Bradford Cox

{{Main|Deerhunter}}

Cox founded Deerhunter with bassist Paul Harper and drummer Dan Walton (who named the band) in early 2001.{{cite web|url=http://www.stereogum.com/archives/quit-your-day-job/quit-your-day-job-deerhunter.html|title=Quit Your Day Job: Deerhunter|last=Stosuy|first=Brandon|date=May 23, 2007|website=Stereogum|access-date=June 20, 2007|archive-date=June 26, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626143549/http://www.stereogum.com/archives/quit-your-day-job/quit-your-day-job-deerhunter.html|url-status=dead}} The band expanded after Cox met a teenage transient, Moses Archuleta, who was sleeping on the floor of Cox's friends. Archuleta initially played Ace Tone Organ and electronics. The band's first shows were experimental and based on improvisation. Cox continued recording slightly more structured material and releasing it on CD-R and cassette using the name Atlas Sound. Paul Harper was replaced by Justin Bosworth. At this point Colin Mee also joined the band on guitar. Dan Walton left and Cox suggested Archuleta move to drums. The band's live shows and recordings became more song-oriented. They recorded their debut 7" for Die Slaughterhaus.{{cite web |title=Deerhunter |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/deerhunter/ |publisher=Trouser Press |access-date=8 August 2024}} Josh Fauver joined the band in 2004 after Bosworth died in a freak skateboarding accident. This lineup recorded Deerhunter's debut LP on Atlanta label Stickfigure Records. Cox suggested Lockett Pundt, whom he befriended while attending Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Georgia, join the band on guitar so that he could concentrate on vocals and electronics. This lineup recorded their breakthrough record, 2007's Cryptograms until 2010's Halcyon Digest. Colin Mee left the band after failing to show up for a North American tour.{{cite web |title=Guitarist Colin Mee Explains Why He Left Deerhunter |date=August 31, 2007 |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/27570-guitarist-colin-mee-explains-why-he-left-deerhunter/ |publisher=Pitchfork |access-date=8 August 2024}} Fauver subsequently left the band and was replaced by Josh McKay.{{cite web |title=In Memoriam: Josh Fauver |url=https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2018/11/06/in-memoriam-josh-fauver/ |access-date=8 August 2024}} The band is now a four piece consisting of Cox on guitar and vocals, Pundt on guitar and occasional vocals, McKay on bass, and Archuleta on drums.

Atlas Sound is the musical solo project of Cox, although he has used the name to represent his music since he was a child.{{cite web |title=Atlas Sound |date=January 14, 2008 |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/6763-atlas-sound/ |publisher=Pitchfork |access-date=8 August 2024}} He had access to a cassette player with two tape decks, which he used to layer guitar and drum sounds, and his own voice. In listening to some of these old tapes (of which Cox believes he has over five hundred in storage) he found "Some of it is absolutely, terrifyingly bad, but sometimes I'm just like, 'Wow, that's cool.' That's actually how some Deerhunter songs happened. 'Spring Hall Convert' [from Cryptograms] was like that. That was a tape I made in ninth or tenth grade." Cox writes his music stream-of-consciousness, not writing lyrics in advance, and constructing songs by adding more parts until he feels "it's getting crowded."{{cite web |url=http://www.prefixmag.com/features/atlas-sound/interview/17319/ |title=Atlas Sound: Interview |first=Jeff |last=Klingman |date=February 2, 2008|publisher=Prefix Magazine |access-date=November 23, 2009 }} The name of his project is derived from the brand of tape player he used, Atlas Sound.{{cite video |people=Cox, Bradford |url=http://vimeo.com/3110785 |title=ATLAS SOUND in series: SXSW – All Roads Lead to Austin 2008 |publisher=Dig For Fire, Vimeo |access-date=November 23, 2009 }}

