mixtapes online. Brantley and King eventually departed, and guitarist Myles Matheny came aboard. The revised lineup delivered the debut full-length Amoral on Friendly Fire in 2010. Throughout the following year the musicians continued to post tracks online, assembled additional mixtapes, performed live, and developed fresh material. One of those tracks attracted the attention of Slumberland Records, which issued the band’s second album, True, in early 2012.