Fol Chen is an American

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

band from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, formed in 2009.Staff (undated)
"Fol Chen"

Asthmatic Kitty Records Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, coug ...

. Retrieved February 18, 2013. The band is signed to

and has released three full-length albums.

''Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made''

The band "maintained utmost secrecy from the start", working under aliases and disguising their faces during recorded shows, including

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

radio's ''

Morning Becomes Eclectic ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' (MBE) is a three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill trilogy of plays, ...

'' program and the 2009

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

festival. The cover art for their first album, '' Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made'', release in 2009, features silhouettes, and music videos replace band members with actors and animation, such as the video of the song "No Wedding Cake" where band members appear as animals.

''Part II: The New December''

In 2010, the band released ''Part II: The New December'', described by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' as "screwball pastiche pop ''

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

' sounds like an

algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary a ...

problem but feels like a come-on." Sinosa Loa joined the group at this time as keyboardist and vocalist, although the band favored group vocals and shared lead duties among most members. They toured throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe with other American bands, including Liars,

!!! !!! ( ), also known as Chk Chk Chk, is an American rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 1996 by lead singer Nic Offer. Members of !!! came from other local bands such as the Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Pope Smashers. They are curr ...

, and

The Apples in Stereo The Apples in Stereo, styled as The Apples in stereo, are an American pop/rock band associated with Elephant 6 Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and Circulatory Sy ...

''The False Alarms'' (2013)

The band's third album was released March 19, 2013, on the Asthmatic Kitty label. The music is in a style the band calls "Opera-House", which they describe as "beat-driven electronica with grand, operatic gestures and lyrically-dense storytelling." In a departure from their previous use of multiple lead singers, Loa performs all ten tracks.

Other projects

During a month-long residency at The Echo nightclub in Los Angeles, the band featured different shows each night one show invited guest singers found via

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, Gig worker, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark ...

to perform with the band as a sort of live

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

; another night saw

metal band Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed ...

Viscera In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a ...

playing exclusively Fol Chen covers. In November 2010, Goldman and Loa traveled to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, to perform two long-form, constructivist-inspired reworkings of the two studio albums, followed by a workshop and recording session where they invited local musicians (and curious non-musicians) to join them in building a new Fol Chen song. On July 28, 2011, Goldman and Loa held a workshop at the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, t ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

to introduce the Fol Chen Verbal Algorithm Composer-Free Song Generator, produced with the Los Angeles–based arts organization

Machine Project Machine Project was a Los Angeles based not-for-profit arts organization and community event space. History Founded by Mark Allen, Machine Project launched in 2003 with its inaugural show, ‘Tom Jennings - Story Teller,’ an installation produ ...

. The project allowed museum visitors to record their experience with a piece of art and have it converted into a song that they could take home. The band collaborated with

Monome Monome is an Upstate New York-based company, founded by Brian Crabtree and Kelli Cain, that produces sound modules and MIDI controllers. Monome is also the name of their initial product, a grid-based controller that is now sometimes simply refer ...

, a computer-manufacturing company, in late 2011 to make the Tetrafol, a motion-sensitive pyramidal sound device. The Tetrafol came pre-loaded with Fol Chen samples but allowed users to apply their own sounds. The band released two singles made with the device and sold a limited run of 100 units.

Members

Adam Samuel Goldman Adam Samuel Goldman is a Los Angeles–based composer, music producer, and artist. He is best known as songwriter and producer for the art-pop band Fol Chen, which released three albums on Sufjan Stevens's Asthmatic Kitty label from 2009 to 20 ...

(credited as Samuel Bing) * The Booksman * Garrett Henritz * Sinosa Loa *

Patrik-Ian Polk Patrik-Ian Polk (born July 29, 1973 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Polk, who is gay, is noted for his films and theatre work that explore the experiences and stories of African-American LGBT pe ...

Discography

Albums

* '' Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made'' (2009) * '' Part II: The New December'' (2010) * '' The False Alarms'' (2013)

Covers, remixes and collaborations

* '' The Longer U Wait'' remix digital release (

Asthmatic Kitty Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...

, 2009) * 2009: "

The Beautiful Ones "The Beautiful Ones" is the third track on Prince and the Revolution's soundtrack album '' Purple Rain''. It was one of three songs produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince, the other two being "When Doves Cry" and " Darling Nikki". ...

" cover on the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

'' Purplish Rain'' * 2009: "

In the Flesh In the Flesh may refer to: Books * ''In the Flesh'' (2009 graphic novel), a collection of stories by Koren Shadmi Film and TV * ''In the Flesh'' (1998 film), an American gay-themed murder mystery film * ''In the Flesh'' (2003 film), an Indian ...

" cover on the

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

'' The Wall Re-Built'' * 2011: "I Walked" (

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...

cover) * 2012: "Implants and Yankee Candles" with

Kitty Pryde Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The character First appearance, first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (January 1980) and was ...

Other contributions

* soundtrack for the Canadian-American romantic

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film '' Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom'' (2008), directed by

* soundtrack for the short

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

''Beauty CuLTure'', directed by

Lauren Greenfield Lauren Greenfield (born 1966) is an American artist, documentary photographer, and documentary filmmaker. She has published four photographic monographs, directed four documentary features, produced four traveling exhibitions, and published in ma ...

* an instrumental version of the band's song "In Ruins" was featured in the episode " Unfriendly Chat" (2010) of the American police-procedural television series ''

CSI: NY ''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine seaso ...

'' and was also featured in the episode " Gentle Puppies" (2010) of the American

dark-comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series '' Weeds''

Music videos

*
200 Words
' directed by Aaron Ohlmann *
Cable TV
' directed by Chris Wilcha *
No Wedding Cake
' directed by Nancy Jean Tucker *
The Longer U Wait
' directed by Chris Wilcha

References

External links

* , the band's official website *
SXSW 2009 interview (video)
{{Authority control 2009 establishments in California 21st-century American musicians American pop music groups Electronic music groups from California Musical groups established in 2009 Musical groups from Los Angeles American synth-pop groups Asthmatic Kitty artists