Multi-instrumentalist Joshua Dibb, better known by his performing name Deakin, came to prominence in the early 2000s as a founding member of experimental indie outfit Animal Collective. Along with childhood friend Noah Lennox (Panda Bear), Dibb began recording music at a young age, befriending future bandmates David Portner (Avey Tare) and Brian Weitz (Geologist) in high school in Baltimore, Maryland. While attending college in Boston, Dibb and Lennox continued to collaborate with Portner and Weitz, eventually adopting the name Animal Collective to apply to their various recorded efforts. The band's style incorporated psychedelia, Krautrock, electronic music, and pop, and their unique format allowed the members the autonomy to work together as a whole or in smaller subgroups while still recording under the Animal Collective umbrella. To that end, Dibb has taken several breaks from Animal Collective during their existence, while still being considered a full-time member. He was on a break from the band in 2009 when they released their breakout LP, Merriweather Post Pavilion. During this period he embarked on a solo venture under the Deakin name, completing remixes for acts such as Phoenix, Goldfrapp, and Ratatat. He also raised a significant amount of money from a Kickstarter campaign to fund his debut -- which would include an elaborate book and CD -- and donate to the charity Temedt, which helps enslaved Tuareg people in Mali. Production of the album lasted much longer than expected and it was eventually revealed that Dibb had donated most of the raised funds to Temedt and was self-funding his album after all. During that period he rejoined Animal Collective, taking part in their 2010 visual album ODDSAC and the 2012 Centipede Hz album before leaving again in 2013. In 2016, Deakin's long-awaited solo debut, Sleep Cycle, finally arrived via his own My Animal Home label. ~ Timothy Monger Albums (with Animal Collective) * Campfire Songs (March, 2003) - Catsup Plate * Here Comes the Indian (June 17, 2003) - Paw Tracks * Feels (October 18, 2005) - FatCat * Strawberry Jam (September 10, 2007) - Domino Records - US #72, UK Indie #13 * ODDSAC (August 10, 2010) - Swiss Dots * Centipede HZ (September 4, 2012) - Domino Records * Tangerine Reef (August 17, 2018) - Domino Records Early life Joshua Dibb was born on January 6th, 1978 in Orange, California. Deakin met Animal Collective's Avey Tare (Dave Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) and Geologist (Brian Weitz) in high school. For years, the four of them had swapped homemade recordings, shared musical ideas and performed in different group configurations. After high school Panda Bear and Deakin went to Boston, where Deakin attended Brandeis University. Avey Tare and Geologist moved to New York City to attend NYU and Columbia University respectively when they were finished with high school. After months of playing the band finally settled on the name "Animal Collective". After touring with the group from 2004 to the end of 2006 and recording two albums, Feels and Strawberry Jam, he decided to temporarily leave the group for various creative and personal reasons. In 2009, Deakin did remixes for songs Zero by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Mirando by Ratatat. On New Years Day 2010 he performed his first set of solo material at the Ottobar in Baltimore