The Book of Knots is an American experimental
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
band consisting of the members Matthias Bossi,
Joel Hamilton
Joel Hamilton (born 1980) is an American Brooklyn-based record producer, audio engineer and musician. Hamilton performs as a musician for the band Book of Knots. He is also a producer and engineer at Studio G in Brooklyn, New York.
In the summer ...
,
Carla Kihlstedt
Carla Kihlstedt (born 1971) is an American composer, violinist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and currently working from a home studio on Cape Cod.
She is a founding member of Tin Hat Trio (1997, ...
and
Tony Maimone
Tony Maimone (born September 27, 1952) is a bassist, producer, and recording engineer, who lives in Brooklyn, New York.
He was a member of Pere Ubu from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, often playing with drummer Scott Krauss. The duo were dubbe ...
.
History
The Book of Knots was formed in 2003 by three core band members Joel Hamilton, Matthias Bossi and Tony Maimone at Hamilton and Maimone’s Brooklyn–based Studio G. Members of Book of Knots have played or worked with various acts previously, including
Skeleton Key
A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master Lock (security device), key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous Lock and key, locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives fr ...
,
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (often abbreviated to SGM) was an American experimental rock band, formed in 1999 in Oakland, California. The band fused classical, industrial, and art-rock themes throughout their music. They were known to perform elabo ...
,
Shiner,
Battle of Mice
Battle of Mice was an American post-metal supergroup consisting of Julie Christmas (Made Out of Babies), Josh Graham (ex-Neurosis, ex- Red Sparowes, A Storm of Light), Joel Hamilton ( Book of Knots), Tony Maimone (Book of Knots, Pere Ubu), a ...
,
Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. Sparklehorse was active from 1995 until Linkous' 2010 death. Prior to forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands ...
,
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
,
Unsane
''Unsane'' is a 2018 American psychological horror film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. The film stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Matt Damon, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy I ...
,
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...
,
Frank Black
Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Fo ...
,
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...
, and more. Carla Kihlstedt (of
Tin Hat Trio
Tin is a chemical element with the Chemical symbol, symbol Sn (from la, :la:Stannum, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand wit ...
,
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (often abbreviated to SGM) was an American experimental rock band, formed in 1999 in Oakland, California. The band fused classical, industrial, and art-rock themes throughout their music. They were known to perform elabo ...
, and 2 Foot Yard, among others) joined later in 2003 to solidify what would become the group's core quartet.
Together, the Book of Knots decided to release three conceptual records: their first was an ode to rotting seaside towns — a self-titled debut which appeared on Arclight Records in 2004. The second was a tribute to the American
rust belt
The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions and ...
, titled ''Traineater;'' the group had signed to
Anti-
Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop (Sage Francis, The Cou ...
in November 2006, and the album's release followed in April 2007. It featured guest performances from musicians such as
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
,
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter.
Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...
,
Jon Langford
Jonathan Denis Langford (born 11 October 1957) is a Welsh musician and artist based in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Langford is a founder member of the punk band The Mekons, the post-punk group The Three Johns, and the alternative country ...
and
David Thomas. The third album, with an aeronautical theme, was named ''Garden of Fainting Stars;'' the title track was written and performed by Elyas Khan of
Nervous Cabaret
Nervous Cabaret is an American punk-cabaret band from Brooklyn, New York, which formed in 2002.
History
The singer Elyas Khan's stage creation ''Fragmented Devotion To You'', an operetta he conceived, wrote, and scored the surrounding music ...
. It was released on
Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton (Faith No M ...
June 14, 2011 and featured
Mike Patton
Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techni ...
,
Blixa Bargeld
Blixa Bargeld (born Christian Emmerich, 12 January 1959) is a German musician who has been the lead singer of the band Einstürzende Neubauten since its formation in 1980. Bargeld was also a founding member of the Australian rock band Nick Cave a ...
and more.
Discography
*''Book of Knots'' (Arclight Records, 2004)
*''Traineater'' (
ANTI-
Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop (Sage Francis, The Cou ...
, 2007)
*''Garden of Fainting Stars'' (
Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton (Faith No M ...
, June 14, 2011)
External links
Ipecac Recordings official websiteArclight Records official websiteBiographyon the
ANTI- Records
Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop (Sage Francis, The Cou ...
Website.
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Book of Knots
Rock music groups from New York (state)
Musical groups established in 2003
Musical groups from Brooklyn
American experimental musical groups
Ipecac Recordings artists
Anti- (record label) artists