Toro y Moi

January 13, 2010

Well, I guess this was inevitable. I’ve somehow eluded the the chillwave / glo-fi craze until now, but the overwhelming appeal of Toro y Moi, an artist at the cutting edge of the chill movement, has won me over. Toro y Moi is the creation of Chaz Bundick, a 23 year-old singer/songwriter/producer extraordinaire from Columbia, South Carolina who bridges the gap of lo-fi bedroom pop and club-ready electronica. His first single “Blessa” made waves among bloggers last year and now he’s prepping a debut album, Causers of This, which is sure to win him legions of new fans.

What makes Toro y Moi’s music so mesmerizing is the clear-cut, direct melodies and the inventive pop arrangements. Chaz utilizes the same ambient sampling and fuzzy vocals as his peers, but the hooks aren’t hidden under layers of haze. The warm, ethereal musical palette is contrasted with heavy, danceable synths engaging your hips as well as your mind. Note especially the warbling layers of keys on “Low Shoulder” (which is about as close as he gets to a club banger) and the glitchy percussion and dreamy textures of soulful slow jam “Tamalak”. If you’ve been wary of jumping on the dreamwave bandwagon, like myself, Toro y Moi provides a great starting point. Causers of This drops February 2nd on Carpark Records.

MP3 Low Shoulder
MP3 Tamalak

While you’re at it, check out Toro y Moi’s excellent cover of MJ’s “Human Nature”.

MP3 Human Nature (Michael Jackson cover)

Posted by Taylor in Artist Spotlight