The Black Keys are a blues-rock duo consisting of Dan Auerbach (vocals and guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums and percussion) from Akron, Ohio.

The band's name was inspired by an artist friend of the band in Akron with schizophrenia, who used the term "black keys" to describe people who weren't quite right. A double meaning lies in the fact that the black keys of a piano comprise a pentatonic minor scale when starting on E flat, which is often associated with blues and rock music.

One of their trademarks is their preference for "medium fidelity" recording techniques such as using tape recorders and analog effects. The band does most of the recording, producing, and mixing themselves. The majority of the album Thickfreakness was recorded in 12 hours during one day. The band often experiments with odd recording and production techniques, such as leaving in background noises.

- Wikipedia