Tune-Yards

History and work

Born in 1979, Garbus was raised in New York City and in New Canaan, Connecticut. She attended Smith College. She was a puppeteer for the Sandglass Theater in Vermont and lived in Montreal where she played ukulele in the band Sister Suvi with guitarist Patrick Gregoire and drummer Nico Dann. Merrill's sister Ruth Garbus is also a musician who has played solo and in the band Happy Birthday. After releasing her first Tune-Yards album in 2008, she moved to Oakland, where her partner in Tune-Yards, Nate Brenner, also lives.

The first Tune-Yards album, Bird-Brains (stylized as BiRd-BrAiNs) was originally self-released by Garbus on recycled cassette tape. It was recorded using only a handheld voice recorder. A limited edition vinyl was released in June 2009, via the Portland-based imprint Marriage Records. In July 2009, it was announced that Tune-Yards had signed to 4AD, and a limited edition pressing of Bird-Brains was released on August 17, 2009. A full worldwide release followed on November 16, 2009 (and November 17 in North America). The autumn 2009 pressing was remastered at Abbey Road Studios by Christian Wright, and includes two new bonus tracks: "Want Me To" and "Real Live Flesh."

A second album, Whokill (stylized as w h o k i l l), was released on April 19, 2011. A single from it, "Bizness", came out in February 2011. It was produced by Garbus and engineered by Eli Crews at New, Improved Studios in Oakland. Applying the live approach to Garbus' studio work for the first time, Garbus works with bass player Nate Brenner, who co-wrote some of the album's songs. Comparing the act to Sonic Youth, Frontier Psychiatrist said, "if Bird-Brains was Garbus' Evol, a record bursting with musical ideas that attempted to subvert the notion of song, who kill is Garbus' Sister, a record that embraces the traditional pop song as a vehicle to convey those ideas." The album as well as singles "Bizness" and "Gangsta" received mention on many top 2011 album and song lists, including Time,{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101344_2101365_2101669,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107201010/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101344_2101365_2101669,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 7, 2012

Garbus started recording material for her third LP during the latter half of 2013, with a working title of Sink-o. A May 6, 2014 release date was later announced with the title Nikki Nack. The album spawned three singles, including "Water Fountain", which was featured in the soundtrack for EA Sports video game FIFA 15 as well as in a 2016 commercial for the Google Pixel.

A fourth album was released on January 19, 2018, called I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life. The album showed more of an electronic influence. The single "Look at Your Hands" was released earlier, in October 2017, followed by "Heart Attack" in January.

The Tune-Yards scored the satiric science fiction film Sorry to Bother You (2018). The film was shown at Sundance in January, then began a theatrical run in July. Its soundtrack songs are performed by the Coup, fronted by the film's director, Boots Riley. Riley said he started working with Tune-Yards in "early 2015" to create the film's score, with demo tracks already available before the script was complete, and before the start of principal photography. Riley said he was attracted to Garbus's voice, and to the band's "unorthodox use of percussion and vocal layering." Garbus also composed the theme music for The New Yorker Radio Hour.

In 2021, Tune-Yards appeared as the opening performance for Google I/O with Artificial Intelligence powered vocal accompaniment.

Members

• Merrill Garbus – vocals, ukulele, percussion (2006–present)
• Nate Brenner – bass guitar (2009–present)

Touring members

• Hamir Atwal – percussion (I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life tour, Sketchy tour)
• Noah Bernstein – saxophone (Whokill tour)
• Haley Dekle - percussion, vocals (Nikki Nack tour)
• Kasey Knudsen – saxophone (Whokill tour)
• Jo Lampert – vocals (Nikki Nack tour)
• Dani Markham – percussion, vocals (Nikki Nack tour)
• Matt Nelson – saxophone (Whokill tour)
• Abigail Nessen-Bengson – vocals (Nikki Nack tour)
• Moira Smiley – vocals (Nikki Nack tour)