Cox began Atlas Sound in the wake of his work with Deerhunter because "I have ideas that I can't make work with a five piece rock band...There's kind of this palette of sounds that I use that I don't necessarily get to use with Deerhunter."{{cite web |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/42945-deerhunters-cox-talks-lp3-atlas-sound-dresses |title=Deerhunter's Cox Talks LP3, Atlas Sound, Dresses |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080730045242/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/42945-deerhunters-cox-talks-lp3-atlas-sound-dresses |archive-date=July 30, 2008 |date=May 1, 2007|first=Paul |last=Thompson |author2=Tyler Grisham |access-date=November 24, 2009 |publisher=Pitchfork Media }} Because the music Deerhunter makes is a collaborative effort, Cox does not want to assert himself as its principal songwriter. "I might have an idea for a fragment of a song, but I want to leave it skeletal so the guys can fill it out. Whereas with Atlas Sound, everything is done in an hour." Cox created the music for his first record in the software Ableton Live, using an array of computer-based instruments, as well as his own live recordings.{{cite web|title=Interviews: Atlas Sound |access-date=November 24, 2009 |publisher=Pitchfork Media |first=Marc |last=Hogan |date=January 1, 2008|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/47762-interview-atlas-sound |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218034541/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/47762-interview-atlas-sound |archive-date=December 18, 2008 }}

To date, there have been three major releases by Cox as Atlas Sound: Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel (2008), Logos (2009), and Parallax (2011). The lyrics of Let the Blind Lead are autobiographical in nature, reflecting life experiences of Cox. In discussing his second album, Cox characterized his first as being a "bedroom laptop type thing" and "Very introverted." In contrast, Logos was written in several parts of the world, and is "not about me. There are collaborations with other musicians. The lyrics are not autobiographical. The view is a lot more panoramic and less close-up. I became bored with introspection."{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/news/35863-deerhunters-bradford-cox-announces-new-atlas-sound-album/ |title=Deerhunter's Bradford Cox Announces New Atlas Sound Album |first=Ryan |last=Dombal |date=July 9, 2009 |publisher=Pitchfork Media |access-date=November 24, 2009 }} An unfinished version of Logos was leaked onto the internet in August 2008, over a year before its release date.{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/news/30015-deerhunters-imicrocastlei-available-now-on-itunes/ |title=Deerhunter's Microcastle Now Available Now on iTunes |first=Paul |last=Thompson |date=August 1, 2008 |publisher=Pitchfork Media |access-date=November 24, 2009 |archive-date=October 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004041757/http://pitchfork.com/news/30015-deerhunters-imicrocastlei-available-now-on-itunes/ |url-status=dead }} In response, Cox almost ceased production on the record, later saying "I did not react well to the leak, in retrospect. It became the kind of internet-fueled drama that I was quickly learning to despise."

In late 2010, Cox published four volumes of demos on his blog, entitled "Bedroom Databank".{{cite web |title=Bedroom Databank, Vols. 1-4 |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14996-bedroom-databank-vols-1-4/ |publisher=Pitchfork |access-date=7 August 2024}} These demos were taken down from MediaFire by Sony, but they later apologized to Cox, stating that the files "were mistakenly removed".{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/40827-atlas-sound-demos-taken-down-by-sony/|publisher=Pitchfork Media|title=Atlas Sound Demos Taken Down by Sony|date=November 29, 2010|access-date=December 1, 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/40848-sony-apologizes-to-bradford-cox/|publisher=Pitchfork Media|title=Sony Apologizes to Bradford Cox|date=November 30, 2010|access-date=December 1, 2010}} Atlas Sound was chosen by Animal Collective to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that they curated in May 2011.{{cite web|url=http://www.atpfestival.com/events/atpanimalcollective.php |title=ATP curated by Animal Collective – All Tomorrow's Parties |website=Atpfestival.com |access-date=April 8, 2020}}

