Avey Tare

Best known as a founding member of experimental pop group Animal Collective, David Portner's (aka Avey Tare) psychedelic vision contributed to both Animal Collective's highly influential output, a healthy solo catalog, and several warped side projects. In downtime from his main band, Portner has released records as wildly imagined as the completely backwards 2007 album Pullhair Rubeye and the more straightforward voicings of 2019's Cows on Hourglass Pond. 2023 will see the release of Avey’s latest solo effort, with 7’s out on February 17th.

Portner was born on April 24, 1979. He grew up near Baltimore and met his future fellow Animal Collective mates Noah Lennox, Josh Dibb, and Brian Weitz in high school, where they bonded over shared musical obsessions for Pavement, the Grateful Dead, and various strains of psychedelic music. In 2000, Portner worked with Lennox on Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished, an album later recognized as the first official output of Animal Collective. This album set the precedent for Animal Collective's nebulous lineup, as various members would sit out some albums or contribute heavily to others.

As Animal Collective grew away from their noisy origins and caught the ear of more and more fans, Portner released occasional side recordings under his own name, including a split 12" with experimental artist David Grubbs in 2003 and 2007's collaborative LP Pullhair Rubeye with his then-wife, Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir of múm.