Battles is an American experimental rock group, founded in 2002 in New York City by Ian Williams (formerly of Don Caballero and Storm & Stress). The current line-up is guitarist/ keyboardist Ian Williams, guitarist/ bassist Dave Konopka (formerly of Lynx), and drummer John Stanier (formerly of Helmet).
Battles' second album, Gloss Drop, was released on June 6, 2011 featuring guests including Gary Numan (formerly of "Tubeway Army"), Kazu Makino, and Yamantaka Eye, and the band announced a spring tour in support of the record. In December 2011 the band curated the All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival in Minehead, England alongside co-curators Les Savy Fav and Caribou.
From February to April 2012, a series of four 12" vinyl EPs were released, titled Dross Glop (a spoonerism of the album's title) 1 through 4, featuring dance remixes of all the songs on Gloss Drop by various artists, including Gui Boratto, Kode9 and Hudson Mohawke. A compilation album featuring the 11 remixes (plus one not included, "Sundome") was released on April 16, 2012.
In August 2012, multi-platform video game Sleeping Dogs was released by Square Enix in which it features the song "Futura" in the in-game radio station, Warp Radio. Warp Radio exclusively consists of Warp Records artists including Battles and Hudson Mohawke, who prior to the release of the game, remixed Battles' Gloss Dross track "Rolls Bayce".
In September 2012, "Ice Cream" was featured in a commercial for the video game FIFA 12. The commercial includes actor and comedian Seth Meyers, Olympian and professional basketball player Steve Nash, and Olympian and professional goalkeeper Hope Solo.