Gangi

Gangi began as the solo project of Brooklyn musician Matt Gangi in 2007, working on textural pop songs equally influenced by psyched-out electronica and burly freak folk. Living in a dilapidated apartment, Gangi recorded debut 2008 album A at home on his laptop, occasionally getting input from friend and neighbor Lyle Nesse. After the album's release, Gangi and Nesse joined forces to work on re-creating the album live, Nesse on drum kit and an array of looping devices and Gangi on guitar, vocals, and his own station of electronics. The pair relocated to Los Angeles to escape the cramped spaces and harsh winters of the East Coast, but ironically found one of their first great opportunities for exposure as part of Spin magazine's Best of 2008 showcase at CMJ in New York. The visibility afforded by this showcase earned the pair a larger fan base and a residency at the historic L.A. club Spaceland. Nesse eventually had to take a teaching job back east, and Gangi replaced him with similarly minded drummer/knob-turner Eric Chramosta. The pair toured and recorded often, eventually honing their sound into a combination of slightly more traditionally rock-based rhythms and fluid electronic textures. Following a series of one-off Internet-debuted tracks, the duo returned with second album Gesture Is in October of 2012.