Air Traffic Controller have created a place all their own in the indie pop world.
Serving in the US Navy as an air traffic controller, singer/songwriter Dave Munro sent home demos written during deployment. These early songs circulated through family, friends, and beyond, sparking an initial fanbase. This was chapter one for ATC.
In the decade that followed, Dave built a legacy for crafting heartfelt, luscious and genuine indie-folk-pop songs that are timeless and classic. Since emerging from the Boston scene in 2009, the group, which also includes drummer Adam Salameh, bassist Joe Campbell, guitarist Bobby Borenstein, vocalist/keytarist Emi McSwain, and multi-instrumentalist Steve Scott, has released 5 critically applauded albums and toured the U.S. + U.K.
ATC took their time writing and demoing their latest album and their audience has not left their side. While streaming to over 400 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify alone, they recorded “DASH” throughout the pandemic, where they met several delays and hardships, but stayed the course, bringing the next chapter of ATC to its debut. On the new album the band is heard together in Dimension Sound Studios with Boston producer/ engineer Dan Cardinal (Darlingside, Henry Jamison, Josh Ritter, Ballroom Thieves) along with longtime ATC collaborators Seth Kasper and Adrian Aiello. The goal was not to match up with previous albums, or meet some expectation, in fact, ATC’s formulas were often set aside, allowing further exploration among the group. Loyal fans of ATC’s stories, charm, nostalgia, hooks, will be drawn in from the very first line “It was chapter one”, and surely stick around for the journey.
Air Traffic Controller have achieved a lot over their career. Their category-defying organic/electronic sound, and knack for connecting with all ages and types of listeners, has kept them on everyone’s radar. They were Billboard Hot 100 Fest performers with The Weeknd and Justin Bieber, placed on the NPR Hot 100 List for SXSW, named Guardian UK Band of the Day, won Best Indie Alternative Song for "You Know Me" in the Independent Music Awards, and have multiple songs achieving millions of streams on Spotify. ATC's music has been licensed by Bose, MTV, NBC, ABC, Disney, Verizon, Toyota, and many more. They’ve played Sundance with ASCAP, Sixthman Rock Boat cruise with bands like NEEDTOBREATHE, Michael Franti, Jukebox The Ghost, and Bronze Radio Return. The band played SXSW showcases for McDonalds, the Grammy Museum, and was featured on Jeff Regan's Alt Nation playlist of bands to watch. Their music video for "The House" earned rotation on MTVU, MTV2, was featured by Funny Or Die, won a Boston Music Award, New England Music Award, was Improper Bostonian's "Boston's Best" Music Video, and was named Best Video by Boston Magazine. Vanyaland calls ATC an evolution forward featuring “crafty alt-pop, an expansion of depth and sound, catchy hooks”. One Stop Record Shop in the UK states "equal parts fascinating and brilliant". Songs from ATC have been featured by Gary Vaynerchuk in the Daily Vee, EA Sports NHL, UK top reality show Made In Chelsea. At radio, WERS and WXRV have been constant supporters, as well as Top 40 Mix 93.3 in KC, KX 93.5 Laguna CA, KCSN & KXLU Los Angeles, WLCA IL, WHSN ME, KXTE LV, KTCL CO and more. CLIF Bar, Quiznos, and Boston Harbor Distillery have worked with ATC, as well as MyMusicRX out of Portland, OR. On the road ATC has hit Summerfest, Ann Arbor Summer Festival, Denver's Beaver Creek Music Experience and will continue to play shows throughout the year in support of DASH.
Air Traffic Controller is from Boston and features:
Dave Munro, Adam Salameh, Joe Campbell, Bobby Borenstein, Emi McSwain, & Steve Scott
PRESS QUOTES:
“earnest and confessional … a lively and eminently catchy marriage... organic singer/songwriter influences… electro pop pulse" -Under The Radar
"A deeper maturity” -American Songwriter
"Air Traffic Controller opens the Hot 100 stage on day 2, makes the most of its opportunity and introduces a breezy new song called "Water Falls" from its new record." - Billboard
"Air Traffic Controller took the Sinclair by storm, playing a huge set that covered all the hits." - WERS
"A sonorous mix of bright, edgy sounds" - Culture Collide
"an earnest quality to Munro’s songwriting and vocal delivery that oozes authenticity" - Performer Mag
"Laying down a grooving indie pop backdrop full of rhythmic brass arrangement with Dave Munro spinning melodic vocal leads, “20” sees a celebrated band at the top of their game." - Plastic Magazine
“20” is a pop rock track that hits hard in a nostalgic and introspective way." - Hot Lunch Music
"It’s not often that one gets to hear music from a band that seems about to hit the big times. But if Air Traffic Controller’s latest track “20” — and their 300,000 monthly listeners — is any indication, then this genre-defying group seems poised to become a household name very soon." - Glasse Factory
"Air Traffic Controller have served up a slice of pure genius with “20.”" - Up To Hear Music
"Smart and sharp, upbeat and spry, the rising Boston band’s sophisticated songcraft helps their excellent fifth LP land in a sweet spot between indie-pop, rock and folk." - Tinnitist
"“20” is a breezy pop anthem, rooted in Munro’s unerring knack for catchy hooks and lived-in story-based lyricism paired with a lush arrangement featuring reverb-drenched guitar, funky horns and a dance floor friendly groove." - Joy of Violent Movement
"I was gobsmacked the first moment I heard ATC years ago, and am even more enthralled by them and what they're capable of doing with their sound." - Music Box Pete
"will take you through the ups and downs of summer and may just be stuck in your head for longer."
- The Daily, University of Washington
"Infectious new single “The House,” a catchy-ass song if there ever was one." -Vanyaland
“If this is what feel-good music sounds like, I want buckets and buckets more of it.” - Indie Shuffle
While so much has changed, much has stayed the same when it comes to the quality of music and the creativity pouring out. (“20” is) a beautifully introspective reflection on the past. And while it keeps a storytelling structure that feels recognizably ATC, its catchy sound turns heads.-Nora Onanian, WERS