“Ferociously funky stuff that nods towards 70s era Miles, with Artanker driving the whole train from behind his kit.” – Time Out New York.

“…like Can, each song grows into something awkwardly suited for a dance party of sorts.” –Seattle Weekly.

“simmering, downtempo funk and avant-jazz while maintaining a delicate balance between soul and sleaze.” –Time Out London.

“equal parts funk and freak out.” – The Wire

“Incorporating elements of jazz and dub, the eclectic group can recall some of the Beastie Boys' better homegrown funk instrumentals, as well as the dusky post-rock of Chicago's Tortoise / Isotope 217 contingent. Whatever it is they're up to, Artanker Convoy deliver it all with a laidback, cultured flair.” –Pitchfork

Artanker brought the Convoy together in the year 2000 with the preposterous ambition to create a new genre of music. A foundational premise was the notion that the musicians would not consciously attempt to “create” music or “write” songs, but rather to channel the street sounds of Flatbush in South Brooklyn, to tap into cosmic gamma rays, and reproduce these energies through evolving sound patterns that borrow from existing musical subcultures. Convoy proceeded to borrow from the pattern based musical progressions of electronic music, south asian classical, and dub, but utilize instruments and musicians steeped in punk rock.

Artanker took up drums in fourth grade in order to avoid having to learn to play the piano. He and high school classmate James Murphy formed The Jinx Clambake Explosion in 1992, where they pursued phantasms of improvised psychedelia in front of crowds of dancing teenagers in rural New Jersey. Joe Fioerentino joined Jinx Clambake on bass, bringing a dub inflected sound informed by a substantial jazz knowledge to the band. The band self destructed on its first anniversary, at which time Murphy gave Artanker his first electric guitar.

Artanker tuned the guitar to a power chord inducing open E and went on to form the critically acclaimed acid bubblegum group Stratotanker with Fiorentino, keyboard wiz Chris Seeds, guitarist/floutist Kathy La Calista and frontman Dicky Dahll. Murphy produced most of Stratotanker’s records, which consisted of two LPs on the infamous punk label Homestead and a third on Anisette, as well as several singles and compilation appearances.

As Stratotanker began to disintegrate, the controversial Brazilian choreographer Maura Baiocchi (her work banned during the years of the military dictatorship) asked Artanker to compose music for new dance projects by her modern dance company Taanteatro. Artanker formed the Convoy to create and execute the compositions, bringing Fiorentino and Seeds back together as well as Art Lavis from Princess Superstar, Jake Oas from the Low Down Dirty D.A.W.G.S. and tabla star Jon Warren. The Convoy created several compositions for Taanteatro and performed with the company at the Mercosur Theater Festival in Cordoba, Argentina as well as at various underground venues in New York City. Artanker then formed the interdisciplinary performance art company MUX with the Convoy, experimental video producers Andrew Personette, Bruna De Araujo, and Gene Trotsky, and New York modern dance choreographer Nicole Wolcott. Artanker Convoy appeared exclusively with MUX for most of 2005-2007.

The Social Registry released Convoy’s debut 12” “Artanker Convoy Presents Ocean Parkway” in 2004, and Convoy followed up with the LP “Mature Fantasy” the following year. Time Out New York was the first to compare the releases to 70s era Miles Davis, and these comparisons only grew more frequent with release of the next LP, “Cozy Endings,” in 2007. After the release of Cozy Endings, reviewers also began to compare Convoy to Can and Don Cherry with growing frequency.

Due to the large scale of Convoy’s performances, which came to include multiple video projectionists and modern dancers, Convoy rarely performs outside of New York. However, in early 2008 the band engaged on a sensational UK tour.

Convoy has also composed and recorded soundtracks for animated short films, including one for Sesame Street, and an unreleased Christopher Walken/Amanda Pete/Sharon Stone film “Five Dollars a Day.” And, not to leave dance behind, Convoy continues to work with Taanteatro as well as with New York dancer Nicole Wolcott.

Convoy is now zig zagging in a new direction, adopting the new persona ART CON. ART CON takes the live electronica and asian dub hypnotic patterns and focusing on what Artanker sees, in his warped view, as a “pop” sound, replete with vocals and hand claps. Bubblegum ragas, if you will. Stay tuned in.