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Takka Takka

MusicBlog

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Website: http://www.takkatakkamusic.com/

Bio: You never know when the inspiration will hit. For Takka Takka singer and guitarist Gabe Levine it came upon returning to Brooklyn in early 2004 ... (more) after some ill-spent time in Texas. After a year of writing music with rotating members, a band finally took shape in the form of drummer Conrad Doucette and guitarist Damion Jurrens alongside bassist John Paul Jones (-- totally his real name). Together they began crafting a set of matchless pop tunes that acknowledged Gotham inspirations like Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, and Philip Glass while also owing a debt to 90's luminaries including Guided By Voices and Pavement.

We Feel Safer At Night -- along with the three-track "Talk Faster EP" also included on the band's Ernest Jenning re-issue -- was recorded with Charles Burst at Brooklyn's Seaside Lounge and tweaked in Levine's home studio where he meticulously added the details. "The recording process was kind of painful," he recalls. "I spent 10 hours a day working on this stuff. By the end, some of the tracks had 20 keyboard overdubs." The result is an eclectic, jubilant set of songs that has already gained strong acclaim from the press and their peers.

The band spent 2006 performing for enthusiastic crowds throughout the US including a tour with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Architecture In Helsinki, They were also met with high acclaim at this year's SXSW and CMJ festivals, and have shared local and international stages with The Wrens, The National, My Brightest Diamond, and Nicole Atkins.
In late 2006, Jones left the band and the current line-up includes Damion's brother, Grady Jurrens on bass. The quartet are already back in the writing process and will be returning to Seaside Lounge in the fall of 2007 to record their sophomore LP, due for release by Ernest Jenning in early 2008. (less)