Never a group to shy away from surprise moves, Death Grips have become the first act to announce their split via napkin. "We are now at our best and so Death Grips is over. We have officially stopped," read a message written on a paper napkin, then photographed and posted to their Facebook page.
The group – who described themselves as "a conceptual art exhibition anchored by sound and vision. Above and beyond a 'band'" – said their double album album The Powers That B, due later this year on Harvest/Third World records, would still be released.
It's less than a month since Death Grips released the first part of The Powers That B, an eight-track collection called Niggas on the Moon (the second part is tob e called Jenny Death), for free online. The set featured a heavily cut and sampled Björk on all eight tracks. She announced on Facebook:
i am proud to announce my vocals landed on the new death grips album ! i adore the death grips and i am thrilled to be their "found object". i have been lucky enough to hang and exchange music loves w/ them and witness them grow !! epic : onwards !!
Death Grips' career has been a string of provocations. After signing to the major label Epic in 2012, they were promptly dropped for releasing their album No Love Deep Web for free online, months before the scheduled release. The cover art featured the title written on a man's penis. "The label will be hearing the album for the first time with you," Death Grips tweeted.
The group were due to tour with Trent Reznor later this year. Reznor tweeted his own apology for their split.
sorry everyone… why would I have ever thought those dudes could keep it together?
— Trent Reznor (@trent_reznor) July 3, 2014
