2007 has been the year for Battles. With the release of their highly accomplished and frankly peerless debut album Mirrored in mid-May, 2007 transformed Battles from a hot transatlantic buzz band with an exemplary live reputation - the tastemaker’s choice, to an outfit internationally renowned. The release of Mirrored captured the imagination of all manner of music lovers and with it came immediate critical acclaim and a sell out two month European tour that ended in June with an audience of 5,000 at Barcelona’s Primavera, on the main stage for the last performance of the festival. Even more impressively (though unsurprising considering the quality of their live show), July saw Battles play to 10,000 people at Fuji Rock and the area had to be cordoned off due to overcrowding. And this is from a band who released their debut album two months earlier. The hype was justified. The summer saw a string of festivals, including headline appearances at Field Day and Green Man and a prime slot at Reading/Leeds. Even Bowie was spotted at a show! This autumn sees Battles returning with the velocity of a steamer to deliver the single ‘Tonto’ - an immense 8 minute colossus - due October 22nd. This immense single comes in a deluxe EP package with impressive live festival tracks, remixes courtesy of Four Tet and Kompakt’s The Field, a reworking of Leyendecker with Brooklyn rapper Joell Ortiz and bonus DVD disc with the Tonto and Atlas video and some very special behind the scenes footage, offering insight beneath Battles’s mysterious veneer.
As demonstrated by Atlas, the cosmic debut single whose video has reached half a million views on you tube in six months, Battles have the unique ability to straddle absolute creative ingenuity with infectious melody, inimitably in all that they do.
It seems that the phrase ‘Puzzle Pop’ coined by the NME is an apt one.
Having set the bar with Atlas, much intrigue has been circulating around the video that will accompany the colossal new single from Battles, 'Tonto'. Produced by Warp Films, Tonto is an eight minute epic performance video which sees Battles collaborate with celebrated light artists, UVA (United Visual Artists).
This film that is unapologetically eight minutes documents a long night spent in an imposing location far from civilization, where UVA's elaborate light installation and Battles incendiary, dusk-til-dawn performance meet head on.
Captured on film as a one off performance, the result of this dynamic interplay is unlikely to be repeated again. It is of no exaggeration to say that the result will delight current and new fans alike in its brilliance.
The intricately synchronized light grid was designed specifically for the track, using unique sequencing software designed by UVA. Marking the launch of its promo and advertising division, Tonto was produced by maverick production company Warp Films (This is England, Dead Man’s Shoes). Following an award-winning run of cinematic videos from top directorial talent, Warp Films have signed directors Shane Meadows, Paddy Considine, Leslie Ali and Richard Ayoade. Recent videos include Arctic Monkeys, Super Furry Animals, Maximo Park and Richard Hawley.
UVA have previously exhibited installations at London's V&A museum and Tate Modern as well as working with other artists including Massive Attack, Arctic Monkeys and Chemical Brothers. www.uva.co.uk / www.warpfilms.co.uk
To celebrate the release of Tonto, Battles will also be doing a key UK tour in October:
OCTOBER TOUR DATES: 10th October / Bristol / Bierkeller 11th October / London / Koko 17th October / Manchester / Academy 2 18th October / Edinburgh / Liquid Rooms 19th October / Newcastle / Stage 2