Tune-Yards

Led by American musician Merrill Garbus, Tune‑Yards emerged in the mid‑2000s between Vermont and the US East Coast before settling in Oakland, California. Originally conceived as a solo home‑recording project, Tune‑Yards established with the lo‑fi album "BiRd‑BrAiNs" (2009) an aesthetic that blends experimental pop, fragmented rhythms and vocal loops. Soon joined by bassist and co‑writer Nate Brenner, Merrill Garbus developed Tune‑Yards into a denser, more orchestrated live duo drawing on indie rock, R&B and percussion traditions from various African and Caribbean sources. The albums "w h o k i l l" (2011), "Nikki Nack" (2014) and "I can feel you creep into my private life" (2018), released on 4AD, refined this mix of pop‑structured songs, chanted slogans and layered vocal textures, with lyrics that often address political and identity issues. In 2021, "sketchy." continued this hybrid approach, combining broader arrangements with a strong rhythmic drive. Alongside their records, Tune‑Yards has also composed music for film—most notably for Boots Riley’s "Sorry to Bother You"—while remaining associated with North American and European independent scenes.