Jonti Danilewitz (born 1986 or 1987), known mononymously as Jonti, is a South African-Australian electronic and alternative hip hop record producer, composer and songwriter.[1][2] He is signed to Stones Throw Records and Future Classic.[3] He was also a touring member of the Avalanches.

Jonti
Birth nameJonti Danilewitz
Also known asJonti Danimals
Born1986 or 1987 (age 36–37)
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
OriginSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres
Occupations
Instruments
Years active2009–present
LabelsStones Throw
Formerly ofDanimals, Sherlock's Daughter

Biography

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Danilewitz was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.[4] His family relocated to Sydney,[4] where he attended Masada College, Sydney in 1999.[5] By 2009, he fronted the Sydney-based group Danimals, which were working at Mark Ronson's The Lab to write and record material.[6] Danilewitz' older brother Leron was their talent manager.[6] One of the tracks, "Fox", was used for a national advertising campaign.[7] Danimals line-up in mid-2010 included James Domeyko, Moses MacRae and Julian Sudek on drums and Jaie Gonzalez on bass guitar.[8] Due to the United States yoghurt of the same name they changed to Djanimals.[9]

As Jonti Danimal, on keyboards, he was also a member of Sherlock's Daughter, an indie, electronic six-piece alongside Liam Flanagan on bass guitar, Tanya Horo on vocals, guitar and keyboards, Timothy Maybury on guitar, Graeme Pillemer and William Russell on drums.[10][11] That group formed in 2007 by Horo, Maybury and Pillemer with Jonti joining later.[10] They recorded their debut album, Hunter, during 2010 with sessions at Watermusic Studios, Hoboken.[10] It was issued in 2012 via Gaga Digi.[10]

Danilewitz was performing as Jonti by November 2012.[9] His debut album, Twirligig, had appeared a year earlier in October 2011.[12] AllMusic's David Jeffries rated it four-out-of-five stars, who explained "this genre-borrowing hangs together effortlessly with Jonti's unique voice as its anchor, so let your laptop-hovering friends worry about the complex constructions while you enjoy Twirligig's simple pleasures".[12]

In 2014, Jonti performed a cover of the Avalanches debut album, Since I Left You, at Vivid LIVE and the Melbourne International Arts Festival.[13][14][15] In 2016, he appeared on their album Wildflowers later becoming their touring guitarist.

His second album, Tokorats, was released in 2017.[16][17][18] Jeffries' colleague David Simpson gave it three-and-a-half because "not all of his juxtapositions or segues seem to make sense, and the album seems a bit overstuffed, but Jonti's ambition and creativity are undeniably admirable, and the entire album is a delightfully strange trip".[16]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Title Details
Twirligig
Tokorats

Demos

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Title Details
Sine & Moon
  • Release date: 2012 (US)
  • Label: Stones Throw Records (STH2290)
  • Formats: LP, digital download

Singles

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Title Year Album
"Firework Spraying Moon" 2011 Twirlgig
"Saturday Night"[19] 2012 Sine & Moon
"Scrood" 2017 non album singles
"Rain"
"Sleeping and Falling" Tokorats
"Staring Window"

Awards

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AIR Awards

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The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2012[20][21] Twirlgig Best Independent Dance/Electronic Album Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Rachael, Angres (23 August 2012). "Interview: Jonti". Heave Media. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  2. ^ Lester, Paul (25 August 2011). "New band of the day – No 1,092: Jonti". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  3. ^ Banuelos, Jon (2012). "Jonti". Stones Throw Records. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  4. ^ a b Simpson, Paul. "Jonti Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Masada Students Excel". The Australian Jewish News. Vol. 105, no. 11. New South Wales, Australia. 26 November 1999. p. 27. Retrieved 30 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ a b Landsman, Lexi (15 December 2009). "Big Break for Young Aussie Muso". The Australian Jewish News. Archived from the original on 16 March 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ Braithwaite, Alyssa (2 March 2010). "Danimals Take Fast Track to Fame". news.ninemsn.com.au. Australian Associated Press (AAP). Archived from the original on 5 March 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ Carr, Michael (2010). "Danimals – Rainy Days". Music Feeds. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ a b "Universal Signs Jonti Danilewitz to Global Publishing Deal". The Music. 22 November 2012. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ a b c d "Sherlock's Daughter". Gaga Digi. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Sherlock's Daughter". Triple J Unearthed (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)). 2009. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ a b Jeffries, David (2012). "Twirligig Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  13. ^ Sadler, Denham (12 October 2014). "Jonti & His 17 Piece Band Paid Tribute To The Avalanches & We Were There". Tone Deaf. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  14. ^ Palathingal, George (25 May 2014). "Since the Avalanches left us, Jonti and the Astral Kids step up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  15. ^ McClintock, Alex (25 May 2014). "Since I Left You review – a joyful, live recreation of a classic record". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  16. ^ a b Simpson, Paul (2017). "Tokorats Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  17. ^ "Jonti: Tokorats". Pitchfork. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  18. ^ Carr, Paul (8 December 2017). "Jonti: Tokorats". PopMatters. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  19. ^ Cooper, Duncan (7 November 2012). "Video: Jonti, "Saturday Night"". Fader. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  20. ^ "NOMINATIONS: 2012 Jagermeister Independent Music Awards". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. 17 September 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  21. ^ "History Wins". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
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