Night Beats

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Night Beats
Background information
OriginSeattle, Washington, United States
GenresGarage rock, psychedelic rock, soul, R&B
Years active2009 — present
LabelsFuzz Club, Cooking Vinyl, Heavenly Recordings
Trouble In Mind
The Reverberation Appreciation Society
MembersDanny "Lee Blackwell" Rajan Billingsley
Past membersTarek Wegner
James Traeger
Jakob Bowden
Evan Snyder
Websitethenightbeats.us

Night Beats is an American psychedelic/garage rock project, formed in 2009 in Seattle, Washington as the pseudonym of Danny "Lee Blackwell" Rajan Billingsley. The project has toured internationally with The Zombies, W.I.T.C.H., The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Black Angels.

History[edit]

Danny "Lee Blackwell" Rajan Billingsley founded Night Beats in 2009, named after the Sam Cooke album, Night Beat. Early releases, such as H-Bomb [2] were recorded solo as a one man project, while rotating members were added as he began to tour extensively and grow an international following.[3]

Night Beats eventually relocated from Dallas to Seattle and continued to actively record a steady stream of releases such as 2013’s Sonic Bloom and 2016’s Who Sold My Generation,[4] both of which created some divergence from their earlier lofi sound, incorporating elements of soul and funk.[5]

In 2019, Night Beats released their fourth album, Myth of a Man, produced by Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. [6][7] The album featured a more polished sound than earlier works, while marking a return to the band's psychedelic and garage rock roots.[8]

In 2022, Danny teamed up with Carolina Faruolo (ex-Los Bitchos) to release the Tropicalia influenced album Monte Carlo on the Seattle based Suicide Squeeze Records.[1] He also has a collaborative project called UFO Club, with Christian Bland from the band the Black Angels. [9] Notably, the song "Right/Wrong," was the official song of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival in 2022.

On April 12, 2023, it was announced that Night Beats sixth studio album Rajan on Suicide Squeeze will be released in July. [10]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Singles/Splits/EPs[edit]

  • H-Bomb 7" - 2010 (Self-Released)
  • H-Bomb 7" - 2010 (Trouble In Mind Records)[2]
  • H-Bomb EP (iTunes) - 2010 (Holy Twist)[3]
  • Night Beats/UFO Club Split 10" - 2011 (The Reverberation Appreciation Society)
  • Night Beats/TRMRS Split 7" - 2012 (Volcom Entertainment/Resurrection Records)[4]
  • Night Beats/ Her Cold Cold Heart - 2018 (Heavenly Recordings / [PIAS])

Compilations[edit]

  • Get Wyld! Vol. 1 - 2010 (Holy Twist)[5]
  • Portable Shrines Magic Sound Theatre Vol. 1 - 2011 (Translinguistic Other/Light In The Attic)[6]
  • Sailor Jerry Vol. 4 - 2011 (Sailor Jerry Rum)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Monte Carlo". Suicide Squeeze. Archived from the original on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  2. ^ [1] Archived August 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "iTunes Store". Itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-26. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  4. ^ "Volcom Entertainment - Vevc". Store.volcoment.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  5. ^ "iTunes - Music - Get Wyld! Volume 1 by Various Artists". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-04-05. Archived from the original on 2014-05-26. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  6. ^ "Portable Shrines Magic Sound Theatre Vol. I | Light In The Attic Records". Lightintheattic.net. 2011-04-16. Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-01-09.

External links[edit]