Toro y Moi | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Chazwick Bradley Bundick |
Also known as |
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Born | Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. | November 7, 1986
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2008–present |
Labels | |
Website | toroymoi |
Chaz Bear (born Chazwick Bradley Bundick; November 7, 1986), known professionally as Toro y Moi and occasionally referred to as Les Sins [2] [3] or simply as "Toro"[ citation needed ], is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He is often recognized as a spearhead of the chillwave genre in the 2010s, alongside contemporaries Washed Out and Neon Indian, although his music has explored various styles since. [1] His stage name is a multilingual expression consisting of the Spanish words toro and y (meaning "bull" and "and", respectively) and the French word moi (meaning "me"). [4] [5]
Chaz Bear [6] was born on November 7, 1986, in Columbia, South Carolina, [7] to a Filipino mother and a black father. [8] He attended Ridge View High School, where he formed the indie rock band the Heist and the Accomplice with three schoolmates. [9]
Bear graduated from the University of South Carolina in spring of 2009 with a bachelor's degree in graphic design. Late in his school career, Toro y Moi formed a close musical relationship with fellow chillwave artist Ernest Greene, who performs under the name Washed Out. [10]
In mid-2009, Bear was signed to Carpark Records, [11] on which he released his debut Toro y Moi full-length album, Causers of This , in January 2010. On Causers of This, Bear experimented with sampling and production techniques using the digital audio workstation Reason. [12] The album garnered comparisons to the "chillwave" subgenre; however, Bear stated that he never classified his music as such. Bear refers to the album's subject matter as "personal," calling it a "break-up album." [13] Tours supporting Ruby Suns, Caribou, and Phoenix followed the album's release. [14]
Bear's second album, Underneath the Pine , was released on February 22, 2011. [15] The album was recorded at Bear's home between tours while supporting Causers of This. Underneath the Pine marked a stylistic departure from the previous album in that it was made up of all live instrumentation and contained no samples. Bear cites horror movie soundtracks, space disco, and film composers Piero Umiliani and François de Roubaix as inspiration for the album's sound. [13] Further, Bear states that "...what influenced Underneath the Pine was finding stuff that I wanted to sample for Causers. A lot of the things I sampled for Causers ended up being the main musical inspiration for Underneath the Pine." [16]
In an interview with the website At the Sinema, he suggested that he had moved beyond the chillwave genre: "All that stuff is really good music, like Ernest Green (Washed Out) and Neon Indian. I'm a big fan of all of that, but I think [chillwave] was just a small little period where we all were, coincidentally." [17]
On September 13, 2011, Toro y Moi released an EP titled Freaking Out, featuring a cover of "Saturday Love" by Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal. [18] The EP's sound was heavily influenced by 80's Boogie and R&B.
The band was chosen by Caribou to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curated in December 2011 in Minehead, England. [19] Bear also planned a collaboration album with California rapper, Tyler, The Creator, which was recorded between late 2011 and mid 2012. Odd Future posted an unfinished collaboration leaked on Soundcloud titled “Hey You” to their Tumblr blog on July 18, 2012. [20] [21] The album has been scrapped since.
In January 2013, Bear released his third Toro y Moi studio album, Anything in Return , which he described as having a '90s dance and R&B sound. According to him, the album was "influenced by lots of different types of house, from deep house to two-step [...] The chords ['Harm in Change' and 'Say That'] use—that's just something I've been a fan of for a while. I really wanted to mess around with those kinds of elements and revisit what I did on Causers of This, but make those elements a little bit better and more apparent." [22] The album was called "highly indebted to the late sacrosanct hip-hop producer J Dilla" by the San Francisco Bay Guardian . [23] Bear stated that he wanted to combine the electronic production of his first record with the elements of traditional instrumentation of his second album. [24]
Bear released What For? , his fourth studio album as Toro y Moi, on April 7, 2015, on Carpark Records. [25] The album marked a further departure in sound from previous releases with a guitar-based rock sound, drawing inspiration from artists such as Big Star, Talking Heads, Todd Rundgren, Tim Maia, and Cortex. [26] He also worked with Tyler, the Creator. Later that year, Bear released the hip hop–influenced mixtape Samantha via a Dropbox link. The free, 20-track mixtape features collaborations with Washed Out, Rome Fortune and Nosaj Thing, among others.
