ABOUT THE BOOK

Death By Audio was a beloved underground venue that occupied a large warehouse space on the waterfront of Williamsburg, Brooklyn from 2005 until 2014. Within its walls were a music venue, a guitar effects pedal company, a rehearsal space / recording studio, and the home of over 10 artists and musicians. Shortly after its founders moved into the space in 2005, Williamsburg was in full swing as a hub of DIY music, cultural, and artistic activity in NYC. In a rapidly changing neighborhood transforming from affordable artist haven to tourist/shopping/dining oasis, Death By Audio was the longest lasting DIY space in Williamsburg and its closing in November 2014 not only signaled the loss of a physical space; on a broader scale, it sounded the final death knell of the neighborhood as an epicenter of creativity. The music venue part of Death By Audio was the public face of the space and it hosted thousands of concerts, giving much-needed support to local and touring bands operating outside the structure of official NYC concert venues. The space developed a reputation for nurturing the underground music community and curating shows with the best emerging bands from around the country. Throughout the years, the venue hosted a multitude of bands that went on to enjoy international acclaim, including A Place To Bury Strangers, Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Future Islands, Jeff the Brotherhood and Lightning Bolt, among so many more.

Upon learning the inevitable news that their lease would not be renewed in 2014, the creative forces behind Death By Audio - Oliver Ackermann, Matt Conboy and Edan Wilber - decided to turn a tragedy into a celebration and go out with a bang. They, along with the other residents of the space, began planning a 75-day long party that would celebrate everything that DBA had come to represent over the years. They made a point to reach out to all the bands they love that had played Death By Audio over the years, many of which had far outgrown the 100+ capacity of the small venue, inviting them to come back and play one final time.  With an outpouring of support from virtually every band they invited to play, the lineup of shows for the last 75 days was a back-to-back, who’s-who of underground and independent music. In addition to the concerts, the residents of DBA opened areas of the warehouse never previously open to the public and invited them into their home. They converted the space into a living art gallery showcasing the work of over 70 local artists, they hosted a 24 hour drone concert, a halloween masquerade, an equipment sale, and a multitude of other parties and special events. The final concert at Death By Audio was held on November 22nd, 2014. Less than 24 hours later, a moving truck carried away the last load from the space they had called home for almost ten years.

Ebru Yildiz, a Turkish-born, Brooklyn-based music and portrait photographer, was a regular at the very first parties thrown at Death By Audio back in 2005, drawn in by her love of the de facto house band, A Place To Bury Strangers. Upon hearing of the venue’s imminent closure she knew she had to be there for the end, too. Yildiz was at Death By Audio almost every day and night for the last 75 days of its existence, photographing not only the raucous concerts but also the quieter, more intimate scenes from the daily lives of the people who worked and lived in the space. The result is not only a visual documentation of the final days of one of the longest-standing, most vital venues in the DIY community of early 2000s NYC, it is also a window into the dedication and hard work that go into creating a space whose primary focus is to nurture artistic expression and fellowship. The resulting photographs focus on the lives of the residents, the work of the artists and musicians, and the elation of the audience, and draw attention to the importance that spaces like Death By Audio provide for their communities, and what stands to be lost in their absence. In addition to Yildiz’ photographs, this book contains an exclusive oral history of Death By Audio as told by its founders, staff and residents. In the true DIY spirit of Death By Audio, Yildiz is self-publishing the work.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER - EBRU YILDIZ

Ebru Yildiz was born and raised in Turkey and moved to New York City in 1998. While pursuing her Master's degree in Communications Design at Pratt Institute, her passion for music led her to seek it out everywhere – large clubs, small bars, back rooms, house parties, and the multitude of DIY venues in Brooklyn. She soon found herself documenting the thriving New York Music scene on an almost nightly basis. Only a year after she began photographing, she was invited to show her work in the group exhibit “Back To Bowery” at CB’s Gallery along with acclaimed music photographers Godlis, Roberta Bayley, Mick Rock and Billy Name, among others. She has since exhibited many times in New York City, most recently in the Janette Beckman curated music photography exhibit “Down & Dirty” at Photoville 2015 along with photographers Bob Gruen, Danny Clinch, and Mick Rock, among others. In 2015 she received a grant which funded her work on an in-depth photo essay on the current landscape of Turkish music, which was published by Pitchfork and was subsequently selected as PDN's Photo of The Day. Her photographs appear regularly in print and online publications such as Pitchfork, NPR, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine, Spin, NME, New York Magazine, Brooklyn Magazine, Interview Magazine, FADER, and Huffington Post, as well as publications like Impose Magazine and Brooklyn Vegan who have their finger on the DIY scene's pulse. She was selected as one of “The 50 Greatest Music Photographers Right Now” by Complex Magazine in 2012. She was awarded the Independent Music Awards Vox Populi award in the Concert Photography category in 2009.  Ebru currently lives and works in Brooklyn.

Please check Ebru's portfolio here:

WWW.EBRUYILDIZ.NET

FRIENDS

Good Night Brooklyn - The Story of Death By Audio - Documentary by Director Matt Conboy
Famous Class
Death By Audio Effects Pedals