Toro Y Moi
Hometown: Columbia, SC
Tags: electronica, electronic, lo-fi, chillwave
Since his first offerings began making the Internet rounds in 2009, Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bundick has proven himself to be not just a prolific musician, but a diverse one as well, letting each successive release broaden the scope of the his oeuvre. The funky psych-pop of 2011’s Underneath the Pine evinced an artist who could create similar atmospheres even without the aid of source material and drum machines. His Freaking Out EP, a handful of singles and remixes, and a retrospective box-set plot points all along the producer-songwriter spectrum in which he’s worked since his debut, and his third full-length, Anything In Return, sees him poised directly in the middle of the two.
The product of a move to Berkeley, CA and the subsequent extended separation from loved ones, Anything in Return shows a pervasive sense of peace with Bundick’s tendency to dabble in both sides of the modern music-making spectrum, and he sounds comfortable engaging in intuitive pop production, putting forth the impression of unmediated id. The producer’s hand is prominent—not least in the sampled “yeah”s and “uh”s that give the album a hip-hop-indebted confidence— and many of the songs feature the 4/4 beats and deftly employed effects usually associated with house music. Tracks like “High Living” and “Day One” show a considerably Californian influence, their languid funk redolent of a decidedly West Coast temperament, and elsewhere—not least on lead single, “So Many Details”— the record plays with darker atmospheres than we’re used to hearing from Toro Y Moi. Sounding quite assured in what some may call this songwriter’s return to producer-hood, Anything in Return is Bundick uninhibited by issues of genre, an album that feels like the artist’s essence.
2753 Followers See all
- Upcoming Events
-
No events at this time.
- Past Events
KCRW's Jason Bentley on Toro Y Moi
2 months agoPlayed "Harm In Charge" 03/12/2013 11:55 am
Buzz Bands LA on Toro Y Moi
2 months agoYour Sunday happenings: ► Chaz Bundick brings Toro y Moi to the Fonda Theatre in support of the new album "Anything in Return." Sinkane and Dogbite open. ► Chicago quartet the Hush Sound , re-emerging with new material after a three-year hiatus, headlines the Troubadour, supported by the Last Royals and Sydney Wayser. ► "Up and Adam! A Benefit for Adam Hervey" brings a sew of bands to the High Park American Legion Hall in support of Pehrspace founder Adam Hervey, who is recovering from a brain stem stroke more here
TheOwlMag on Toro Y Moi
4 months agoToro Y Moi Anything In Return [Carpark]
For album three, Toro Y Moi (neé Chazwick Bundick) re-submerges himself into R&B-inspired electronica. Kneepad RPM’s ongoing problem is that many of its makers barely acknowledge the existence of sex. The first half of Anything In Return falls into this trap. “So Many Details” unnecessarily overlaps squeaky synths until they trigger a percussion avalanche. The fact that these innocuous melodies and pensive vocalizations still get ingrained in your memory is a testament to Bundick’s skill at crafting guilty pleasure homages. The pulsating hip-house of “Say That” is a prime example, though it is undermined by a half-hearted refrain of “we’re alright.”
Things liven up around “Studies,” when Toro Y Moi remembers that he is an accomplished one-man disco/folk ensemble. A soft-core boing and some slinky instrumentation herald The Nasty‘s late arrival on “High Living.” From there the album gets even cockier, unexpectedly morphing into a modern urban radio playlist. “Day One” is the strongest of these selections, galloping and trundling like a midnight carriage ride while impassioned yelps enthrall an imagined heroine. Anything In Return‘s unabashed chintziness is never dull, but without depth, Bundick’s perpetual identity crisis will soon grow tiresome.