In April 2016, Bear traveled with his touring band to the Mojave Desert to film a live concert film and album. The concert, which had no audience, was filmed in a single day among the Trona Pinnacles. The band added Bay Area multi-instrumentalist Brijean Murphy on congas, and were joined by The Mattson 2 to play the song "JBS". [27] Bear shared with The Fader that the film was inspired by Pink Floyd's Live At Pompeii, which featured a live performance without an audience. [28]
The film, directed by Harry Israelson, premiered online in August 2016. The live recording was released as a double LP by Carpark Records in August as well.
The studio album follow up to What For? , Boo Boo , was released on July 7, 2017, by Carpark Records. [29] In creating Boo Boo, Bear was influenced by an eclectic mix of Daft Punk, Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, and Oneohtrix Point Never. [30] Boo Boo moved back towards a more R&B, electronic sound, diverging from the live instrumentation of What For?.
Bear released the sixth Toro y Moi album, Outer Peace , on January 18, 2019, on Carpark Records. Outer Peace is arguably the most pop-influenced Toro y Moi album to date. Tracks like "Ordinary Pleasure" and "Freelance" showcase the continued funk, disco, and house influence that is woven through the entire Toro y Moi discography. On First Listen with NPR in January 2019, Bear explained a bit about the album title, stating that "usually the peace is within, so to have peace on the outside is the challenge. I kind of just wanted to call that out." [31]
A week after the release of Outer Peace and while on tour supporting the album, Bear shared a Dropbox link to a cassette bounce of his mixtape, Soul Trash. In October 2019, an updated version of Soul Trash was released on streaming platforms. The official release was accompanied by a psychedelic short film directed by Bay Area artist Laneya Billingsley. [32]
In late 2019, Bear started working with Flume on the drum and bass-inspired track "The Difference", which was released on March 11, 2020. [33] The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for 2020. [34]
In October 2021, Bear announced that he had signed with Dead Oceans to release the next Toro y Moi album in progress. [35]
On January 26, 2022, Bear announced his seventh studio album as Toro y Moi, Mahal , alongside the release of its first two singles, "Postman" and "Magazine". Two more singles "The Loop" and "Déjà Vu" were released on February 22 and March 31 that year, respectively. The album was released on April 29 via Dead Oceans. [36]
Bear DJs and makes electronic dance music under the moniker Les Sins. As Les Sins, Bear has put out a series of 12-inch records on Carpark Records and Jiaolong Records. [37] [38] Bear stated that Les Sins "was just another way to make weirder music without having to feel I'm alienating Toro y Moi [fans]. So it's kind of nice to do whatever kind of song I want to do without having to worry about it being accessible." [39] Les Sins's debut full-length album, Michael, was released on November 4, 2014, on Bear's own Company Records (now called Company Studio). [40] The next Les Sins release was a split EP with New York house music producer AceMo called C'mon Les' Go, released on August 27, 2020, by Company Studio.
Bear produces and performs ambient music as Plum. The first Plum release was a self-titled single-track tape that came out on Leaving Records on September 28, 2016. The next Plum release was a full-length called StreetView released on Company Studio on October 24, 2020. StreetView's release was accompanied by the debut of an immersive website, plum.link, that paired streaming of the album with drone footage and effects that enhanced the experience of the music. [41]
Bear released a collaborative album, Star Stuff, [42] with The Mattson 2, a jazz duo from California. Star Stuff was released on Company Records on March 31, 2017, and subsequently reached #1 on the contemporary jazz Billboard Charts. [43] While touring together in support of Star Stuff, Bear and the Mattson 2 performed their collaborative album alongside existing songs from Toro y Moi's catalog.
Alongside his music career, Bear also maintains a visual art and design practice. In 2016, Bear founded Company Studio [44] as a framework and vehicle for his visual endeavors. Company Studio works across various disciplines including graphic design, art direction, fine art, murals and installations, event production, and video production.
Bear's fine art is primarily centered around painting, but also includes drawing, collage, and sculpture. Bear has had solo shows in at New Image Art (Los Angeles), FISK Projects (Portland), and Gallery Commune (Tokyo).