Discography

Studio albums

Soundtracks

EPs

• Bird-Droppings (November 3, 2009, 4AD, EAD2938) US-only download EP
• ...creep... Remixes (October 31, 2018, 4AD, 4AD0127DS) Download-only EP
• Tell the Future With Your Body (September 16, 2025, 4AD) Download-only EP

Singles

Music videos

• "Real Live Flesh" (2010)
• "Bizness" (2011)
• "Gangsta" (2011)
• "My Country" (2012)
• "Water Fountain" (2014)
• "Real Thing" (2014)
• "Wait For A Minute" (2015)
• "Rocking Chair" (2015)
• "Look At Your Hands" (2017)
• "ABC 123" (2017)
• "Heart Attack" (2018)
• "Honesty" (2018)
• "nowhere, man" (2020)
• "hold yourself" (2021)
• "hypnotized" (2021)
• "Limelight" (2025)
• "Heartbreak" (2025)
• "How Big Is The Rainbow" (2025)

Guest appearances

• Citay – "Mirror Kisses" from Dream Get Together (January 26, 2010, Dead Oceans)
• Afuche – "Danice Marino" from Highly Publicized Digital Boxing Match (May 21, 2011, Cuneiform Records)
• Elephant & Castle – "En Memoria" from Transitions (March 27, 2012, Plug Research)
• Preservation Hall Jazz Band – "Careless Love" from St. Peter & 57th St. (September 25, 2012, Rounder Records)
• The Blind Boys of Alabama – "I've Been Searching" from I'll Find a Way (October 1, 2013, Sony Masterworks)
• Battles (band) – "Last Supper On Shasta Pt 1 / Pt 2" from Juice B Crypts (October 16, 2019, Warp (record label))

Productions

• Thao & Mirah – Thao + Mirah (April 26, 2011, Kill Rock Stars)
• Latyrx – "Deliberate Jibberish" and "Watershed Moment" from The Second Album (November 5, 2013, Latyramid)
• Thao & the Get Down Stay Down – A Man Alive (March 4, 2016, Ribbon Music)
• Sonny & the Sunsets – Moods Baby Moods (May 27, 2016, Polyvinyl)

Compilation appearances

• "Powa" from 4AD Sessions 2008–2011 (September 20, 2011, 4AD)
• "Bizness" from Modern Songbirds: The Most Incredible Female Singers (April 20, 2012, EMI)
• "Bizness" from Studio Brussel Selected Live Sessions (April 21, 2012, Studio Brussel)
• "Lady" from Red Hot + Fela (June 1, 2012, Knitting Factory Records)
• "Riotriot" from Rough Trade Shops: Green Man '12 (July 30, 2012, Rough Trade Records)

