Javelin sounds like a curated thrift store find that somehow contains the entire history of pop and hip-hop. Their music is a vibrant patchwork of dusty samples, analog synth squiggles, and infectious rhythms that feel both familiar and completely alien. It has the tactile, grainy quality of a well-loved cassette tape, full of warmth and unexpected sonic artifacts that reward close listening.
What makes them truly distinctive is their 'block party in-a-box' philosophy. By utilizing FM transmitters and mobile boomboxes, they turned their production into a communal, lo-fi experience. They blend an obsession with 80s hip-hop textures with a surrealist art-school sensibility, creating tracks that are as intellectually curious as they are danceable. It is music that celebrates the beauty of the discarded and the forgotten.
Start with 'No Más' to hear their most cohesive statement of psychedelic pop and world-influenced grooves. From there, dive into 'Jamz n Jemz' for a rawer look at their sample-flipping mastery. If you are feeling adventurous, 'Canyon Candy' offers a fascinating detour into their unique 'junk store cowboy' aesthetic that reimagines Western tropes through a digital lens.
Javelin is a production duo based in Brooklyn, New York City. Cousins George Langford and Tom Van Buskirk started making music together in Providence, RI in 2005, although their earliest tape experiments date back to childhood. Each member is a multi-instrumentalist. George plays the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and mandolin, while Tom plays the cello and piano. The duo has been described as "obsessed with old school hip-hop of an ‘80s vintage". While creating mostly mellow electro-pop/80s-synth style music, the band's music is very eclectic and they have even produced a country music album. For years, Javelin used colorfully painted boomboxes on stage to color their sound like a guitar amp. The signal from the show was broadcast via FM transmitter, fostering audience participation (B.Y.O. Boombox) or fueling battery-powered, mobile parties. The band has played over 200 events including Lollapalooza in 2010. In 2009 Javelin was identified a "Rising" artist by Pitchfork Media, tagged Best New Music Pitchfork's and was given honorable mention for Pitchfork's "Albums of the Year" for their breakout release JAMZ N JEMZ. Before forming Javelin, Langford regularly collaborated with the funk band Addison Groove Project.
Shares playful, nostalgic, wistful (moods); sample based, lo fi, bedroom production (production style)
Shares processed, deadpan, harmonized (vocal style); sample based, analog warmth, lo fi (production style)
Shares glitch, lo-fi hip-hop (subgenres); bedroom production, lo fi, sample based (production style)
Shares glitch, art pop, lo-fi hip-hop (subgenres); sample based, lo fi, bedroom production (production style)
Shares sample based, lo fi, bedroom production (production style); playful, nostalgic, joyful (moods)
Shares playful, nostalgic, wistful (moods); sample based, lo fi, bedroom production (production style)
Shares sample based, lo fi, bedroom production (production style); processed, deadpan, harmonized (vocal style)
Shares art pop, lo-fi hip-hop (subgenres); sample based, lo fi, bedroom production (production style)
Shares lo fi, sample based, tape saturation (production style); glitch, art pop (subgenres)
Shares sample based, lo fi, bedroom production (production style); playful, nostalgic, wistful (moods)
Shares lo-fi hip-hop, glitch, bedroom production, sample based (subgenre)
Shares lo-fi hip-hop, glitch, art pop, bedroom production (subgenre)
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