Karen O & Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Karen Lee Orzolek, or as the world knows her, Karen O, is a South Korean-born American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, director, and it must be said, style icon. She is also famously the lead singer for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who along with members Nick Zinner and Brian Chase, have produced a highly alternative and hugely popular body of work over the years, which is further complimented by her own solo and collaborative releases. Born to a Korean mother and Polish father in 1978, she grew up in New Jersey before attending college in Ohio where she met drummer Brian Chase, and after transferring to an art college in New York, she met guitarist Nick Zinner - the three formed the art-rock group Yeah Yeah Yeahs in 2000. With their first gig opening for The White Stripes, and their debut self-titled EP cracking number 1 in the UK indie charts, they quickly became a vital band in New York’s rock scene of the 2000s. Their albums Fever To Tell, Show Your Bones, It’s Blitz! and Mosquito all received critical acclaim and commercial success, with the NME ranking Fever To Tell in 2009 as the Number 5 in their Best Albums of the Decade poll. Alongside the success of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O also became heavily involved in the art, fashion and film world, providing soundtrack contributions for director’s including Spike Jonze, David Fincher, Tim Burton and David Lynch. This also extended into a long list of collaborations with artists such as Flaming Lips, Har Mar Superstar, Deerhunter, Santigold, Peaches, Parquet Courts, and most notably her Danger Mouse collaboration album, 2019’s Lux Prima. This followed up from her gorgeous 2014 solo album ‘Crush Songs’, released on Julian Casablancas’ label Cult Records. She even recently released a song written for Kenzo’s Spring/Summer collection. So come along for the ride as we delve into selecting our favourite songs from the queen of modern rock Karen O and rulers of the art-rock world, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.