Cox has also recorded as part of other bands, such as the short lived "Wet Dreams", an otherwise all-girl garage / noise band in which he played drums. He also recorded several tracks on the Black Lips second album We Did Not Know the Forest Spirit Made the Flowers Grow, playing drums on the song "Notown Blues" from that album.{{cite web |title=Black Lips – We Did Not Know The Forest Spirit Made The Flowers Grow |url=https://www.discogs.com/es/release/2108425-Black-Lips-We-Did-Not-Know-The-Forest-Spirit-Made-The-Flowers-Grow |publisher=Discogs |access-date=7 August 2024}}

He also is a part of the "Avant-Garage" band Ghetto Cross, with Cole Alexander from Black Lips, Frankie Broyles, and Asha Lakra.{{cite web |title=Deerhunter's Bradford Cox and Black Lips' Cole Alexander Revive Ghetto Cross Project |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/47546-deerhunters-bradford-cox-and-black-lips-cole-alexander-revive-ghetto-cross-project/ |website=Pitchfork |date=August 17, 2012 |access-date=2 July 2024}}

Cox contributed to the Karen O-scored soundtrack for the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are.{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/15784/94201|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908142324/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/15784/94201|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 8, 2012|publisher=Rolling Stone|title=Karen O and the Kids: The Rockers of "Where the Wild Things Are"|access-date=September 9, 2010}}

In November 2012, it was announced that Cox would portray Jared Leto's lover in the feature film, Dallas Buyers Club, co-starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner; this is Cox's film debut.{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/48728-bradford-cox-to-play-jared-letos-lover-in-new-movie/|title=Bradford Cox to Play Jared Leto's Lover in New Movie|publisher=Pitchfork Media|last=Pelly|first=Jenn|date=November 27, 2012|access-date=November 27, 2012}}

Cox collaborated with Cate Le Bon, releasing a joint EP titled, Myths 004 in September 2019.{{cite web |last1=Minsker |first1=Evan |title=Cate Le Bon and Deerhunter's Bradford Cox Announce New EP, Share Song: Listen |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/cate-le-bon-and-deerhunters-bradford-cox-announce-new-ep-share-song-listen/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=September 24, 2019 |date=September 24, 2019}}

File:Bradford Cox (Deerhunter) - Outdoor Theatre - Coachella 2010 (2010-04-18 by Ian T. McFarland).jpg

For the most part, Bradford favors vintage and modern Fender and Gibson guitars. Some of his guitars include:{{cite web |url=http://www.uberproaudio.com/content/view/533/38/ |title=Deerhunter – Bradford Cox Guitar Rig Gear and Equipment |publisher=Uberproaudio.com |date=June 5, 2009 |access-date=April 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818061420/http://www.uberproaudio.com/content/view/533/38/ |archive-date=August 18, 2010 |url-status=dead }}

• Fender Jaguar (1964 Fiesta Red, Formerly owned by Stereolab's Tim Gane)
• Fender Jazzmaster (1966, Block Inlays Originally white, has aged to a yellow color)
• Fender Stratocaster{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co_q-9woAxw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/co_q-9woAxw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Deerhunter Live @ Noise Pop 2009 |date=March 2009 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=April 3, 2012}}{{cbignore}}
• '74 Gibson Les Paul Signature{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxx-VXhHv6M |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Sxx-VXhHv6M |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Deerhunter – Nothing Ever Happened (live) |date=January 29, 2009 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=April 3, 2012}}{{cbignore}}
• Fender Bronco (70s stripped natural finish)
• Teisco Del-Rey EV-2, Humbuckers, Blue (possibly modified)
• Various Gibson Acoustics
• EKO 60's 12 String Acoustic
• Epiphone Small Body Acoustic strung in "Nashville Tuning"

;Pedalboard:{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3zCCciVepA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/z3zCCciVepA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Atlas Sound : Kid Klimax @ The Bottom Lounge |date=October 29, 2009 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=April 3, 2012}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8COhxGWfgHw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/8COhxGWfgHw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Pitchfork Music Festival 2012 – Saturday |publisher=YouTube |date=July 1, 2012|access-date=July 16, 2012}}{{cbignore}}

