Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, and bassist Chris Baio. Batmanglij departed the group in early 2016.
Ezra Michael Koenig is an American musician, singer-songwriter, producer, and radio personality. He is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of indie rock band Vampire Weekend. Additionally, Koenig is the creator of the Netflix animated comedy series Neo Yokio and also hosts the Apple Music radio talk show Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig. Time Crisis is airing its eighth season, as of 2022.
"Cousins" is the first single from Vampire Weekend's second album Contra. It was recorded by the band in Mexico City and debuted a few days later in Guadalajara. The single was released November 17, 2009 and a 7" was released December 15, 2009.
"Giving Up the Gun" is the second single from Vampire Weekend's second album Contra. The song was originally performed by L'Homme Run, a comedic rap duo that featured Vampire Weekend vocalist Ezra Koenig. The video was released February 19, 2010. Koenig got the idea for the song from Noel Perrin's 1979 book titled Giving Up the Gun given to him by his father. It samples the song "Let Down" by Radiohead.
Rostam Batmanglij, known mononymously as Rostam, is an American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter, and composer. He was a founding member of the band Vampire Weekend, whose first three albums he produced. He has been described as one of the greatest pop and indie-rock producers of his generation. Rostam also works as a solo artist and is a member of electro-soul group Discovery. He produced his first number one album when he was 27 years old, Vampire Weekend's Contra.
"White Sky" is the fourth single from Vampire Weekend's second album Contra. The single release features three remixes of the song by Basement Jaxx. It is also the first song to be written on Contra, dating back before their debut album was released.
"Run" is a single released by Indie band Vampire Weekend. It is the sixth and final single from their second album Contra, and was released in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2010. There was no music video produced. Lead singer Ezra Koenig said that the song was based on the Bruce Springsteen song, "Born to Run".
Ariel Rechtshaid is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixing engineer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. His accolades include three Grammy Awards for music production.
Modern Vampires of the City is the third studio album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend. It was released on May 14, 2013, by XL Recordings. The group began to write songs for the album during soundchecks on the supporting concert tour for their 2010 album Contra. After a period in which each member explored individual musical projects, they regrouped and continued working on Modern Vampires of the City in 2011. With no deadline in mind, the band brought in an outside record producer for the first time, Ariel Rechtshaid, to record the album.
"Diane Young" is a song by indie rock band Vampire Weekend, taken from their third studio album Modern Vampires of the City. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 19, 2013. A promotional video of the single, which features two Saab 900s burning throughout the duration of the song, was uploaded to Vevo and YouTube on March 18, 2013. The official video to the single was uploaded on June 3, 2013.
"Ya Hey" is a song by American indie pop band Vampire Weekend, taken from their third studio album Modern Vampires of the City. It was released as the second single from the album on May 3, 2013 through XL Recordings. An official music video of the single, featuring the lyrics, was uploaded on May 3, 2013.
"Unbelievers" is a song by American indie pop band Vampire Weekend. Written by the band's lead singer Ezra Koenig and multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, and produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and Batmanglij, the song was released as the third single from their third studio album Modern Vampires of the City in August 2013. The band initially premiered "Unbelievers" in a live performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on October 31, 2012. They also performed the song live on an episode of Saturday Night Live prior to it being released as a single.
"Step" is a song by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend. Written and composed by band members Ezra Koenig and Rostam Batmanglij and produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and Batmanglij, the song was released as the fourth and final single from the band's third studio album Modern Vampires of the City. The song was inspired by American hip hop group Souls of Mischief's song "Step to My Girl".
Time Crisis is a fortnightly internet radio show hosted by Ezra Koenig and Jake Longstreth. The show began airing on July 12, 2015 on Apple Music's radio service, Beats 1. The show covers a variety of topics, such as politics, corporate food history, 1970s rock music, city living, as well as frequently analyzing the latest in contemporary pop music by contrasting it with music released in another era. In addition to Koenig, a variety of guest hosts have appeared over the show's history, including Jonah Hill, Rashida Jones and Jamie Foxx. Since 2017, Koenig is accompanied by co-host, Jake Longstreth, who regularly proclaims his love for the "tasteful palette" of early 70s classic rock, plus music from the Grateful Dead, Ween and Guided by Voices.
Father of the Bride is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend. It was released on May 3, 2019 by Columbia Records, as their first album on a major label.
"Harmony Hall" is a song by American indie pop band Vampire Weekend. It is the lead single from their fourth studio album Father of the Bride, and was released on January 24, 2019 by Columbia Records as a double A-side with "2021". It was the band's highest-charting single on the U.S. Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts, peaking at No. 8 and No. 5, respectively. It also received a nomination for Best Rock Song at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
"Sunflower" is a song by American indie pop band Vampire Weekend featuring singer and guitarist Steve Lacy. It was the second single from their fourth studio album Father of the Bride, and was released on March 6, 2019 by Columbia Records as a double A-side with "Big Blue". In response to Post Malone and Swae Lee's identically-titled single, the band covered the song as a part of their BBC Live Lounge session.
"Big Blue" is a song by American indie pop band Vampire Weekend. It was the second single from their fourth studio album Father of the Bride, and was released on March 6, 2019 by Columbia Records as a double A-side with "Sunflower".
"This Life" is a song by American rock band Vampire Weekend, released as the third single from their fourth studio album Father of the Bride. It was released on April 4, 2019, by Columbia Records as a double A-side with "Unbearably White". The highly referential song contrasts bright music against a lyrical exploration of uncertainty and suffering, and was written by lead singer Ezra Koenig with iLoveMakonnen and Mark Ronson. The track was released to widespread critical acclaim, being described as amongst the band's best work, and peaked at 11 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart.
"Unbearably White" is a song by American indie pop band Vampire Weekend. It was released on April 4, 2019 by Columbia Records as a double A-side with "This Life", and the third single from their album Father of the Bride.
