Biography
Drawing from backgrounds in rock, jazz, experimental music, and dance, the inventive Danish trio WhoMadeWho sustains ongoing freshness in their output. Emerging in the mid-2000s, the group aligned with prevailing indie-dance crossovers through their blend of punk, funk, and disco on the 2005 album WhoMadeWho. Over subsequent years an unwavering drive toward innovation distinguished them from many contemporaries of that period. The Plot from 2009 folded prog and surf rock into their already diverse influences, while the paired 2011 release Knee Deep and 2012 album Brighter illuminated the full scope of their emotional range. Later in the 2010s the band alternated between song-focused pop albums such as Dreams in 2014 and mix compilations for respected dance labels including Get Physical. By 2020’s Synchronicity and 2022’s UUUU, WhoMadeWho had carved out a distinctive territory between club and indie spheres.
WhoMadeWho formed in Copenhagen during 2003, merging the distinct musical outlooks of its members. Bassist/vocalist Tomas Høffding brought connections to the Scandinavian garage-rock scene, guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg contributed prior work with the Lounge Lizards’ David Tronzo from his time in New York’s experimental rock and jazz circles, and drummer Tomas Barfod had already produced material for dance imprints such as Kitsune and Get Physical. Jam sessions led to a demo that prompted Munich-based label Gomma to sign the trio. In 2004 WhoMadeWho issued the Two Covers for Your Party single containing their renditions of Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction” and Mr. Oizo’s “Flat Beat.” That same year brought the “Happy Girl” 12-inch, and additional singles appeared before the October 2005 arrival of their self-titled debut album. WhoMadeWho drew acclaim for its combination of disco, folk, psych-rock, and further elements, while Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme became a supporter and covered the track “Space for Rent” with his side project the Fifif Teeners. Alongside remixes of the album’s singles, WhoMadeWho released Green Versions in 2006, a mini-album of acoustic interpretations of the debut LP’s songs, and the placement of “Hello, Empty Room” on Cut Copy’s Fabriclive 29 mix further signaled their rising profile.
WhoMadeWho spent ensuing years touring internationally—including a headlining performance at 2007’s Benicàssim festival—while continuing to experiment. Their second album, 2009’s The Plot, mirrored expanding horizons as the band explored surf, funk, and prog alongside established dance and rock foundations. Singles from The Plot received remixes by Discodeine, Hot Chip, Noze, and DJ Koze, later gathered in Gomma’s digital release The Remix Collection that August. The Plot tour placed WhoMadeWho alongside LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, and Franz Ferdinand, and the band again developed fresh material while traveling. On this occasion they shaped two projects simultaneously. The first, April 2011’s Knee Deep, marked their debut on Kompakt Records. Produced by Michael Mayer, it revealed a darker facet of the group’s sound together with vocal arrangements drawing from 1960s psychedelia. The Tales of Us remix of “Every Minute Alone” became an Ibiza hit, and WhoMadeWho’s appearance at that year’s Roskilde Festival unveiled their hybrid live configuration blending live and electronic instrumentation with DJ sets. In February 2012 WhoMadeWho delivered Brighter, the more energetic counterpart to Knee Deep. That December the band joined the Mark Lanegan Band for a split single on which WhoMadeWho interpreted Lanegan’s “Deep Black Vanishing Train” while Lanegan and company tackled Brighter’s “Below the Cherry Moon.”
WhoMadeWho’s fifth album, Dreams, arrived in 2014 and presented a more direct, guitar-centered iteration of their sound. The following year’s Ember EP returned to the eclectic, jam-oriented style of earlier work. Also in 2015 the trio collaborated with Oliver Schories on an entry in SonneMondSterne’s mix series. Independently, WhoMadeWho issued Body Language, Vol. 17 for Get Physical in 2016. They resurfaced with Through the Walls, an eclectic set balancing synth pop and dance released by Embassy of Sound in January 2018. The mix album Watergate 26 followed the next year and included their cover of Björk’s “Violently Happy” along with selections by Otto B., Ruede Hagelstein, and Mathias Schober. WhoMadeWho extended the collaborative spirit of the mix on their subsequent LP, the ambitious yet intimate Synchronicity issued in November 2020. Their first album for Kompakt in eight years, it featured contributions from Mayer, Echonomist, Robag Wruhme, and Rebolledo among others. UUUU, released on the Embassy One imprint in 2022, sustained the band’s investigation of song-based minimal house.
