Deakin

Multi-instrumentalist Joshua Dibb, better known by his performing name Deakin, came to prominence in the early 2000s as a founding member of experimental indie outfit Animal Collective. Along with childhood friend Noah Lennox (Panda Bear), Dibb began recording music at a young age, befriending future bandmates David Portner (Avey Tare) and Brian Weitz (Geologist) in high school in Baltimore, Maryland. While attending college in Boston, Dibb and Lennox continued to collaborate with Portner and Weitz, eventually adopting the name Animal Collective to apply to their various recorded efforts. The band's style incorporated psychedelia, Krautrock, electronic music, and pop, and their unique format allowed the members the autonomy to work together as a whole or in smaller subgroups while still recording under the Animal Collective umbrella. To that end, Dibb has taken several breaks from Animal Collective during their existence, while still being considered a full-time member. He was on a break from the band in 2009 when they released their breakout LP, Merriweather Post Pavilion. During this period he embarked on a solo venture under the Deakin name, completing remixes for acts such as Phoenix, Goldfrapp, and Ratatat. He also raised a significant amount of money from a Kickstarter campaign to fund his debut -- which would include an elaborate book and CD -- and donate to the charity Temedt, which helps enslaved Tuareg people in Mali. Production of the album lasted much longer than expected and it was eventually revealed that Dibb had donated most of the raised funds to Temedt and was self-funding his album after all. During that period he rejoined Animal Collective, taking part in their 2010 visual album ODDSAC and the 2012 Centipede Hz album before leaving again in 2013. In 2016, Deakin's long-awaited solo debut, Sleep Cycle, finally arrived via his own My Animal Home label. ~ Timothy Monger