Band A Day: DARKSIDE

General Info

Members: Nicolas Jaar (Synthesizer), Dave Harrington (Electric Guitar)

Biography: The mastermind behind Darkside, 23-year old Nicolas Jaar was born and raised in New York City (with a brief stint in Chile as a child). While studying comparative literature at Brown University, Jaar saw his popularity as a DJ grow to the point where he began touring in Europe on weekends and during breaks. His career as a DJ was capped in 2011 with the release of Space Is Only Noise which received an 8.4 and Best New Music designation from Pitchfork.com. Constantly striving to differentiate himself from genre-labels, Jaar decided to seek out the best guitarist available at Brown and start a new project merging electronic music and rock.

Jaar found his man in Dave Harrington, who ultimately toured with him for Space is Only Noise. "I said to Will (Jaar’s childhood friend and longtime collaborator), 'Who's the best musician you know at Brown?' He said, 'Dave, he plays bass.' I said, 'Tell him to bring a guitar instead. […] Dave has experimental tastes, whereas my taste is more mainstream. We fit like a little puzzle. You can hear how we complete each other."

Major Discography: Psychic (2013)

Influences: Ricardo Villalobos, Beck, Beirut, Oneohtrix Point Seven, among countless other eclectic acts.


Sounds Like: Darkside
Genre: None
Similar Artists: None
Similar Bonnaroo Artists: None



Suggested Listening
Obviously a good place to start is Darkside’s debut album, Psychic. I can’t in good conscience recommend one or two songs to check out – either listen to the whole album or don’t listen to Darkside. Best advice for listening is to remove all distractions. Have a glass of scotch, a blunt or both at the ready. Be patient and focus on the intricate development of each song as it ebbs and flows through emotions.

Beyond positive reviews for their album, Darkside is acclaimed for their excellent live performance.

Check out their very impressive Coachella set here:


KEXP Performance:


Random Access Memories Memories (Remix of the full album):


A song off Nicolas Jaar’s solo album, Space Is Only Noise:


Nicolas Jaar performs a 5-hour improvised set at the MOMA…because he can:






Physical Reaction/Live Show
I saw these guys live at the Union Transfer in Philadelphia and was blown away. Darkside transforms their songs into drawn out jams that make you feel like you’re hearing something completely unique at every moment – probably because you are. The crowd was relatively tame in terms of dancing, with a handful of ignorant hipsters chatting in the back of the venue. I’m assuming you can expect more or less of the same wherever Darkside travels.

But that’s not to say that Darkside puts on a tame performance. The dramatic light show paired with Darkside’s ability to react to the crowd will take you through a spiritual journey if you let it.



Personal Notes
Psychic is like a piece of art I would put on a wall, and their live performance brings it to life. I love this music because its goes in a direction that I’ve never seen before by binding modern electronic music with psychedelic rock influences. Even more impressive is Nicolas Jaar’s ability to adapt to the crowd and evolve his sound. You can tell from the production on the album to the light show (and really, don’t judge it until you see it live) that he puts blood sweat and tears into every single detail of his art. I hope everyone gets an opportunity to take it all in during the set at Bonnaroo.