COUGAR

Cougar biography
A self-described "emergency rock" outfit, Cougar are an American instrumental post-rock band from Madison, Wisconsin. Cougar consist of percussionist and Youngblood Brass Band vocalist David Henzie-Skogen, guitarists Trent Johnson and Dan Venne, electronicist Aaron Slater and bassist Todd Hill. The quintet began in 2003 after Hill and Johnson met by chance and discussed starting a project, with most of Cougar's players familiar with each other through local bands and especially UW-Madison's Black Music Ensemble. Cougar's two distinct records reflect a wealth of influences informing their eclectic and melodic post-rock, from Brazilian and West African music to jazz, modern classical and electronic, with explicit nods to Fugazi, Squarepusher, Four Tet and Tortoise.

The band made their debut with the 2006 LP Law, released through Layered Music, and following tours of the U.S. and Europe signed to the Ninja Tune label. In the interim, academia and work splintered the band, now split between Madison and Chicago, Milwaukee, New York City and Tucson. Cougar issued their sophomore album, Patriot, and the accompanying Stay Famous EP in August 2009. Their last known activity was a single 2010 track, "$64K Rainbow", released on a Ninja Tune compilation.

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