Toro Y Moi - Live from Trona (2016)

Chaz Bundick started making bedroom recordings under the name Toro y Moi in his native Columbia, South Carolina in 2001. Drawing from a wide-ranging array of influences (Animal Collective, Daft Punk, and J Dilla among them), Bundick had a couple albums' worth of material ready for release eight years later. He was slated to release two full-length albums on Carpark Records in 2010: one, a dreamy, indie electronic affair (something like a cross between Panda Bear and Beach House); the other, a jumpy, garage-influenced indie pop effort that was influenced by bands like Saturday Looks Good to Me and Guided by Voices. In the meantime, Carpark released Toro y Moi's debut 7" split single, Blessa/109, featuring one track from each of the forthcoming discs, in 2009. Only one album was actually issued in 2010, however, the dreamier Causers of This, which placed Toro y Moi right in the middle of the "chillwave" wave. By the time of his next album, early 2011's Underneath the Pine, Bundick had incorporated space age bachelor pad and disco influences into his sound, distancing himself from his chill contemporaries. He followed it up later in the year with an EP (Freaking Out) that was even more dancefloor-friendly. After moving to Berkeley, California in 2012, Bundick's music began to reflect his separation from loved ones, giving his next album a slightly more melancholy feel. Anything in Return was released in early 2013 on Carpark. His next move was to give himself over to dance music entirely, releasing the Michael album in 2014 under the name Les Sins. It was the first release on Bundick's new label, which he co-ran with Carpark. The next Toro y Moi album, 2015's What For?, featured contributions from Julian Lynch and Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Ruban Nielson. ~ Margaret Reges.