Manifesto:

1. Set public expectations low, but keep internal standards high.
2. Attempt only to please yourself – if others choose like it, so be it.
3. Avoid all trends. Nothing good ever comes from following them.
4. Create what others cannot easily duplicate (and probably would’t want to anyway).
5. Everything fun mustn’t always be Fartbarf, but everything Fartbarf must always be fun.

What is fartbarf?

Fartbarf is a three-piece analog electronic band that was formed in the South Bay of Los Angeles, California in the year 2008. Consisting of 66.6 percent analog synthesizers and 33.3 percent live drums, their music breaks unprecedented ground as they push progressive sound to the limits, mixing genres together with very minimal instrumentation and extreme high energy. The last 0.1 percent? Seems to be unknown.

Robotic, and somewhat unpredictable malfunctions create their live sound, as the very foundation is built on vintage synthesizers which notoriously drift out of tune depending on humidity, heat, age, how long they’ve been turned on, etc. The conceptual oxymoron in turn, becomes the futuristic primate.

And although one could consider them ahead of their time sonically, part of their appeal is that they are not a computer based band at all. It’s their refusal to use barely 10% of today’s available technology, while performing music that is near futuristic and taking the stage as three ambiguous Neanderthals (preventing the public’s knowledge of who’s who), that makes Fartbarf a curiosity in an age where nothing seems new anymore.

Typical expectations at a live showing are a mess of tangled patch cables covering the stage, draping from one synthesizer to the next, an assault of sounds hitting frequencies and decibels sometimes only dogs can hear, grotesque Neanderthal masks, and bright orange NASA jumpsuits (more frequently substituted for bleached white milkmen uniforms with black belts, blue Fila’s and button down shirts neatly tucked in). Topping it all off would be the look of confusion, horror and smiles from those in the audience that have never heard the band before [only if you can catch what they look like in the midst of their uncontrollable dance moves].