Hawnay Troof is one of the musical projects of the man who calls himself Vice Cooler, the other being punk band XBXRX. Hawnay Troof has elements of punk but it's electro-punk, with added elements of sleazy lounge and gutter hip-hop influenced by the Beastie Boys. He took on the name in 2001 when he and a friend were too broke for entry to a show in Birmingham, AL, and they hit on the idea of sneaking in by pretending to be a band. With songs written that day using a pirated version of the FruityLoops software, they performed a brief and chaotic set before the show's headlining act while standing near some vending machines. It worked, and they repeated the stunt several times at other gigs. Other bands heard of them and were soon inviting them to play similarly impromptu support acts.

After moving from Mobile, AL, to Oakland, CA, and going solo, Cooler signed to the Retard Disco label for his 2003 debut album, Get Up Resolution: Love. He followed it with the Community EP in 2005 and a double album in 2006, the self-produced Dollar and Deed. The vinyl version of that album came with a book containing over 200 photos he'd taken while touring the previous album around the world. For his third album he planned something briefer and more accessible. Computer problems forced him to repeatedly restart the album that would become 2008's Islands of Ayle, which featured several collaborations with Brezel Göring of Stereo Total that were conducted via e-mail, as well as a guest spot by Jamie Stewart of experimental post-punk band Xiu Xiu. ~ Jody Macgregor, Rovi