The Devil And The Deed

Album: Fragrant World (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song was written around a cello sample and debuted by the band on Conan O'Brien's talk show before they'd even recorded it. Said Guitarist/keyboardist Anand Wilder to Complex magazine: "Yeah, we wanted to play something new rather than play a song off Odd Blood, and I think our record company was not too happy about that. [Laughs.] It doesn't really help to sell albums to play a song that's not on any albums. But I don't think [Conan] really cared. It was kind of an honor for us to be playing a song on his show that no one had ever heard before. It was totally exclusive. Conan's really cool."
  • Elliot Bergman, the frontman of the Michigan Afro-Beat band Nomo, stopped by to play kalimba on this track. The kalimba, also known as the thumb piano, is an African musical instrument consisting of a wooden board to which metal tines of varying lengths are affixed. It was also played on Vampire Weekend's Contra track, "Horchata," and was a favorite of Maurice White from Earth, Wind & Fire.

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