Damn, that's my jam: Telefon Tel Aviv

Many people dubbed this past summer "The Summer of Death." But tragedy struck much earlier for me, as far back as January, with the death of Charlie Cooper, one half of the electronic music duo Telefon Tel Aviv.

I was lucky enough to catch Telefon Tel Aviv at the old Knitting Factory in May of 2008 (after an infamous David Mancuso loft party, mind you) when they were thrown onto the bill at the last minute to open up for Apparat (Score!)

I was somewhat apprehensive about seeing them again in light of Charlie's death but their last album, Immolate Yourself, a far more mature and fuller sound than the simple glitchy IDM I had loved from the duo early on, is such a beautiful opus that I couldn't pass up the chance to hear it on a loud system surrounded by other fans at Mercury Lounge earlier this month.

Joshua Eustis and "new member" Fredo Nogueira (who has previously worked with the duo) played many songs from Immolate Yourself, dedicating the OMD inspired "Helen of Troy" to the late John Hughes and ending it all with a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire."

It was a decent show but sadly not as good as the last time I saw them.

Eustis remains undecided about the future of Telefon Tel Aviv but I'm certain we haven't heard the last of him and interested to see what he'll do next.

In the meantime, check out "I Made A Tree On The Wold," my favorite track from Immolate Yourself. It contains no beats -- just four minutes and 39 seconds of pure ambient goodness. Enjoy!