The Pitchfork Music Festival began Friday afternoon and as always, some of the bands performing carry a bit of local DNA. Take the group Battles: Two members – Dave Konopka and Ian Williams - used to live in Chicago, while members of the bands Lynx and Don Caballero. They formed Battles in New York and had big success with their debut release Mirrored.

Last year vocalist and cofounder Tyondai Braxton left the band in the middle of making its second album. But Williams, Konopka and third member John Stanier regrouped and released Gloss Drop. Before the band headed to Pitchfork, Eight Forty-Eight’s Alison Cuddy got the chance to speak with Konopka.