The Walkmen are an indie rock band from New York City. The band formed with three members from Jonathan Fire*Eater (which had recently disbanded) and two members from The Recoys in 2000. The group comprises Hamilton Leithauser (vocals, guitar), Paul Maroon (guitar, piano), Walter Martin (organ/bass), Peter Bauer (bass/organ) and Matt Barrick (drums). Four of the five band members attended St. Albans in Washington, D.C. They prefer the sound of vintage musical instruments, most famously the upright piano, and often recorded at their self-designed recording studio, Marcata Recording, which used analog recording equipment before closing in 2006, after Columbia University bought the building that contained Marcata.

   Vampire Weekend is an indie rock band from New York City signed to XL Recordings. Despite the band members’ occasionally preppy style, they are influenced by both African popular music and Western Classical Music. They describe their genre of music as “Upper West Side Soweto”, performing such songs as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” which references Congolese soukous music. This song was #67 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[1]