Artist Interviews

Q&A: Toro Y Moi

By | Published on Thursday 18 February 2010

Toro Y Moi

Toro Y Moi is the moniker of 23 year old singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Chazwick Bundick from South Carolina. Also the lead singer of indie rock band The Heist And The Accomplice, Bundick’s solo project varies, in terms of sound, from folk to electronic to indie pop.

Drawing influence from the likes of J Dilla and My Bloody Valentine, his synth-heavy style of music has been compared to artists such as Neon Indian and Memory Tapes. Bundick released his first single, ‘Blessa’, in 2009 after signing to Carpark Records, and is now set to release his debut album ‘Causers Of This’ on Monday, 22 Feb. We spoke to Chaz to find out more.

Q1 How did you start out making music?
I started when I was fifteen. Most of the songs then were on the guitar and pretty angsty. But I found out about making music with a computer three years later and that gave me a new perspective on song writing.

Q2 What inspired your latest album?
This was the first “real” album that I ever made. So, I looked at other albums for reference, on flow and stuff like that. Because of the things I was trying, I wanted to make sure I didn’t overdo any aspect of the production. I wanted to let the album breathe a few times. Sound-wise, I just tried to do a mixture of genres.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
I usually start with the backing track and then the lyrics. The majority of the time I’ll end up changing the music while keeping the recorded vocal track.

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
My Bloody Valentine, J Dilla, French house and Arthur Russell. There are more, but for this album it was mainly those.

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Headphones please, no laptop speakers, haha.

Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
I’d like to think the album could appeal to many audiences, but if people don’t feel it that’s fine. For the future, I just want to make sure I don’t force my songs out.

MORE>> www.myspace.com/toroymoi



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