Notes

References

References

1. ""Water Fountain" (live on 'Fallon')".
2. (May 2, 2011). "World of Wonder: How Merrill Garbus left the theatre and took the stage.".
3. Caramanica, Jon. (October 8, 2009). "New York Times Music Review: Putting it Together". nytimes.com.
4. "Pazz and Jop Poll: Top Albums of 2011". The Village Voice.
5. Hazel Sheffield, {{usurped. The Stool Pigeon]]'', May 9, 2011.
6. Mark Richardson, [http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/7957-tune-yards/ "Interviews: tUnE-yArDs"], ''[[Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork]]'', April 25, 2011.
7. Byard Duncan, [https://www.baycitizen.org/news/music/merrill-garbus-tuneyards-oakland-profile/ "Merrill Garbus' Road to Fame"] {{Webarchive. link. (January 7, 2014 , ''[[The Bay Citizen]]'', April 20, 2012.)
8. Chris Dahlen, [http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13094-now-i-am-champion/ "Sister Suvi: Now I Am Champion"] (review), ''[[Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork]]'', July 7, 2009.
9. Charlotte Richardson Andrews, [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/07/tune-yards-merrill-garbus-whokill "Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus on life after lo-fi"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', April 7, 2011.
10. Bevan, David. (2010-03-17). "Happy Birthday: Happy Birthday". [[Pitchfork Media.
11. "Ink19 Tune-Yards: Master of Puppets". ink19.com.
12. "Tune-Yards – Bird-Brains (LP) at Discogs". Discogs.com.
13. (August 9, 2009). "Tune-Yards – Bird-Brains (CD, Album, Lim) at Discogs". Discogs.com.
14. "tUnE-yArDs official website".
15. (April 11, 2011). "What's A Girl To Do?: A Review of tUnE-yArDs' w h o k i l l". Frontier Psychiatrist.
16. (January 25, 2012). "On tUnE-YarDs, Chuck Klosterman and the End of the High Fidelity Era of Music Criticism". The L Magazine.
17. (December 7, 2011). "Time Magazine Top 10 albums of 2011 (#6)".
18. "Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 2011 (#13)".
19. "Rolling Stone 50 Best Singles of 2011 (#32)".
20. (December 12, 2011). "Spin Magazine Top 50 Albums of 2011 (#30)".
21. Pareles, Jon. (December 15, 2011). "The New York Times Top 10 Pop Albums of 2011 (#7)". [[The New York Times]].
22. "Village Voice Pazz + Jop 2011 Albums".
23. (June 6, 2013). "tUnE-yArDs' Merrill Garbus writing 'chaotic' new album 'Sink-o'". [[NME]].
24. Hogan, Marc. (March 3, 2014). "tUnE-yArDs Teases 'Nikki Nack' LP With Deliriously Anarchic Megamix". SPIN.
25. (September 16, 2014). "Listen to the FIFA 15 Soundtrack".
26. "Google Pixel: Memories by you, phone by Google".
27. "The official website for independent record label 4AD.".
28. Petridis, Alexis. (2018-01-18). "Tune-Yards: I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life review – wonky diva wakes up to wokeness".
29. (November 30, 2017). "Tune-Yards Score Boots Riley-Directed Film Sorry to Bother You".
30. "'Sorry to Bother You' Director Boots Riley on Working With Tune-Yards and Breaking the Rules of Soundtracks".
31. "About The New Yorker Radio Hour".
32. (18 May 2021). "Google I/O 2021 – Okay, Google, show us new stuff".
33. (18 May 2021). "The story behind the Blob Opera world tour".
34. "Chart Places tUnE-yArDs".
35. "Tune Yards Album & Song Charts – Independent Albums".
36. "tUnE-yArDs Chart History – Rock Albums".
37. "ARIA Report: Issue 1264". ARIA.
38. "Chart Stats – TUnE-yArDs". ultratop.be.
39. "ultratop.be – Discographie Tune-Yards". ultratop.be.
40. "Discografy Tune Yards". irishcharts.com.
41. "Tune Yards Chart History: Album Sales".
42. "tUnE-yArDs Chart History – Rock Album Sales".
43. (April 10, 2020). "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". [[Official Charts Company]].
44. "Tune Yards Chart History: Current Album Sales".
45. (April 2, 2021). "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". [[Official Charts Company]].
46. "Tune Yards – Chart History: Adult Alternative Airplay".
47. "Tune Yards – Chart History: Mexico Ingles Airplay".
48. "Real Live Flesh – Single by Tune-Yards on Apple Music". Apple Music.
49. "Gangsta – Single by Tune-Yards on Apple Music". Apple Music.
50. "My Country by Tune-Yards on Apple Music". Apple Music.
51. "Water Fountain – Single by Tune-Yards on Apple Music". Apple Music.
52. "Look at Your Hands – Single by Tune-Yards on Apple Music". Apple Music.
53. "ABC 123 by Tune-Yards on Apple Music". Apple Music.
54. "Heart Attack – Single by Tune-Yards on Apple Music". Apple Music.
55. "Nowhere, Man – Single by Tune-Yards on Apple Music". Apple Music.
56. "Hold Yourself. by Tune-Yards on Apple Music". Apple Music.
57. "Hypnotized by Tune-Yards on Apple Music". Apple Music.