Danish multi-instrumentalist Brian Batz makes whispery, otherworldly post-rock under the stage alias
Sleep Party People. Based in Copenhagen, Batz and his live backing band are known for wearing rabbit masks in performances and in publicity photos, reinforcing his music's surreal aesthetic. The project's home-recorded, eponymous debut saw release in 2010.
Sleep Party People became more collaborative and expansive thereafter; third album
Floating from 2014 featured co-producers and guest musicians, as did 2017's Lingering, though Batz's uniquely haunted sound remained constant.
After several years of writing music in bands, Batz began experimenting at home with digitally altered piano and voice; he began uploading these eerie, more introspective songs as
Sleep Party People in 2008. After two tracks by the project appeared on a Neh-Owh Records compilation, the full-length
Sleep Party People was issued via MBO and Speed of Sound in 2010.
Sleep Party People began touring as a five-piece with the arrival of 2012's
We Were Drifting on a Sad Song (MBO, Blood & Biscuits). For his third album, Batz worked with outside producers for the first time, enlisting Jeff Saltzman (
the Killers,
Blondie) and
Mikael Johnston (
Mephisto Odyssey). Titled
Floating, it arrived on MBO and Blood & Biscuits in 2014.
Sleep Party People's debut for U.S. label Joyful Noise Recordings, 2017's Lingering, featured collaborations with singer/songwriter
Beth Hirsch and
the Antlers'
Peter Silberman, among others. His fifth album overall, Lingering, Pt. 2, received a digital release by Joyful Noise in 2018, with a vinyl edition following in 2019. ~ Marcy Donelson