Musicians, who formed the rock band Vampire Weekend in 2006, met in Columbia University. They were big fans of punk and African music. Initially, the artists called the group Weekend, but it seemed too boring. So they added “Vampire” to attract more attention. At first, the band performed on small stages near the university.
After graduation, the musicians started working on a debut album. It’s worth noting that all of them had full-time jobs. Music was their hobby, which eventually turned into a career.
In 2007, the young artists released a song called "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa". It reached the 67th spot of the Rolling Stone magazine’s top-100 songs of the year list. Musicians managed to become popular thanks to their presence on social media. Information about the release of the debut album appeared long before it was ready. Many fans pre-ordered the LP online.
The Spin magazine called Vampire Weekend the best new group in 2008. It was the first band, which made it to the cover before releasing the first album. The LP, Vampire Weekend, came out the same year with the assistance of XL Recordings. Four tracks from the album appeared on the hottest song list of the Australian radio station, Triple J. The list was created after polling a hundred thousand listeners. Many fans wanted to book Vampire Weekend for private events at the time.