Toro Y Moi
BIOGRAPHY
Often associated with the is/isn’t it a genre ‘chillwave’ movement that broke out in summer 2009, Toro Y Moi is the solo project of one Chaz Bundick. Previously having fronted Heist and The Accomplice while studying Graphic Design at The University of South Carolina, he formed a close musical relationship with fellow supposed-chillwave luminary Ernest Greene, who plays under the name Washed Out. Since graduating in Spring 2009, Chaz signed to Carpark Records, on which he released his first full-length album Causers of This in January 2010.
The child of Philippino and African American parents living in New York City who moved to Carolina to start a family, Chaz was heavily influenced by their vinyl and tape collection, he also possesses great admiration for contemporary influences like Animal Collective, Sonic Youth, J Dilla, and Daft Punk. Playing in punk bands throughout his teens, his private lo-fi recordings on his MySpace started to attract attention, and the ‘side project’ soon became the main focus. Toro y Moi started in 2001 as a bedroom project but quickly expanded into the live performance realm. The songs are born from a plethora of different genres, from freak-folk to R&B to French House—which is heavily influential on Chaz's newest dance alias, Les Sins.
Causers of This, his first full length released at the start of this year, was well received both on the tastemaker blogs, who had been championing his talents for some months, and in the wider media. It drew attention particularly for its smart production, where the lo-fi tape hiss of early singles has been replaced by a cleaner, mellower sound with a hip-hop feel, influenced by producers such as J Dilla and Flying Lotus. With a wide palette of influences, Bundick extracts and samples, combining this with his own vocals and other instrumentation to make warm, wobbly pop songs that, while not always as catchy as his contemporaries', are distinctive and appealing in their own right.
Animal Collective tendencies break through with complicated rhythms and rich layering of Bundick's plaintive Panda Bear-esque vocals, and an intriguing blend of kaleidoscopic folk and rock is created with the hazy summer feel which is indicative of Chaz’s place within the chillwave scene. Melodic ambient samples swirl around cleverly arranged pop-song structures, where vocals are over looped electro-funk instrumentals and crisp drum programming.
Having previously toured with bands such as Caribou and Phoenix, Rockfeedback have invited him over on his upcoming European tour to play for us in London. The show is at CAMP Basement, off Old Street, on Monday the 19th of July. Tickets are available here.
TOUR DATES
July 11th - Canterbury, UK @ Lounge On The Farm
July 12th - Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds
July 13th - Paris, FR @ Nouveau Casino
July 14th - Amsterdam, NL @ Trouw
July 15th - Berlin, DE @ Comet Club
July 16th - Kutná Hora, CZ @ Creepy Teepee Festival
July 17th - London, UK @ Lovebox Festival
July 18th - Brighton, UK @ Freebutt
July 19th - London, UK @ Camp
July 20th - Niijmegan, NL @ Valkhof Affaire Festival
July 21st - Den Haag, NL @ Kafe Kremas
July 23rd - Bern, CH @ Stone Hill Festival
July 24th - Hyeres, FR @ Midi Festival
July 25th - Barcelos, PT @ MILHÕES DE FESTA
July 27th - Nottingham, UK @ Spanky Van Dykes
July 28th - Sheffield, UK @ The Harley
July 29th - Glasgow, UK @ Captain's Rest
July 30th - Manchester, UK @ The Deaf Institute
July 31st - London, UK @ Field Day
August 1st - Copenhagen, DK @ Trailer Park Festival
August 2nd - HamburgV, DE @ Astra Stube
August 3rd - Frankfurt, DE @ Ponyhof
August 4th - Nuremburg, DE @ K4
August 6th - Katowice, PL @ Off Festival
August 9th - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant*
August 10th - Des Moines, IA @ Seven Flags Event Center *
August 12th - Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre*
August 13th - Council Bluffs, IA @ Harrahs *
* = w/ Pheonix
LINKS
http://toroymoi.blogspot.com/
www.carparkrecords.com/
www.myspace.com/toroymoi
VIDEOS
Toro y Moi- Blessa
Toro y Moi- Talamak
Nylon interview Toro y Moi
by Jessica Flora-Weiss