Bradford Cox's Deerhunter Pedalboard as of 2016 Tours

1966 Fender Jazzmaster into – (signal chain as follows)

• Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
• Fairfield Circuitry Unpleasant Surprise (Used for Lead Parts, Noise)
• Henretta Engineering Chord Blaster (Used For Overdrive)
• Eventide PitchFactor
• Behringer Reverb Machine RV600
• Ibanez CF7 Chorus / Flanger (Rarely Used)
• Ibanez DE7
• Line 6 DL4
• Boss Noise Suppressor

Out to Fender Hot Rod DeVille 4x10

Cox Also Uses an Exposed Spring Reverb Tank / Filter Unit for Noise and Effects

Vocal Effects Pedal Board

Beyerdynamic M69 Mic Into:

• Digitech DigiVerb (through Mic for Backwards Vocals Only)
• Digitech DigiDelay (through Mic for Vocal Loops Only)
• Eventide Mixing Link Pre Amp / FX Loop

;Amps:

When playing live with Deerhunter, Bradford previously used Univox U-1226 Head into a vintage Marshall 4x10 Cabinet. He has also used a Marshall JCM800 half-stack, and occasionally a 1970s Peavey Classic combo amplifier. He currently uses a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410.

Cox describes his mode of songwriting as 'automatic or stream-of-consciousness'. "Usually I go into a sort of trance and I'll have five or six songs afterwards", he said, speaking to Victoria Segal of Q in November 2010. "What is interesting is seeing how the band adapts them and mutates them into the final product. Lots of accidents and primitive irrational things happen. It can be difficult trying to explain the process to a producer or engineer. They generally want to help you polish things and I tend to want to sabotage that", he added.Victoria Segal. Q magazine, November 2010. Q & A. Halcyon Digest album review. p. 113.

Cox was born with the genetic condition Marfan syndrome.{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p1007210|pure_url=yes}} |title=Atlas Sound Biography|first=Andrew |last=Leahey |publisher=Allmusic |access-date=November 23, 2009 }} As a teenager, he dropped out of high school (although he later earned a GED) and his parents divorced, leaving him "to live in my childhood home alone. I literally lived in this large suburban house by myself." Cox has called his changing musical taste while growing up reflective of his life and mental state. Around the age of ten, his Marfan syndrome began to affect his body in more visible ways; this is the point at which he "first started looking awkward." With no friends, Cox became interested in how music could sound "heartbreaking or nostalgic or melancholy"; he identified with the title character of the film Edward Scissorhands, and especially enjoyed the soundtrack, which was composed by Danny Elfman. Cox's tastes shifted to music that was more "monotonous or hypnotic", such as the Stereolab album Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements. Around twenty years of age, his life situation brought about "a period", during which he became "only interested in this certain sort of suburban psychedelic pastoral thing. It was escapism. I didn't want as much emotional manipulation. It's kind of the opposite of Edward Scissorhands."{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/news/35001-5-10-15-20-bradford-cox/ |title=5-10-15-20: Bradford Cox |first=Tom |last=Breihan |date=April 1, 2009|publisher=Pitchfork Media |access-date=November 23, 2009 }}

