Ape School

Ape School is the moniker of Michael Johnson, a multi-instrumentalist studio wiz based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who was previously a member of the indie rock bands <a href="spotify:artist:2LQMERAetFUczButdvcsb5">Holopaw</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2IG2KZZiXaYygnWGCC7uEj">Lilys</a>. He made his debut as Ape School in 2009 in association with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ninja+Tune%22">Ninja Tune</a>. Born in Miami, Florida, Johnson moved to the Florida panhandle as a child and spent his teenage years in Gainesville. While living there, he was a member of the band <a href="spotify:artist:2LQMERAetFUczButdvcsb5">Holopaw</a>, whose frontman, John Orth, had collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:1yAwtBaoHLEDWAnWR87hBT">Modest Mouse</a> frontman Isaac Brock in the band <a href="spotify:artist:6LAwiATl5lQ3Uwh3llJpJI">Ugly Casanova</a>. Thanks in part to Orth's affiliation with Brock, <a href="spotify:artist:2LQMERAetFUczButdvcsb5">Holopaw</a> was signed to a recording contract with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop%22">Sub Pop</a>, the label that had released the <a href="spotify:artist:6LAwiATl5lQ3Uwh3llJpJI">Ugly Casanova</a> album Sharpen Your Teeth (2002), in addition to early singles by <a href="spotify:artist:1yAwtBaoHLEDWAnWR87hBT">Modest Mouse</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:2LQMERAetFUczButdvcsb5">Holopaw</a> released two albums on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop%22">Sub Pop</a>, Holopaw (2003) and Quit +/or Fight (2005), both of which feature Johnson as a multi-instrumentalist.

Apart from <a href="spotify:artist:2LQMERAetFUczButdvcsb5">Holopaw</a>, Johnson released a solo album, Nonsense Goes Mudslide (2004), on the Must!Delicious Recordings label. Meanwhile, he moved to Philadelphia, where he began collaborating with local indie rock artists including <a href="spotify:artist:5gspAQIAH8nJUrMYgXjCJ2">Kurt Vile</a> and Kurt Heasley. Most notably, he joined Heasley's band <a href="spotify:artist:2IG2KZZiXaYygnWGCC7uEj">Lilys</a> for the recording of their album Everything Wrong Is Imaginary (2006) and its supporting tour. He collaborated next with <a href="spotify:artist:1YRGQOk4Mk9EpM6nTJhXtK">Daedelus</a> on the album Love to Make Music To (2008). Thanks in part to <a href="spotify:artist:1YRGQOk4Mk9EpM6nTJhXtK">Daedelus</a>' affiliation with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ninja+Tune%22">Ninja Tune</a>, the label that had released Love to Make Music To, Johnson was signed to a recording contract with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Counter+Records%22">Counter Records</a>, a newly established subsidiary of the label.

Adopting the Ape School moniker, Johnson proceeded to release Ape School (2009), a psychedelic indie electronica album created chiefly with an old Moog dating back to 1965 (reportedly the fourth Moog modular synthesizer <a href="spotify:artist:6zva1rxiPt9GZsMbUvXU0l">Robert Moog</a> ever made). In 2012, Johnson, working with drummer <a href="spotify:artist:5odtYnxUvkfTC6wmwR53aI">Eric Slick</a> and a host of guests, returned with the second Ape School release, Junior Violence on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hometapes%22">Hometapes</a>. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi