Tipsy

Brought together by their shared fascination for experimental music and noise, the San Francisco-based lounge-collage duo Tipsy consists of Tim Digulla and David Gardner. Previously, Gardner worked with sonic manipulators like PGR and Big City Orchestra; Digulla began recording noise projects on his walkman while in junior high under the name No One. He continued his experiments in the San Francisco noise scene, through which he connected with Gardner at a warehouse sound event. Interested in the possibilities early easy listening and lounge music presented for tweaking and remixing, the duo formed Tipsy and recorded 1997's Trip Tease at the Bloody Angle Compound, their label Asphodel's recording studio. Trip Tease mixes modern and retro dance beats and the sensibility of '50s and '60s easy listening into a surreal musical confection; three singles, Flying Monkey Fist/Space Golf, Space Golf/Nude on the Moon and Grossenhosen Mit Mr. Excitement were released. In 1998, the band applied their avant-kitsch touch to a remix on Pulp's This Is Hardcore single. After a two-year period out of the spotlight, Tipsy returned in late 2000 with the Hard Petting single, which pointed to a more streamlined, less lounge-inspired sound. This trend continued on their second album, Uh-Oh, which arrived in early 2001. Tipsy's members worked on other projects, including music for commercials, before reconvening in the studio in 2005 for their third album. The group finished recording in fall 2007, but the product of their labor, Buzzz, didn't arrive until a year later on Ipecac Records.