Deerhunter

• Bradford Cox
• Moses Archuleta
• Josh Fauver
• Colin Mee (left briefly in 2007)
• Lockett Pundt

Deerhunter began in 2001 as the brainchild of Bradford Cox and Moses Archuleta, with the ambition of fusing the lulling hypnotic states induced by ambient and minimalist music with the klang and propulsion of garage rock. Due to shifting line up changes and uncertainty about what musical direction to undertake, Deerhunter shows during this time period were very interesting. One never knew quite what to expect with each show being completely different from the previous show. After definitively adding Josh Fauver and Colin Mee, Deerhunter recorded their self-titled first album, often known as Turn it up, Faggot (2005, Stickfigure) after what had been yelled at them at numerous gigs.

Cryptograms is their second full-length, and their first for Kranky. The album took almost two years to finish and was the product of emotional, physical, and financial strain on the group. The first half of the album was recorded first unsuccessfully and the band considered giving up. The idea arose to give it one last shot and they returned to the small studio where they recorded their first studio and plugged in. The session resulted in the first half of the record which was recorded in one day. The second half of the record was also recorded in one day, in November 2005.