Nils Frykdahl Explained

Nils Frykdahl
Background:	solo_singer
Birth Name:	Nils James Larson Frykdahl^[1]
Origin:	Oakland, California, United States
Instrument:	Vocals, guitar, flute, percussion, bass guitar, saxophone
Genre:	Avant-garde rock, theatre, performance art, experimental rock, art rock
Occupation:	Musician
Years Active:	1985–present
Label:	The End Records Tzadik Records Drag City Vaccination Records
Associated Acts:	Charming Hostess Darling Freakhead Faun Fables Free Salamander Exhibit Idiot Flesh Sleepytime Gorilla Museum The Two Dimensions^[2]

Nils Frykdahl is an American musician, most known for his work with the bands Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Idiot Flesh. He is also a member of the bands Free Salamander Exhibit, Faun Fables, and Darling Freakhead, and used to be a member of Charming Hostess. Along with bandmates Carla Kihlstedt and Dan Rathbun, Frykdahl is active with the performance company Ink Boat.^[3]

He performed as the voice of Tigtone in the 2014 animated short, The Begun of Tigtone.^[4] He also reprises his role as the titular character in a 2019 Adult Swim animated television series, Tigtone.

He holds a bachelor's degree in music from UC Berkeley, which he received in 1989.

Discography

With Idiot Flesh

• Drip Demo (demo, 1986) (as Acid Rain)
• We Were All Very Worried (demo, 1987) (as Acid Rain)
• Rite of Spring (Demo 1988) (As Acid Rain)
• Tales of Instant Knowledge and Sure Death (full-length, 1990)
• The Nothing Show (full-length, 1994)
• Teen Devil/Twitch (7-inch single, 1995)
• Fancy (full-length, 1997)

With Faun Fables

• Early Song (full-length, 1999)
• Mother Twilight (full-length, 2001)
• Family Album (full-length, 2004)
• The Transit Rider (full-length, 2006)
• A Table Forgotten (EP, 2008)
• Light of a Vaster Dark (full-length, 2010)
• Born of the Sun (full-length, 2016)
• Live in Norway (full-length, 2022)

With Sleepytime Gorilla Museum

• Grand Opening and Closing (full-length, 2001)
• Live (full-length, 2003)
• Of Natural History (full-length, 2004)
• The Face (DVD, 2005)
• In Glorious Times (full-length, 2007)
• Of the Last Human Being (full-length, 2024)

With Free Salamander Exhibit

• Undestroyed (full-length, 2016)^[5]

As a guest musician

• Guano - Starfighter (1996)^[6]
• Barbez - Barbez (2004)^[7]
• Charming Hostess - Sarajevo Blues (2004)
• Charming Hostess - The Bowls Project CD (2010)
• Moe! Staiano's Moe!kestra! - An Inescapable Siren Therein And Other Whereabouts (2006) (plays flute on Piece No.5)
• Už Jsme Doma - Rybí tuk (Cod Liver Oil) (2007)^[8]
• Indukti - IDMEN (2009)
• Stolen Babies - "Stolen Babies" ^[9] (2020)

Filmography

Film

Notes and References

1. http://www.nndb.com/people/338/000082092/ Nils Frykdahl @ nndb
2. http://www.inkboat.com/inkbio/bionils.html Nils Frykdahl Bio @ inkboat.com
3. Web site: Nanos Operetta, Nils Frykdahl Join Absurdist Opera. ALARM Magazine. July 16, 2007. "Starring Frykdahl of abstract prog-rock pioneers Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, the opera is performed in absurdist vignettes against a backdrop of surrealist imagery relating the strange fairytale of a man’s ill-fated love for a bird.".
4. Web site: 'The Begun of Tigtone' - Finishing Funds for Animated Fantasy Parody. Indiegogo. "Tigtone's somewhat aimless ferocity is brought to us courtesy of the formidable voice of Nils Frykdahl, known best as the magical barking madman at the forefront of the band Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.".
5. Web site: Undestroyed . webofmimicry.
6. https://archive.org/details/guanostarfighter Guano Presents: Starfighter @ Archive.org
7. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6757186 Barbez CD @ CD Universe
8. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7576579 Cod Liver Oil CD @ CD Universe
9. Web site: Stolen Babies, by Stolen Babies.