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Battles is the kind of band that’s most often defined by what it isn’t.. Prog-rock, math-rock, progressive metal — none of these categories encapsulate what Battles sounds like on tape or on stage. Though fans of Battles are loathe to even bring up math rock, a useless term if there ever was one (right up there with emo), Battles is best expressed as a metaphorical gestalt theory of which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Or maybe it’s best described through the scientific phenomenon of synergy in which distinct agents acting together create an effect greater than that predicted, to the point that outcome disturbs the very foundations of the universe.
Battles does disturb the universe. They are as rhythmically perfect as any human instrument can be. Monstrous in their sound and mind blowing in their mechanics, the parts of Battles come together to make something impossible, if not unholy. The parts: drummer John Stanier defined the drive of Helmet, guitarist and keyboardist Ian Williams propelled instrumental groups Don Caballero and Storm & Stress, and guitarist Dave Konopka lent his skills to intrumental rockers Lynx. Capping it off is vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist Tyondai Braxton, son of avant-garde jazz musician Anthony Braxton, one of the most prolific American musicians and composers to date.
Oddly enough, Battles has mistakenly been called an instrumental band in a number of publications. In truth, Braxton’s otherworldly vocals define much of the Battles sound. Pre-Battles, Braxton worked as a solo artist using loops and layers to create mini-orchestras and choirs.
“It’s true that we got pegged as an instrumental band at first, but it’s more complicated than that,” says guitarist Williams. “One of the initial ideas in my head, besides playing the guitar and keyboard together at the same time, was this chorus of singers. Of course that ended up being just logistical hell. We were in New York City and what were we going to do? Ask 20 people to come to practices? So we streamlined the whole process. The initial EPs I guess seemed to be instrumental, but Ty was adding some textures and sounds and manipulating stuff that does create that instrumental impact.”
Though they’ve been together for five years, their latest album, Mirrored, is Battles’ first full-length. Their three EPs, Tras, B EP and EP C, were released almost simultaneously in 2004 and quickly became collectors items among experimental and prog-rock circles. With Mirrored, the band has fully hit their stride.
“It started out as an initial musical impulse,” he says. “I was playing around one day and I started playing the guitar fretboard with my left hand and the keyboard with my right hand and creating these joint lines and harmonies. I asked Ty to play. He did a lot of cool vocal tricks — at the time, he had a few solo albums out and was known for his crazy vocal manipulations, setting beat-box loops and making different kinds of vocal effects with his mouth, as well as being a guitarist and keyboardist.”
From those beginnings, Battles’ sound has become a powerhouse. Between the machine-like militarism of Stanier’s drumming to the impossibly synchronized instrumentation of Konopka and Williams to the downright otherworldliness of Braxton’s vocals, one can’t help but wonder where the man ends and the machine begins. One thing is clear, though. The sound of the future is being defined, and it is Battles.
