MGMT

MGMT were formed when Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden met at Wesleyan University during their first year in 2002. The pair bonded over musical tastes and experimented with lots of different styles, like electronica and noise rock, before coming across their signature psychedelic, mellow rock. Upon graduating in 2005, the duo toured to promote the recordings that became the Time To Pretend EP.

They were signed to Columbia Records in Autumn 2006 and began working with music producer Dave Fridmann, who has worked with the Flaming Lips and Weezer, among many more. MGMT supported Canadian band Of Montreal in 2007 as a five-piece band, adding Matthew Asti (bass), James Richardson (drums) and Hank Sullivant (guitar). MGMT were listed as a top 10 “Artist to Watch” for 2008 by Rolling Stone, as well as coming ninth in the BBC’s Sound of 2008 poll. Their much anticipated debut album, Oracular Spectacular, debuted at number 12 on the UK chart in January 2008 and was nominated for Best International Album at the 2009 BRIT Awards. It was also named the Best Album of 2008 by NME.

The band got a support slot for Radiohead on the Manchester date of their world tour, and also opened for M.I.A and Beck. They then went on to perform shows on their own MGMT tour in November 2008, as well as numerous other festivals and one-off appearances. The band garnered an incredible amount of media attention and their singles Kids, Time To Pretend and Electric Feel are all fan favourites, with MGMT tickets selling out fast so fans can experience the band’s dreamy psychedelia live. Kids was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals

Their latest album Congratulations was released in April 2010, and it went to number four in the UK chart. Controversially, the band have stated there may not be any singles released from the album. They earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 2010.