United States
Interpol are an American indie rock band, formed in 1998. The members of the band are Paul Banks (vocals, lead guitar), Daniel Kessler (rhythm guitar, back vocals), Carlos Dengler (bass), and Sam Fogarino (drums). Their debut album Turn on the Bright Lights was critically acclaimed, while the follow-up, Antics, has been both a commercial and critical success.
The band's sound is a mix of bass throb and choppy, sparse guitar, drawing constant comparisons to post-punk bands Joy Division, The Chameleons and Kitchens of Distinction. Both Antics and Turn on the Bright Lights were recorded at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The band formed when Daniel Kessler met drummer Greg Drudy, on the New York University campus. Kessler later added Carlos D., an ex-guitarist, on the bass, after meeting him in a history class. The line-up was complete after Kessler remembered an old friend he met while in Paris. Banks and Kessler ran into each other on the street, after losing touch since Paris, and Banks became lead singer. In 2000, Greg left the band, and Daniel recruited Sam, whom the band knew through his job at a local record store.
The band's name supposedly comes from a play on the Spanish pronunciation of "Paul"—the lead singer's first name. In SPIN magazine, it was stated that one of Paul Banks' classmates was fond of insulting him by calling him "Paul, Paul, Interpol." While Kessler has stated in an interview that the band "...had played shows with no name and then I got to the point where I was like, 'Guys, we're getting decent crowds, but like...we don't have a name so no one knows who to go see again.'"