Company Studio is also the name of Bear's record label, an imprint under Carpark Records, on which he releases his own side projects as well as records by selected artists that he has produced.
Bear lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he moved after leaving South Carolina. On June 27, 2017, the city of Berkeley, California officially declared June 27 to be 'Chaz Bundick Day'. This public recognition of Bear's contribution to music and the arts was presented by Jesse Arreguin, Mayor of Berkeley. [45]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
US [46] | ||
Causers of This | — | |
Underneath the Pine |
| 186 |
Anything in Return |
| 60 |
Michael(as Les Sins) |
| — |
What For? |
| 123 |
Star Stuff(with the Mattson 2, as Chaz Bundick Meets the Mattson 2) |
| — |
Boo Boo |
| 136 |
Outer Peace |
| 114 |
Mahal |
| 167 [47] |
Hole Erth |
| — |
Title | Album details |
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June 2009 |
|
Title | Year | Album |
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"Left Alone at Night" | 2009 | |
"Blessa" | 2009 | |
"Leave Everywhere" | 2010 | |
* "I Will Talk to You" / "For No Reason" (split 7-inch with Cloud Nothings) (2011)
|
Title | Year | Album |
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"Try" (Nosaj Thing featuring Toro y Moi) | 2013 | Home |
"Chaz Interlude" (Travis Scott featuring Toro y Moi) | Owl Pharaoh | |
"Come Alive" (Chromeo featuring Toro y Moi) | 2014 | White Women |
"Flying High" (Travis Scott featuring Toro y Moi) | 2015 | Rodeo |
"Run" (Tyler, the Creator featuring Chaz Bear) | Cherry Bomb | |
"Fucking Young / Perfect" (Tyler, the Creator featuring Chaz Bear) | ||
"If I Was a Folkstar" (The Avalanches featuring Toro y Moi) | 2016 | Wildflower |
"9 Carrots" (Flying Lotus featuring Toro y Moi) | 2019 | Flamagra |
"Dark and Handsome" (Blood Orange featuring Toro y Moi) | Angel's Pulse | |
"Money Up" (MadeinTYO featuring Toro y Moi) | 2020 | (Non-Album Single) |
"Cinderella" (Don Toliver featuring Toro y Moi) | 2023 | Love Sick |
"All Ur Luv" (Wavedash & Madeon featuring Toro y Moi) | 2024 | (Non-Album Single) |
"ASPEN" (Channel Tres featuring Toro y Moi) | Head Rush | |
Title | Year | Artist(s) |
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"Feel It All Around" [48] | 2009 | Washed Out |
"Repeated" [49] | The Longcut | |
"At a Glance" [50] | 2010 | Body Language |
"Alligator" [51] | Tegan and Sara | |
"Fire Escape" [52] | Fanfarlo | |
"Deadbeat Summer" [53] | Neon Indian | |
"French!" [54] | 2011 | Tyler, The Creator featuring Hodgy Beats |
"Blink and You'll Miss a Revolution" [55] | Cut Copy | |
"You & Me" [56] | 2013 | Disclosure featuring Eliza Doolittle |
"My Man" [57] | Billie Holiday | |
"Bombs Away" | 2019 | Charlotte Gainsbourg |
"Hit Me Where It Hurts" [58] | 2020 | Caroline Polachek |
"3 AM" [59] | HAIM |
Carpark Records is an independent record label based in Washington, D.C.
Chillwave is a music microgenre that emerged in the late 2000s. It is characterized by evoking the popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s while engaging with notions of memory and nostalgia. Common features include a faded or dreamy retro pop sound, escapist lyrics, psychedelic or lo-fi aesthetics, mellow vocals, slow-to-moderate tempos, effects processing, and vintage synthesizers.
Causers of This is the debut album from the artist Toro y Moi, released on January 4, 2010, on Carpark Records.
Underneath the Pine is the second album from the artist Toro y Moi, released on February 22, 2011 on Carpark Records. The album was given the "Best New Music" designation by Pitchfork and they placed the album at number 48 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011".
Vinyl Williams is an American neo-psychedelic band led by Los Angeles-based multimedia artist and musician Lionel Williams, active since 2007. Vinyl Williams has released six studio albums: Lemniscate (2012), Into (2015), Brunei (2016), Opal (2018), Azure (2020), and Cosmopolis (2022).
