Efterklang

Efterklang's post-rock experiments were first heard in December 2000, when childhood friends Casper Clausen (vocals), Mads Brauer (computer), and Rasmus Stolberg (guitar) -- all three having recently located to Copenhagen from the tiny Danish island of Als -- joined musical forces with pianist Rune Mølgaard (piano) and drummer/trumpeter Thomas Husmer. From the start, the band took a D.I.Y. approach to their music, handling all aspects of songwriting, recording, and production in their Copenhagen practice space. The self-released Springer EP was issued in 2003 on the band's own Rumraket label, with 500 copies packaged in fake fur. That same year, video artist Karim Ghahwagi joined the ensemble and began pairing Efterklang's music with integrated video collages. Now attracting attention from record labels, the band signed with the Yorkshire-based Leaf Label and issued Tripper in 2004; the orchestral album soon became the fastest-selling debut in the Leaf label's history. Efterklang's popularity soared in Denmark, with "Under Giant Trees" debuting at number one on country's singles chart. Several smaller releases followed -- the reissued version of Springer, the One Sided LP on Philadelphia's Burnt Toast Vinyl, the five-song Under the Giant Trees -- and Efterklang released their third full-length, Parades, in October 2007.