WhoMadeWho formed in Copenhagen during 2003, merging the distinct musical outlooks of its members. Bassist/vocalist Tomas Høffding brought connections to the Scandinavian garage-rock scene, guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg contributed prior work with the Lounge Lizards’ David Tronzo from his time in New York’s experimental rock and jazz circles, and drummer Tomas Barfod had already produced material for dance imprints such as Kitsune and Get Physical. Jam sessions led to a demo that prompted Munich-based label Gomma to sign the trio. In 2004 WhoMadeWho issued the Two Covers for Your Party single containing their renditions of Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction” and Mr. Oizo’s “Flat Beat.” That same year brought the “Happy Girl” 12-inch, and additional singles appeared before the October 2005 arrival of their self-titled debut album. WhoMadeWho drew acclaim for its combination of disco, folk, psych-rock, and further elements, while Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme became a supporter and covered the track “Space for Rent” with his side project the Fifif Teeners. Alongside remixes of the album’s singles, WhoMadeWho released Green Versions in 2006, a mini-album of acoustic interpretations of the debut LP’s songs, and the placement of “Hello, Empty Room” on Cut Copy’s Fabriclive 29 mix further signaled their rising profile.
WhoMadeWho spent ensuing years touring internationally—including a headlining performance at 2007’s Benicàssim festival—while continuing to experiment. Their second album, 2009’s The Plot, mirrored expanding horizons as the band explored surf, funk, and prog alongside established dance and rock foundations. Singles from The Plot received remixes by Discodeine, Hot Chip, Noze, and DJ Koze, later gathered in Gomma’s digital release The Remix Collection that August. The Plot tour placed WhoMadeWho alongside LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, and Franz Ferdinand, and the band again developed fresh material while traveling. On this occasion they shaped two projects simultaneously. The first, April 2011’s Knee Deep, marked their debut on Kompakt Records. Produced by Michael Mayer, it revealed a darker facet of the group’s sound together with vocal arrangements drawing from 1960s psychedelia. The Tales of Us remix of “Every Minute Alone” became an Ibiza hit, and WhoMadeWho’s appearance at that year’s Roskilde Festival unveiled their hybrid live configuration blending live and electronic instrumentation with DJ sets. In February 2012 WhoMadeWho delivered Brighter, the more energetic counterpart to Knee Deep. That December the band joined the Mark Lanegan Band for a split single on which WhoMadeWho interpreted Lanegan’s “Deep Black Vanishing Train” while Lanegan and company tackled Brighter’s “Below the Cherry Moon.”
WhoMadeWho’s fifth album, Dreams, arrived in 2014 and presented a more direct, guitar-centered iteration of their sound. The following year’s Ember EP returned to the eclectic, jam-oriented style of earlier work. Also in 2015 the trio collaborated with Oliver Schories on an entry in SonneMondSterne’s mix series. Independently, WhoMadeWho issued Body Language, Vol. 17 for Get Physical in 2016. They resurfaced with Through the Walls, an eclectic set balancing synth pop and dance released by Embassy of Sound in January 2018. The mix album Watergate 26 followed the next year and included their cover of Björk’s “Violently Happy” along with selections by Otto B., Ruede Hagelstein, and Mathias Schober. WhoMadeWho extended the collaborative spirit of the mix on their subsequent LP, the ambitious yet intimate Synchronicity issued in November 2020. Their first album for Kompakt in eight years, it featured contributions from Mayer, Echonomist, Robag Wruhme, and Rebolledo among others. UUUU, released on the Embassy One imprint in 2022, sustained the band’s investigation of song-based minimal house.
Albums
Singles
