Stephen Mejias

Oh, crap. This is good. Recently signed to 4AD, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti are poised to release Before Today, their first full-length album for the acclaimed indie label, on June 8th. Whee!

The Los Angeles-based band is led by Pink (born Ariel Rosenberg), avant-garde sound artist, who has produced over 500 home recordings on several hundred cassettes, in addition to at least seven proper studio albums.

Who knows how much material is floating out there?

The music is a blend of West Coast psychedelic funk, pop, punk, noise, and glam, and is altogether delightful and exhilarating. And Pink—strangely, eerily—in appearance, sound, and attitude—reminds me of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.

Have you seen any of the 4AD Sessions yet?

The 4AD Sessions are an ongoing series of video recordings with various acts from the label’s roster. Following on from the Deerhunter session at the Studio Plateaux on Platts Eyott island in 2008, the recordings will see 4AD artists performing back-catalogue covers and alternative versions of their own material.

In addition to the Deerhunter session, there are sessions with Tune-Yards, Efterklang, and now Haunted Graffiti.

Ahead of their debut release for 4AD, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti appear in session with a number of tracks from the forthcoming Before Today alongside recordings of the likes of “Flashback” and “Spires in the Snow” (incarnations of the latter dating back as far as 1999).

I highly and enthusiastically recommend checking out the entire radical, seriously great Haunted Graffiti session.

Then go back and check out all of the sessions. The first session was created as a tribute to John Peel’s Radio 1 sessions, and the equipment at Studio Plateaux is a rare collection of vintage ribbon microphones, preamps, tape machines, and effects, all sourced over many years from around the world. Cool.