Darkside (often stylized as DARKSIDE) is the collaboration of electronic musician Nicolas Jaar and Brooklyn multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington.

Origin: New York, New York, United States
Genres: Electronica
Years active: 2011-present
Labels: Clown & Sunset, Other People, Matador Records, Modular Recordings, Hostess Entertainment
Members: Nicolas Jaar, Dave Harrington

Formation and early projects

Jaar and Harrington first met while they were both students at Brown University. Harrington was recommended to Jaar by frequent collaborator Will Epstein when he was looking for a third musician for his live band, with the three subsequently touring together to support Jaar's 2011 album Space Is Only Noise. Darkside first formed during a Berlin stop on this tour. Jaar and Harrington were writing in their hotel room together when their converter plug popped, filling their room with smoke and forcing them to finish the song in the hallway on a laptop. Upon returning to New York, they continued to write together, developing their sound in their Brooklyn studio.

Their first release as Darkside, the three song Darkside EP, was released on November 17, 2011 via Clown & Sunset. It was well received critically, receiving positive reviews from several publications including The Fader and Resident Advisor, as well as an an 8.0 from Pitchfork. Jaar has described the project as blues-oriented and more guitar influenced than his previous work, stating in an interview with i-D that Darkside is "the closest thing to rock & roll I’ve ever done." Stereogum has described the duo's sound as "dubbed-out jazzbo junkyard fuzz."