Ezra Koenig | |
|---|---|
 Koenig in 2013 | |
| Born | Ezra Michael Koenig (1984-04-08)April 8, 1984 (age 41) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupations |
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| Television | Neo Yokio |
| Partner | Rashida Jones (2015–present) |
| Children | 1 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | Vampire Weekend |
Musical artist | |
| Website | vampireweekend |
Ezra Michael Koenig (/ˌkeɪnɪɡ/KAY-nig; born April 8, 1984)[1][2][3] is an American musician,record producer, and radio personality. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter ofindie rock bandVampire Weekend. Additionally, Koenig is the creator of theNetflix animated comedy seriesNeo Yokio and also hosts theApple Music radio talk showTime Crisis with Ezra Koenig. Time Crisis is airing its tenth season, as of 2024.
Koenig's accolades include twoGrammy Awards from five nominations; with Vampire Weekend, he wonBest Alternative Music Album in 2013 and 2019. He was also nominated for Album of the Year in2016 for his production work onBeyoncé's albumLemonade (2016).[4]
Koenig was born inNew York City and is the son of Bobby Bass, apsychotherapist, and Robin Koenig, aset dresser on film and TV productions.[5] He isJewish, and his family emigrated to the U.S. fromRomania andHungary.[6][7][8][9] His parents lived on theUpper West Side ofManhattan before moving toGlen Ridge, New Jersey shortly after their son's birth. As a young teenager, Ezra attendedBuck's Rock Camp, aMontessori-style performing and creative arts camp in Connecticut.[10] He graduated fromGlen Ridge High School. Koenig has a younger sister, Emma Koenig (born 1988), who is the author of the booksFUCK! I'm in my twenties[11] andMoan, and has written for television and magazines. Ezra began writing music around the age of ten, and his first song ever was titled "Bad Birthday Party".[12]
While attendingColumbia University, he ran a blog calledInternet Vibes about fashion,existentialism, personal identity, and modern culture.[13][14] After graduating, he taught English throughTeach for America at Junior High School 258 inBrooklyn. Students recalled Koenig bringing his guitar with him to class, despite trying to hide it and his music career. He was described as a laid-back teacher who successfully made bonds with his students.[15] In fall 2007, a deal withXL Recordings cut short Koenig's teaching career.
During his schooling and college years, he was involved in numerous musical projects withWes Miles,[16] a childhood friend and now current frontman ofRa Ra Riot. Koenig and Miles formed an experimental band, The Sophisticuffs, which was described as "wildly inventive musical work".[17] In 2004, Koenig formed the hip hop group L'Homme Run, which was notable for the comedic track "Pizza Party",[18] with Andrew Kalaidjian and fellow Vampire Weekend band memberChris Tomson, played saxophone for theindie rock bandDirty Projectors and worked as an intern forThe Walkmen.[19]
In 2005, Ezra formed the indie rock bandVampire Weekend. The name of the group was in reference to an unreleased indie film of the same name that Ezra and his friends produced during a vacation. In the film, Ezra portrayed the protagonist, Walcott, a man hell-bent on escapingCape Cod as he believed vampires were coming. Many songs from the band's eponymous release made reference to the film.[20][citation needed]
Ezra met his bandmates atColumbia University, prior to 2003.[21] After already having met drummer Chris Tomson, Koenig became acquainted withRostam Batmanglij. The two immediately bonded overRadiohead at a party during freshman year and vowed to start a band one day.[citation needed] Rounding out the group wasChris Baio, Koenig's suite-mate in his sophomore year, with whom he shared a love ofDestiny's Child. The group immediately got to work, playing their first show in 2006 at a battle of the bands in a campus basement. They placed third out of four. Later that year, some of their demos appeared online, earning raves from sites likeStereogum andPitchfork.[citation needed] Before they knew it, they were selling out shows and appearing on the cover ofSpin without even having released an album.[22]
Theireponymous debut album arrived on January 29, 2008, and by the end of the year they had performed onSaturday Night Live, played for 40,000 fans at England's Glastonbury festival, and sold nearly half a million albums. The album was self-produced while they were working full-time jobs. Since then, the band have released another four albums:Contra (2010),Modern Vampires of the City (2013),Father of the Bride (2019), andOnly God Was Above Us (2024).
The band has been nominated for multipleGrammy Awards. In 2011,Contra was nominated forBest Alternative Music Album, butBrothers byThe Black Keys won the award. In 2014,Modern Vampires of the City was nominated in the category and, this time, the band won the award. Following the win, Koenig exclaimed, "I'm the pre-eminent Ezra of my time, and when I die, then we can talk about who comes next."[23] In 2020,Father of the Bride earned the band a second win for Best Alternative Music Album and a first nomination forAlbum of the Year. "Harmony Hall" was nominated forBest Rock Song.
In 2015 Koenig began hosting his own podcast onApple Music.
The show,Time Crisis, features Koenig with co-hostJake Longstreth, an American painter, musician, and internet radio personality. Each episode lasts two hours, during which Koenig and company discuss corporate snack food history, the tasteful palette of ’70s rock (with a focus on the Grateful Dead),portmanteaus, and respond to emails from listeners. Often, the show ends with The Top Five where Koenig and Longstreth compare the top five songs on Apple Music this week to that of a week from the past relevant to the discourse of the episode.[24]
Jonah Hill,Rashida Jones,Mark Ronson,Florence Welch,Jamie Foxx,Tim Heidecker,James Corden,[25] and Koenig's sister Emma Koenig have appeared as guests on the internet radio show.
