Tel Aviv

The indie rock group Tel Aviv was formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1994 by singer/multi-instrumentalist Andrew Comer and guitarist/synth player Jay Kraus, longtime best friends whose teen years were spent listening to <a href="spotify:artist:0lZoBs4Pzo7R89JM9lxwoT">Duran Duran</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5lpH0xAS4fVfLkACg9DAuM">Wham!</a> records. Under the name Korova, they recorded a demo tape the summer after graduating from high school, and mailed a copy to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22TeenBeat+Records%22">TeenBeat Records</a>; the company initially passed on signing the group, but later, label chief <a href="spotify:artist:2KY8mhhCgmcvPOxgOk0yFU">Mark Robinson</a> stumbled across the tape, listening to it obsessively during a trip to Europe. With no other information other than the group's name, <a href="spotify:artist:2XsjR9uloOSRIXigqqfDea">Robinson</a> futilely searched for Korova on the internet; he then went on tour with his band <a href="spotify:artist:67lolfwHOPkbfmpktBe1f0">Air Miami</a>, with their schedule including a date at Oberlin College, where Comer was attending school. He introduced himself to <a href="spotify:artist:2XsjR9uloOSRIXigqqfDea">Robinson</a> at the concert, and quickly the duo was signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22TeenBeat%22">TeenBeat</a>; changing their name to Tel Aviv, they issued their debut single "Cigarette" in mid-1995, followed that fall by their self-titled debut LP. Adding fellow Oberlin student and keyboardist Raymond Sweeten, they returned in early 1997 with The Shape of Fiction. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi