The Books

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Biography

New York City (2000 – 2012)

The story of The Books began in 2000, when Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong met through a friend in New York City. Sharing similar interests but different backgrounds in acoustic music and found sound, Zammuto and de Jong took their sonic experiments to the studio. Eventually, with some urging by Tom Steinle of Tomlab Records, they created what would become their debut record, ‘Thought for Food’, in 2002. Within a year, the Books relocated to Hot Springs, NC, and recorded and released ‘The Lemon of Pink’. With a lot of favorable word of mouth and critical buzz from the first two records, the Books relocated again in winter of 2004 and recorded in an old Victorian home in North Adams, MA. With the release of ‘Lost and Safe’ in April of 2005, the Books prepared to tour with their unique blend of samples and acoustic music. All three Books albums were released on Tomlab Records.

One of the most unique aspects of the band is the video compositions which play during their live performances. The videos sync with the music and provide visuals to coincide with the many found-sounds the band employs. According to the band, much of the video is pulled from home movies and ephemeral films bought from thrift stores. On their new track entitled ‘A Cold Freezin’ Night’, the many audio samples were pulled from Talkboy tapes also acquired from thrift stores.
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  • kapoiu

    i think that the song ,,i didn t know that,, has a niceeeee video

    18 May 8:28pm Reply

  • Sooperglitcher

    What art The Books make - truly wonderful. Make sure you listen to 'Prefuse 73 Reads The Books' if you are a fan of this group - joyously clever use of their work to make totally new compositions.

    17 Apr 8:17pm Reply

  • MuseMyEpicCake

    Plunderphonics

    14 Apr 7:38pm Reply

  • MuzykoLubna

    This is very interesting music

    14 Apr 1:02pm Reply

  • adam_wrong

    GUYS I'VE SEEN ZAMMUTO LIVE AND MET HIM BEFORE&AFTER THE SHOW AND HE KNEW WHO I WAS. FANGIRLIN SO HARD.

    1 Apr 6:26am Reply

  • kapoiu

    i m in love with the books

    1 Mar 6:48pm Reply

  • Breadspace

    the book touhou. you know, patchouli.

    21 Feb 8:59am Reply

  • adam_wrong

    The end of this group is the saddest thing I've ever heard [2] listening to A Dot In Time really makes me feel sad.

    19 Feb 10:41pm Reply

  • Pittajr

    thinking about listen this band now, what think guys?

    15 Feb 10:29pm Reply

  • ilikenachosduh

    The end of this group is the saddest thing I've ever heard

    13 Feb 7:59am Reply

  • docword21

    none of the related artists are related in any way besides the fact that they both produce sound

    23 Jan 11:08pm Reply

  • viniortolano

    are there people who actually hate them? never heard of that... this band is one of the few i can say i LOVE

    7 Jan 6:18am Reply

  • adam_wrong

    "if i can get everyone on last.fm to not take me seriously, maybe I can... accomplish... something?" -folkfag00

    13 Dec 2012 Reply

  • jugglersgirl

    the people who defend the books here are a lot smarter than the people who trash em

    6 Dec 2012 Reply

  • hazebass7

    they didnt break up did they??"

    7 Nov 2012 Reply

  • atom217

    They aren't as random or "aleatoric" as many say they are. Nick Zammuto has said in interviews that the majority of their songs are meticulously planned out, not just left to chance and happen to turn out good.

    27 Oct 2012 Reply

  • Offino

    I don't like you, but I respect you.

    25 Oct 2012 Reply

  • tweekieyoung

    Thanks to Nicolas Jaar for introducing me to The Books. Great stuff.

    17 Oct 2012 Reply

  • ThePich

    What's with all the italian samples?

    16 Oct 2012 Reply

  • InKursion

    @folkfag: aleatoric music seems to have worked pretty well for the rest of the 20th century avant-garde.

    6 Oct 2012 Reply
    • All 972 shouts

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