Who Made Who

Drawing from backgrounds spanning rock, jazz, experimental sounds, and dance music, the Danish trio WhoMadeWho sustains ongoing freshness through relentless innovation. Emerging in the mid-2000s, the group aligned with prevailing indie-dance currents via its early blend of punk, funk, and disco, as heard on the 2005 release WhoMadeWho. Over subsequent years the drive toward reinvention distinguished them from peers, evident on 2009’s The Plot where prog and surf rock joined an already broad palette of influences, and on the paired 2011 and 2012 sets Knee Deep and Brighter that revealed wide emotional scope. Later in the decade the band juxtaposed song-driven pop efforts such as 2014’s Dreams against mix compilations issued for respected dance imprints including Get Physical. With the arrival of 2020’s Synchronicity and 2022’s UUUU, WhoMadeWho had carved out a distinctive territory bridging club and indie spheres.

Formed in Copenhagen during 2003, the members merged distinct musical viewpoints: bassist/vocalist Tomas Høffding brought experience from the Scandinavian garage-rock circuit, guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg contributed credits from New York’s experimental rock and jazz circles including work with the Lounge Lizards’ David Tronzo, and drummer Tomas Barfod had already produced material for dance labels such as Kitsune and Get Physical. Improvised sessions yielded a demo that prompted Munich-based imprint Gomma to sign the group. Their first release arrived in 2004 as the Two Covers for Your Party single, containing reworkings of Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction” and Mr. Oizo’s “Flat Beat.” Also that year came the “Happy Girl” 12-inch, followed by additional singles ahead of the October 2005 self-titled debut. Critics noted the album’s fusion of disco, folk, psych-rock, and further elements, and it attracted attention from Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, who recorded a version of “Space for Rent” with his side project the Fifif Teeners. In 2006 the band supplemented single remixes with Green Versions, a mini-album offering acoustic interpretations of the debut’s material, while Cut Copy’s inclusion of “Hello, Empty Room” on Fabriclive 29 underscored rising visibility.

Extensive global touring followed, highlighted by a headline slot at 2007’s Benicàssim festival, alongside continued sonic experimentation. The second full-length, 2009’s The Plot, reflected expanded horizons through forays into surf, funk, and prog alongside established dance and rock foundations. Its singles received remixes from Discodeine, Hot Chip, Noze, and DJ Koze, later gathered on Gomma’s digital release The Remix Collection that August. The accompanying tour placed WhoMadeWho alongside LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, and Franz Ferdinand, and fresh material took shape during travel. Two projects emerged simultaneously: April 2011’s Knee Deep marked their first Kompakt release, produced by Michael Mayer and emphasizing a darker tone together with vocal textures recalling 1960s psychedelia. The Tales of Us remix of “Every Minute Alone” became an Ibiza favorite, and the group’s Roskilde Festival appearance that year unveiled a hybrid live configuration merging instrumentation, electronics, and DJ elements. February 2012 brought Brighter as the brighter counterpart to Knee Deep. That December the band shared a split single with the Mark Lanegan Band, covering Lanegan’s “Deep Black Vanishing Train” while Lanegan’s ensemble interpreted Brighter’s “Below the Cherry Moon.”

The fifth album, 2014’s Dreams, presented a more direct, guitar-centered approach. The following year’s Ember EP revisited the eclectic, jam-oriented methods of earlier work. Also in 2015 the trio joined Oliver Schories for an installment in SonneMondSterne’s mix series. Independently they delivered Body Language, Vol. 17 for Get Physical in 2016. Through the Walls appeared in January 2018 via Embassy of Sound, balancing synth pop and dance across its tracks. Watergate 26 arrived the next year, containing their rendering of Björk’s “Violently Happy” alongside selections by Otto B., Ruede Hagelstein, and Mathias Schober. The collaborative spirit continued on November 2020’s Synchronicity, an ambitious yet intimate set and the first Kompakt album in eight years, featuring input from Mayer, Echonomist, Robag Wruhme, and Rebolledo. UUUU, issued on Embassy One in 2022, extended the exploration of song-based minimal house.