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Artist
D. Gookin
12+ albums
beatsinstrumentalhip hopHip-Hopinstrumental hip-hop
about
New Haven beatsmith and solo artist D. Gookin, a.k.a. Mike Birnbaum, is on a mission. Think of it as retaliation against a recession both economic and emotional. While his peers delve ever deeper into moodiness and sonic murk, Gookin flips life's unsavory bits into maxed-out, genuinely uplifting music. Combining the adventurousness of modern electronic innovators like Tobacco and Daedelus with the playfulness of '90s pop usurpers like Soul Coughing and Len, his sound is as propulsive as it is melodic, as freewheeling as it is meticulously orchestrated, and as blown-out bright as it is endlessly detailed. His first self-released record—2009's LP How 2 Deal and 2008's EP When You're Lonely, Everybody's a Celebrity (Moodgadget)—were steeped in '80s electro and Italo Disco and yet oddly melancholic, like hearing someone else's dance party through a wall, or a pop tune playing from the bottom of a swimming pool. After contributing to Passion Pit's full-length breakthrough Manners, Gookin self-released 2010's From Here the Wall of Undoing EP, where he took a different tack. He pushed his drums and vocals to the forefront, adopting a psychedelic, rock-driven, maximalist approach à la Dan Deacon. Meanwhile, he developed his kinetic live show to match, both locally and on the road with Mux Mool. In 2011, D. Gookin returns with Spiral Style, his most raw and undiluted work to date. Inspired in no particular order by slam-dancing, Fat Boy Slim, general grooviness, vocoders, PacSun, an
top songs
albums
When Your Lonely Everybody's a Celebrity
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The Synchronicity Suite
When You're Lonely Everybody's a Celebrity
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The Nocturnal Suite
Spiral Style
Relay The Fallback
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No New Enemies Vol. 1
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Under The Mountain compilation [ISO50 Exclusive]
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Ghostly International Presents: Moongadget
Art Party
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When You're Lonely Everybody's A Celebrity EP
Prey On the Prize