Episode Details

Jesse Hartman in conversation with David Eastaugh

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http://laptoptheband.bandcamp.com

www.laptoptheband.com

Laptop is the pioneering electro-pop project from Jesse Hartman — the sharp-witted New York songwriter who first made waves as a teenage guitarist/keyboardist on Richard Hell’s
1990 legendary tour of Japan, then again in the ’90s as the front man of indie rock duo Sammy (with guitarist Luke Wood, Geffen/Fire Records).

After Sammy’s brief but buzzy run (two albums: Debut Album on Sonic Youth’s Smells Like Records/Fire Records in the UK and Tales of Great Neck Glory on Geffen/Fire), Hartman shifted gears, re-emerging in 1997 under the name Laptop with a sound that was years ahead of its time: sarcastic synth-funk, deadpan vocals, and emotionally raw themes filtered through cold drum machines and warm analog nostalgia.