more at theowlmag.comPitchfork Best New Tracks on Toro Y Moi
5 months agoToro Y Moi: "Say That"
Chaz Bundick can come across as a bit of a drifter. He played a beatmaker role on Toro Y Moi 's first record Causers of This , grown-up songcrafter on 2011's follow-up Underneath The Pine , and a dancefloor hedonist with his dance project Les Sins . "Say That" is the latest tune to be teased from Toro Y Moi's forthcoming Anything in Return , and it does a neat job of marrying all those stylistic experiments together to...[from Anything in Return ; out 01/22/13 via Carpark ]
more at pitchfork.comKCRW's Jason Bentley on Toro Y Moi
6 months agoPlayed "So Many Details" 11/13/2012 10:44 am
Pitchfork Best New Tracks on Toro Y Moi
7 months agoToro Y Moi: "New Beat"
There were moments on Chaz Bundick's debut album as Toro Y Moi that hinted at a desire to push his work into buoyant pop-soul territory. But that record is starting to look like a mere preliminary sketch for what's coming next, as demonstrated by the positively contagious groove of "New Beat", which is a leaner, tighter, more fully focused expression of Bundick's talent. The musical backing draws a neat line back to the squelched-out ARP synth experiments of... [from Underneath the Pine ; out 02/22/11 on Carpark ]
more at pitchfork.comPitchfork Best New Tracks on Toro Y Moi
7 months agoToro Y Moi: "All Alone"
The pastel-coated psychedelia of Underneath The Pine has remained an immensely satisfying listen throughout the year, but there's the nagging sense that Chaz Bundick fast-forwarded past where he could have continued to flesh out the promising (if uneven) Causers of This . I haven’t found much reason to doubt his industriousness yet, though: taken from the Freaking Out EP, his third release in less than 18 months, "All Alone" retraces Bundick’s path back to Causers ’ raw elements of roller-rink R&B and J Dilla ’s static-cling production style. But "All Alone" emerges from that LP’s aqueous ambience as Bundick’s giddiest and yet most subtly sleazy pop song to date (just check those sawtoothed synths). The song leaves us in the same place that Underneath The Pine did, knowing little about Bundick’s next move is but fully certain it’s going to be worth watching. [from the Freaking Out EP; out 09/13/11 via Carpark ]
more at pitchfork.comQuit Mumbling on Toro Y Moi
7 months agoTweet Off his sophomore release Underneath the Pine , out on February 22. Listen to the album here . more here
Quit Mumbling on Toro Y Moi
7 months agoTweet more here
Quit Mumbling on Toro Y Moi
7 months agoChaz Bundick is preparing to release the new Toro Y Moi EP Freaking Out on September 13, and new track "All Alone" is about mustering up the courage to approach her for the brief moments she's not occupied across the room. It's that inner push-and-pull the times you're convinced she's really your one true love even though you're only sort of sure what her last name is. Enjoy this long weekend, and grab the track for yourself below. Toro Y Moi - "All Alone" more here
KCRW's Jason Bentley on Toro Y Moi
8 months agoPlayed "Saturday Love" 09/23/2012 5:12 am
Quit Mumbling on Toro Y Moi
8 months agoTweet Off his sophomore release Underneath the Pine , out on February 22. Listen to the album here . more at elbo.ws
Quit Mumbling on Toro Y Moi
8 months agoTweet more at elbo.ws
Quit Mumbling on Toro Y Moi
9 months agoChaz Bundick is preparing to release the new Toro Y Moi EP Freaking Out on September 13, and new track "All Alone" is about mustering up the courage to approach her for the brief moments she's not occupied across the room. It's that inner push-and-pull the times you're convinced she's really your one true love even though you're only sort of sure what her last name is. Enjoy this long weekend, and grab the track for yourself below. Toro Y Moi - "All Alone" more at elbo.ws
Pitchfork Best Albums on Toro Y Moi
9 months agoAlbum "Underneath the Pine" scored 8.3
Underneath the Pine finds Chaz Bundick largely shedding his synth-pop roots in favor of a vastly expanded instrumental palette that encompasses organ, pianos, chimes, and plenty of live drumming. This...
more at pitchfork.comcovertcuriosity on Toro Y Moi
over 2 years agoToro Y Moi returns to Austin in November to entertain at Fun Fun Fun Fest Toro Y Moi - "Leave Everywhere" http://www.myspace.com/toroymoi more at blogspot.com
covertcuriosity on Toro Y Moi
over 2 years agoMan, how hot is this Toro Y Moi album? It's definitely one of the coolest things to come in 2010. more at blogspot.com