Ratatat
Biography
In the sprawling landscape of early 2000s indie rock, where garage revival bands and post-punk revivalists dominated the conversation, two classically trained musicians from New York quietly assembled something altogether more peculiar and enduring. Mike Stroud and Evan Mast, operating under the moniker Ratatat, would spend the next two decades crafting a singular sonic universe built from the unlikely marriage of face-melting guitar heroics and meticulously programmed electronic beats—a combination that shouldn't work but absolutely does.
The duo's origin story reads like a collision of different musical worlds. Stroud, armed with a guitar and a head full of classic rock mythology, met Mast, a classically trained cellist turned beat-making wizard, while both were students at Skidmore College in upstate New York. Their 2004 self-titled debut emerged from Brooklyn's fertile underground, a collection of instrumental tracks that felt like transmissions from some parallel dimension where Kraftwerk had grown up worshipping at the altar of Eddie Van Halen rather than disco.
What made Ratatat immediately compelling wasn't just their genre-splicing audacity, but their complete commitment to the bit. These weren't rock songs with electronic flourishes or dance tracks with token guitar solos—they were seamless hybrids that treated both elements as equal partners in an ongoing conversation. Stroud's guitar work channeled everything from shredding 80s metal to delicate fingerpicked folk, while Mast's production sensibilities drew from hip-hop, classical minimalism, and vintage synthesizer worship with equal enthusiasm.
Their breakthrough came with 2006's "Classics," an album that refined their formula into something approaching perfection. Tracks like "Loud Pipes" and "Wildcat" became underground anthems, their infectious hooks and propulsive rhythms finding homes in everything from extreme sports videos to television commercials. The album's success lay in its ability to be simultaneously cerebral and visceral—music that satisfied both the head-nodding beat junkie and the air-guitar enthusiast.
The duo's prolific streak continued with "LP3" in 2008 and "LP4" in 2010, each release expanding their sonic palette while maintaining their core identity. They incorporated everything from mariachi horns to gospel organs, flamenco flourishes to trap-influenced hi-hats, yet somehow never lost the thread of what made them distinctly Ratatat. Their live performances became legendary affairs, with Stroud's guitar pyrotechnics complemented by elaborate visual projections that transformed venues into immersive audiovisual experiences.
Perhaps their most significant cultural impact came through their work as producers and collaborators within hip-hop circles. Their beats provided the foundation for tracks by everyone from Kid Cudi to Despot, while their remix work for artists like Björk and Beck demonstrated their versatility beyond their own material. This cross-pollination helped cement their reputation as more than just an indie curiosity—they were legitimate sonic architects whose influence extended far beyond their immediate genre.
The 2010s saw Ratatat continue to evolve, with albums like "Magnifique" (2015) showcasing a more mature, contemplative side while maintaining their capacity for moments of pure, euphoric release. Their ability to balance complexity with accessibility remained their greatest strength—these were compositions that revealed new layers with repeated listening while never losing their immediate, visceral impact.
What sets Ratatat apart in the broader context of 21st-century music is their complete disregard for conventional wisdom about genre boundaries. At a time when electronic music and rock seemed to exist in increasingly separate spheres, they demonstrated that the two could not only coexist but create something genuinely new in the process. Their influence can be heard in countless artists who followed, from the guitar-heavy EDM of artists like Nero to the electronic-influenced indie rock of bands like HEALTH.
Today, Ratatat continues to operate on their own terms, releasing music sporadically but maintaining a devoted fanbase that spans multiple generations and genres. Their legacy lies not just in their individual tracks—though songs like "Seventeen Years" and "Cream on Chrome" remain undeniable bangers—but in their demonstration that musical innovation often comes from the most unexpected combinations. In an era of increasingly rigid genre classifications, Ratatat remains a reminder that the most interesting music happens in the spaces between categories, where two unlikely elements can combine to create something entirely new and undeniably thrilling.