The show debuted on July 12, 2015, and new episodes air fortnightly.[26] The show is in its eighth season.
Following a hiatus from Vampire Weekend, Koenig wrote and produced an animated comedy-adventure series about a depressive, demon-slaying playboy voiced byJaden Smith. The series,Neo Yokio, debuted onNetflix in September 2017.[27] The show was written and produced in 2015, with the final sound mix being completed in January 2016;[28] however, due to issues withFox, the show was postponed until finally being picked up by Netflix.[29]
Neo Yokio is presented in the style of ananime series. However, in an interview withRolling Stone magazine, Koenig stated that he believes the show is not a traditional anime: "First of all, out of respect for true anime, I've always called Neo Yokio "anime-inspired" – it's a hybrid. But I've always been a fan of anime, and I always wanted to do something that was kind of an homage to it. Maybe a loving parody. Initially the people I was working with thought I should be the voice of the main character, but I was, like, 'I just spent seven years being the frontman of something, using my voice all the time. What I need right now is to slip into the background of something.'"[30]
Upon release, the show's first season received mixed reviews from critics, earning a 54% score onRotten Tomatoes.[31] Shannon Liao ofThe Verge criticised the show's story and voice-acting, writing that "the initial glamor of the backdrops and talent involved wears off fast. It has awful voice acting, and a pointless, predictable story that’s only surprising because it’s so willing to hit the bottom of the barrel."[32]The New York Times gave the show a more optimistic review, stating that "if a defensive reading of the line, “Yes, my girlfriend broke up with me to take a finance job in San Francisco,” makes you chuckle, “Neo Yokio” may be for you."[33]
On an episode ofTime Crisis in early 2018, Koenig spoke about the future ofNeo Yokio, hinting that "Neo's not dead."[34] However, Netflix canceled the show the following month after one season and a Christmas special.
In 2009, Koenig provided vocals on the song "Carby" onLP, the debut album fromDiscovery, a group which features Vampire Weekend keyboardistRostam Batmanglij andRa Ra Riot vocalist Wes Miles. In the same year, he appeared on "Warm Heart of Africa" bythe Very Best, "Pyromiltia" byTheophilus London, "I Could Be Wrong" byChromeo and "Dynamo" byAbd al Malik.
In 2012, Koenig performed "I Think Ur a Contra" withAngelique Kidjo in her PBS special. He appeared and provided vocals in the music video forDuck Sauce's "Barbra Streisand". His recording of the song "Papa Hobo", byPaul Simon, was included as part of the soundtrack forMax Winkler's filmCeremony.
In 2013, Koenig was featured in the song "Jessica" byMajor Lazer.
In 2014, Koenig was featured on "Ezra's Interlude" by Chromeo, as well as "New Dorp, New York" bySBTRKT. He also appeared in theHBO drama seriesGirls[35] andHaim's music video for "My Song 5" featuringA$AP Ferg,[36] and performed the voice of Ryland on the animated seriesMajor Lazer. At the86th Academy Awards, Koenig accompaniedKaren O on backing vocals and acoustic guitar for her performance of the Oscar-nominated song "The Moon Song" from the filmHer.
In 2016, Koenig was credited as a writer and producer on the song "Hold Up" byBeyoncé.[37] Due to these contributions, Koenig was nominated for aGrammy Award for the albumLemonade. In January and April 2016, Koenig vocally supported political candidateBernie Sanders by performing at a number of his rallies.[38]
In 2017, Koenig made an appearance inCharli XCX's music video for "Boys".
In 2018, Koenig was credited as a songwriter and producer on the single "I Promise You" byJames Corden, from the filmPeter Rabbit, which also prominently featured Vampire Weekend's songs. His demo of the song was also released.[39]
In February 2020, Vampire Weekend performed at a rally for U.S Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders.[40][41]
In 2022, Koenig was credited as a co-writer and producer ofLiam Gallagher's song "Moscow Rules" from his albumC'mon You Know. He also plays multiple instruments across the album.
Also in 2022, Koenig was featured as a vocalist inPhoenix's song “Tonight,” which is the third single from the band's seventh album,Alpha Zulu.
On August 11, 2024, he appeared in the2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony with Phoenix,Angèle,Vannda andKavinsky.[42]
Since the age of 9, Koenig has been an admirer of music. In a 2014 interview withVulture, he stated, "My dad is a massive music fan, so even just growing up in the house, he was buying new cool music, up through when I was born. So I was very familiar with theRamones,Run DMC,Blondie—core New York music. My parents would often play the Ramones song, "We’re a Happy Family", so I remember when I was 9 or 10, learning the lyrics and trying to understand." By the time he got to high school, Koenig's taste had slightly changed: "I had some older friends who were really obsessed with hip-hop,De La Soul,Tribe Called Quest. There’s something aboutMidnight Marauders; it feels like a late night in the city album."[43]
Koenig is also a self-professed fan of bands such as theGrateful Dead andSublime, who he believes largely influenced his musical taste.[34]
In August 2018, Koenig's girlfriend, actressRashida Jones, gave birth to their son.[44] In a 2024 interview published inThe Guardian, Koenig referred to Jones as his wife.[45] In a 2024 interview published inPeople, Koenig said that the couple are “married in the eyes of God.”[46]
Quotations related toEzra Koenig at Wikiquote| International | |
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