June 2009 is a compilation album by American recording artist Toro y Moi, released on April 24, 2012, by Carpark Records. Originally sold as a tour-only CD-R, it consists of previously unreleased material produced and recorded by Bundick in June 2009, before his debut studio album, Causers of This (2010), was recorded. Aside from standard CD and digital versions, the album was also released as a limited edition box set containing five 7" vinyl singles, each with their own cover art, as well as a free digital download, postcard, and stickers.
Anything in Return is the third studio album by American recording artist Toro y Moi, released on January 22, 2013 by Carpark Records. Toro y Moi describes it as a "bigger sounding album, more accessible and poppy", as he lyrically wrestles between relationship problems and life on the road.
Ryan DeRobertis is an American electronic musician and singer who grew up in Farmingville, New York and attended Boston College for two years studying music. His electronic music project SAINT PEPSI began in December 2012. After the release of his ninth studio album Hit Vibes in May 2013, he would retire the SAINT PEPSI name due to legal threats from the soft-drink company PepsiCo. He would adopt the name Skylar Spence in 2015, and release his debut record under that moniker, Prom King. In 2019, he would return under the name SAINT PEPSI with the release of Mannequin Challenge, and he currently uses that name for live performances and certain releases.
Samantha is a mixtape by American recording artist Toro y Moi, released on August 28, 2015.
What For? is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Toro y Moi, released on April 7, 2015, by Carpark Records. The album includes 10 tracks at a run time of 36:38. Prior to the album release, Toro y Moi revealed three teaser tracks. These tracks include: "Empty Nesters", "Buffalo", and "Run Baby Run". This release follows his 2013 studio album Anything in Return.
Boo Boo is the fifth studio album by Toro y Moi, released on July 7, 2017 via Carpark. "Girl Like You" was the first single from the album and was released on June 9, 2017. Toro y Moi cites Travis Scott, Daft Punk, Kashif, Gigi Masin, Frank Ocean, and Oneohtrix Point Never as inspiration for the album. Toro y Moi said the album was written to help "cope with an identity crisis caused by his growing popularity".
Madeline Claire Kenney is an American indie rock singer-songwriter based in Oakland, California.
Night Night at the First Landing is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Madeline Kenney. It was released on September 1, 2017, via Company Records.
Outer Peace is the sixth studio album by American musician Toro y Moi, released on January 18, 2019, through Carpark Records. The tracks "Freelance" and "Ordinary Pleasure" were released prior to the album. On January 10, the album became available to stream in full via NPR's website.
"So Many Details" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Toro y Moi. The song was released on October 15, 2012 through Carpark Records, as the lead single from his third studio album Anything in Return (2013). Toro y Moi is the recording project of musician Chaz Bundick, who wrote, produced, engineered, mixed, and performed all instrumentation on the track.
"Ordinary Pleasure" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Toro y Moi. The song was released on December 4, 2018, by Carpark Records, as the second single from his sixth studio album Outer Peace (2019). Toro y Moi is the recording project of musician Chaz Bundick, who wrote, produced, engineered, mixed, and performed all instrumentation on the track.
"Girl Like You" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Toro y Moi. The song was released on June 9, 2017 through Carpark Records, as the lead single from his fifth studio album Boo Boo (2017). Toro y Moi is the recording project of musician Chaz Bundick, who wrote, produced, engineered, mixed, and performed all instrumentation on the track.
Mahal is the seventh studio album by American musician Toro y Moi, released on April 29, 2022, through Dead Oceans, as his first release under this label. The title is derived from the Tagalog word "mahal", which translates to "love" or "expensive" in English.
Tanukichan is an American singer-songwriter based in San Francisco. Her debut album Sundays was released on July 13, 2018 via Company Records with production by Chaz Bear of Toro y Moi. Following the release of Sundays, van Loon supported the musical act Kero Kero Bonito on their 2018 tour. Prior to Sundays, van Loon independently released her EP Radiolove and an early version of the song “Bitter Medicine” in 2016.
Hole Erth is the eighth studio album by American musician Chaz Bear under the name Toro y Moi. The album released on September 6, 2024 under the label Dead Oceans. The name of the album is an homage to Stewart Brand's periodical, Whole Earth.