TV on the Radio

TV on the Radio, American alternative rock group known for multilayered musical collages that mix sonic experimentation with accessible pop hooks. The lineup consisted of vocalist Tunde Adebimpe (byname of Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe; b. February 25, 1975, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.), multi-instrumentalist David Andrew Sitek (b. September 6, 1972, Maryland), vocalist-guitarist Kyp Malone (in full David Kyp Joel Malone; b. February 27, 1973, Pennsylvania), drummer Jaleel Bunton (in full Jaleel Marcus Bunton; b. October 24, 1974, California), and bassist-keyboardist Gerard Smith (in full Gerard Anthony Smith; b. September 20, 1974, New York, New York—d. April 20, 2011, Brooklyn, New York).

TV on the Radio was founded in 2001 when Adebimpe and Sitek met as neighbours in Brooklyn, New York. Finding much in common as visual artists and musicians, the pair self-released a demo recording, OK Calculator (2002), the title of which was a play on English rock group Radiohead’s seminal album OK Computer. The two made their commercial debut on the independent Touch and Go label with the EP Young Liars (2003), and they brought Malone on board for the group’s first full-fledged LP, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (2004). Though Bunton played drums on that album, he and Smith did not officially join the band until after its release. With a foundation of eccentrically timed drum loops and droning electronics adorned with jazzy horns and the striking interplay of Adebimpe and Malone’s vocals, the album made TV on the Radio a critics’ darling.

This success earned the group a contract with major label Interscope Records, which released Return to Cookie Mountain (2006), a densely layered recording whose stylistic reference points ranged from 1980s industrial music to the psychedelic soul of Parliament Funkadelic to 1950s doo-wop. Like the lyrics on the group’s debut album, those on Return included meditations on war and societal unrest. Along with growing contributions from Bunton and Smith, the album also featured a guest vocal performance by rock icon David Bowie, an avowed fan of the band.

Dear Science (2008) offered a brightening of the group’s musical textures and lyrics, with an increased focus on hip-hop beats and major-key melodies. It debuted in the upper reaches of the Billboard albums chart and was named album of the year by Rolling Stone and Spin. It also topped the Village Voice’s influential annual “Pazz & Jop” critics’ poll. As the accolades mounted, the band members turned their attention to other projects. In 2008 Adepimpe made his feature-film debut as an actor and singer in Jonathan Demme’s Rachel Getting Married. Both he and Sitek had previously worked with art punk group the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and they had a hand in that band’s 2009 album It’s Blitz!, which featured Adebimpe as a guest artist and Sitek as coproducer. Sitek also produced Scarlett Johansson’s Anywhere I Lay My Head (2008), which featured the actress’s interpretation of Tom Waits songs. Malone released a solo album titled Rain Machine in 2009, and the following year Sitek’s pop group Maximum Balloon released its debut LP. The group returned to the studio for Nine Types of Light (2011), an ambitious departure that traded the driving bass of Dear Science for torch-song lyrics and rock-ballad instrumentation. The band addressed loss on the cathartic Seeds (2014).