Dirty Projectors

Did You Know?

• The band's 2007 album Rise Above is a track-by-track re-imagining of Black Flag's Damaged entirely from memory, without referencing the original recordings.
• Dirty Projectors collaborated with Björk on the 2010 EP Mount Wittenberg Orca, which was performed live at a Housing Works charity concert on May 8, 2009.
• In 2015, members of Dirty Projectors appeared as themselves in Noah Baumbach's film Mistress America.
• The 2020 EP series 5EPs was described by Longstreth as being about 'growth, transition, liminal space, shifting identity.'

History

While studying at Yale, Longstreth spent part of 2001 and 2002 working on musical ideas with his brother Jake, resulting in the album The Graceful Fallen Mango, released in 2002 under his own name. Morning Better Last!, released in September 2003, brought together three tapes recorded by Longstreth from 2001 to 2002; a year later they were compiled and released by States Rights Records on CD-R and as a digital download from iTunes. With help from Adam Forkner of Yume Bitsu, Longstreth recorded and released The Glad Fact on Western Vinyl under the name "The Dirty Projectors" in 2003.

Two years later, the band released The Getty Address, a concept album about Don Henley featuring extensive orchestral and choral accompaniment. The stripped-down New Attitude EP followed in 2006. In 2007, the band released Rise Above, an album of Black Flag songs re-imagined from memory, which introduced the contrast between Longstreth's vocals and the hocketed harmonies of Amber Coffman and Susanna Waiche (later replaced by Angel Deradoorian). In April 2008, Dirty Projectors signed with Domino Records, which announced the release of Bitte Orca for June 9, 2009.

That year, the band collaborated with David Byrne on the song "Knotty Pine" for the compilation Dark Was the Night; Byrne joined the band onstage at the "Dark Was the Night Live" concert at Radio City Music Hall on May 3, 2009. "Stillness Is the Move," the first single from Bitte Orca, was sung by Coffman and inspired by the Wim Wenders film Wings of Desire.

Musical style

Dirty Projectors have been described musically as indie rock, art pop, indie pop, prog pop, and chamber pop. Critics have linked the band to musicians including David Byrne, Squeeze, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Frank Zappa, and Yes. In a 2009 interview, Longstreth expressed dislike for Steely Dan, Yes, and Frank Zappa.