Toro y Moi
Chaz Bear (born Chazwick Bradley Bundick; November 7, 1986), known professionally as Toro y Moi, 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").[2][3]
Toro y Moi
Chazwick Bradley Bundick
- Les Sins
- PLUM
November 7, 1986
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- graphic designer
2008–present
Early life[edit]
Chaz Bear[4] was born on November 7, 1986, in Columbia, South Carolina,[5] to a Filipino mother and a black father.[6] He attended Ridge View High School, where he formed the indie rock band the Heist and the Accomplice with three schoolmates.[7]
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.[8]
Career[edit]
2010: Causers of This[edit]
In mid-2009, Bear was signed to Carpark Records,[9] 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.[10] 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."[11] Tours supporting Ruby Suns, Caribou, and Phoenix followed the album's release.[12]
2011: Underneath the Pine and Freaking Out EP[edit]
Bear's second album, Underneath the Pine, was released on February 22, 2011.[13] 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.[11] 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."[14]
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."[15]
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.[16] 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.[17]
Side projects[edit]
Les Sins (2014–present)[edit]
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.[33][34] 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."[35] Les Sins's debut full-length album, Michael, was released on November 4, 2014, on Bear's own Company Records (now called Company Studio).[36] 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.
Plum (2016–present)[edit]
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.[37]
Chaz Bundick Meets the Mattson 2 (2016–2017)[edit]
Bear released a collaborative album, Star Stuff,[38] 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.[39] 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.
Art and design work[edit]
Alongside his music career, Bear also maintains a visual art and design practice. In 2016, Bear founded Company Studio[40] 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.
Personal life[edit]
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.[41]