Cox has described himself as gay,{{cite journal |last1= Aaron|first1= Charles|year= 2008|title= Pretzel Logic|journal= Spin Magazine|publisher= Spin Media LLC|issue= April 2008|pages= 76–82}} though he previously has stated that he leads a non-sexual/asexual lifestyle.{{cite web|url=https://creativeloafing.com/content-160856-bradford-cox-boy-wonder |title=Search |website=Clatl.com |access-date=April 8, 2020}}Logan K. Young. [http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=deerhunter Deerhunter @ Trouser Press.] – ...a non-practicing homosexual. However, in a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, Cox said that he no longer identifies as asexual but rather as queer: "For a long time I just said I was asexual, but now I just realized that… I'm still, I guess… I mean, I'm queer. I just sort of, don't really have a very big self-esteem, so asexuality is sort of like a comfort zone where you don't get rejected."{{cite web |url=http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/altreport/2011/11/bradford-cox-press-tour-continues-says-he-no-longer-asexual-now-queer.html |title=Bradford Cox press tour continues. Says he is no longer 'asexual', now 'queer.' | Hipster Runoff |website=www.hipsterrunoff.com |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626184126/http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/altreport/2011/11/bradford-cox-press-tour-continues-says-he-no-longer-asexual-now-queer.html |archive-date=26 June 2015 |url-status=dead}} Cox stated in an October 19, 2016, radio interview: "There's so many types of sexuality, but one that I think is overlooked is to be asexual. I am absolutely asexual. I am a virgin at 34 years old."{{cite web|last=Abad |first=Mario |url=http://www.papermag.com/deerhunters-bradford-cox-says-he-is-asexual-and-a-virgin-2054327814.html |title=Deerhunter's Bradford Cox Says He Is Asexual And A Virgin – PAPER |website=Papermag.com |date=October 1, 2016|access-date=April 8, 2020}} In 2019, Cox confirmed that he was still a virgin.{{Cite web |title=Bradford Cox Is the Weirdest Queer in the Music Industry |url=https://www.out.com/music/2019/1/19/bradford-cox-weirdest-queer-music-industry |access-date=2023-02-01 |website=www.out.com |language=en}} Cox also identified as non-binary in a 2019 tweet.{{Cite tweet |last=Cox |first=Bradford |author-link= |user=DeerhunterMusic |number=1153522137459769345 |date=23 July 2019 |title=I am non-binary and asexual |script-title= |trans-title= |language= |retweet= |location= |access-date=14 January 2022 |link= |ref=}}{{Cite news |title=Deerhunter on Twitter |url=https://Twitter.com/DeerhunterMusic/status/1153522137459769345 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115062755/https://Twitter.com/DeerhunterMusic/status/1153522137459769345 |archive-date=2022-01-15 |access-date=2025-06-12 |work=Twitter |language=fr}}

In December 2014, Cox was hospitalized after being hit by a car.{{cite web | url=http://pitchfork.com/news/57723-bradford-cox-hospitalized-after-being-hit-by-car/ | title=Bradford Cox Hospitalized After Being Hit By Car | publisher=Pitchfork | date=December 5, 2014 | access-date=December 6, 2014 | author=Gordon, Jeremy}}

{{main|Bradford Cox discography}}

With Deerhunter:

• 2005 Turn It Up Faggot
• 2007 Cryptograms
• 2008 Microcastle
• 2008 Weird Era Cont.
• 2010 Halcyon Digest
• 2013 Monomania
• 2015 Fading Frontier
• 2019 Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?

As Atlas Sound:

• 2008 Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel
• 2009 Logos
• 2011 Parallax

With Cate Le Bon

• 2019 Myths 004

{{Reflist}}

{{commons}}

• [https://www.myspace.com/bradfordcox MySpace]
• [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Deerhunter/143097652264 Deerhunter official Facebook page]

{{Bradford Cox}}{{Deerhunter}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Bradford}}

Category:1982 births

Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters

Category:4AD artists

Category:American alternative rock guitarists

Category:American alternative rock singers

Category:American ambient musicians

Category:American indie rock musicians

Category:American male singer-songwriters

Category:American rock guitarists

Category:American male guitarists

Category:American rock songwriters

Category:Non-binary asexual people

Category:American queer musicians

Category:American non-binary musicians

Category:American lead guitarists

Category:Living people

Category:Musicians from Atlanta

Category:People with Marfan syndrome

Category:Avant-pop musicians

Category:21st-century American guitarists

Category:Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:21st-century American male singers

Category:Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Deerhunter members

Category:Kranky (record label) artists