Mike Stroud and Evan Mast first met as Skidmore College students, but they did not work together until they recorded several songs under the name Cherry in 2001. Their 2004 debut, Ratatat, was written and recorded in Mast's Crown Heights, Brooklyn apartment on Stroud's PowerBook.[1] This album is entirely instrumental, except for occasional excerpts of dialog at the beginning and end of some tracks. For touring in 2006, they added a third member, Jacob Morris, on keyboard.

The group started out releasing their debut single Seventeen Years on Evan and his brother's record label Audio Dregs ... (+) expand

Mike Stroud and Evan Mast first met as Skidmore College students, but they did not work together until they recorded several songs under the name Cherry in 2001. Their 2004 debut, Ratatat, was written and recorded in Mast's Crown Heights, Brooklyn apartment on Stroud's PowerBook.[1] This album is entirely instrumental, except for occasional excerpts of dialog at the beginning and end of some tracks. For touring in 2006, they added a third member, Jacob Morris, on keyboard.

The group started out releasing their debut single Seventeen Years on Evan and his brother's record label Audio Dregs label in the US and Rex Records in the UK. They released that single again on Evan and his brother E*Rock's record label Audio Dregs. They then signed for XL Recordings, releasing their debut album and the single Germany to Germany. Ratatat occasionally remixes others for collected release on Ratatat Remixes Vol. 1 (which garnered the attention of Rolling Stone), as well as the later second volume, both of which were self-released in co-operation with Audio Dregs.

Both musicians have had experience with other projects, such as Mast's E*vax and King Pang and Stroud's stage work with Ben Kweller, Joe Satriani and Dashboard Confessional. Ratatat has toured with bands such as Björk, Daft Punk, Mouse on Mars, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, CSS, The Faint, Super Furry Animals, Clinic, Panther and The Killers. In 2006 they supported Mogwai in Japan.

On October 10, 2006 a new demo album from Ratatat entitled 9 Beats was leaked online. This set of tracks does not appear on any official discography listings. The tracks consist of short instrumental electronic musical pieces and demos for their next mixtape.[2]

The group recently released a new remix album entitled Ratatat Remixes Vol 2.. It featured a variety of rappers such as Bun B, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, Slim Thug, Devin the Dude, Young Jeezy, T.I., Beanie Sigel, Pimp C, Ludacris, Young Buck, Saigon, Juvenile, Z-Ro, Memphis Bleek, Kanye West and exclusive tracks from rappers Despot and Beans. A CD has been seen available for purchase ($5) at live shows in 2007. The album leaked on March 27, 2007. It has been rumored that they will be signed by Star Trak as the understudies of the Neptunes.

Several of the mixtape tracks feature beats from 9 Beats as their backing music:[3]

* Memphis Bleek's Alright uses beat #1
* Young Buck's Shorty Wanna Ride uses beat #2
* Notorious B.I.G.'s Dead Wrong uses beat #3
* Young Buck, T.I., The Game & Ludacris's Stomp uses beat #4 (This song is a mix of the two versions of the song. it switches from T.I. to The Game at various times in their respective verses.)
* Slim Thug, Bun B, and T.I.'s 3 Kings uses beat #6

Mast has most recently collaborated with former Shudder to Think vocalist Craig Wedren on a record for a Tokyo independent label, Mold Recordings and said to be finishing a follow up solo album for Audio Dregs.

The official site has been updated showing that a new single, Shiller, is now available for purchase (only on 7"). The release date for a new album, LP3 (unknown if final title), has also been announced: July 8, 2008. (-) collapse