Q&A: Toro y Moi

(Credit: Drew Innis)

You can’t really blame South Carolina native Chazwick Bundick, better-known as Toro y Moi, for not wanting to talk about chillwave. It’s a term that comes up in every single article that’s ever been written about him (including this one—sorry, Chaz!), but it’s not one he ever asked to be associated with, or even one that really describes his music.

Toro y Moi’s first album, “Causers of This,” admittedly bore some of chillwave’s trademark elements: gauzy, heavily filtered vocals and synths, wobbly laptop beats, touches of tape hiss and ambient noise. But his second album, “Underneath the Pine,” was a strikingly sophisticated mix of ‘70s-style space-rock, ‘80s R&B and synth-pop, ‘90s shoegaze and futuristic funk—and a freshly minted EP, “Freaking Out,” is an even lustier embrace of high-octane production and danceable grooves. Whatever wave Toro y Moi is riding these days, there’s nothing “chill” about it.

Metromix caught up with Bundick during his current tour—his second since ditching his old solo, laptop-based set-up in favor of a full band—to talk about his ever-evolving sound, his sexy album artwork, and his current relationship with the dreaded “C” word.

Do you have the same band lineup as before on this tour?
It is, but there’s a new set. We’re playing a lot of the “Freaking Out” material. And it’s more upbeat. I think it’s probably our favorite set so far.

As your sound has evolved, do you notice the crowd response changing at shows? Do people come to a Toro y Moi show to dance now?
I think so. I mean, I don’t want the set to be too psychedelic. I can only stand so much psychedelic in a live setting for so long. So I think having some dance songs in there really livens things up.

Did touring with the full band influence the “Freaking Out” EP?
Yeah, in a way. I think that I wanted to play more upbeat songs, so I wrote some. And I was also listening to a lot of ‘80s boogie pop while we were home from tour. I think just traveling a lot and going to the clubs and DJing really got me into wanting to make that stuff.

You cover Cherrelle’s ‘80s hit “Saturday Love” on the new EP. Have you been a fan of that song for a long time, or was that a more recent discovery?
I've liked Cherrelle for a while, but for some reason that song slipped by me. I didn't really hear that song until like, last year. I like to cover songs that I get inspired and influenced by. I like to think of it as research or doing homework. When you do a cover, you can figure out, “OK, that works because of this.” And then you practice it in your own songwriting.

You’re from the South. Did growing up there influence your sound?
I don't think so. It's not like South Carolina is out of the loop or anything. We're a pretty normal city; the stuff that's on the radio is similar to other cities. I found a lot of music through the Internet mostly

Is that your mouth on the cover of “Underneath the Pine”?
It is, yeah.

What are those things that you’re chewing on?
It’s a pomelo wedge, which is like a grapefruit sort of fruit. It’s like the size of your head. Someone gave me one for my birthday and I don’t know—I thought it was sorta significant that I took that picture on my birthday.

There’s something very suggestive about it.
I know, that’s what the idea was. There’s a word out there that’s the opposite of phallic—it’s the female version of that word.

I know you play a variety of different instruments. Do you have a favorite go-to one these days?
Right now I'm really into all of the Mellotron sounds. They’re perfect for [songwriting] ideas. They can always spin into something else, something psychedelic, or something more hip-hop sounding. For how old that instrument is, and how old those sounds are, it's crazy to know that they can go so many different ways.

When I did a Google search for “Chaz Bundick,” the first word it brought up to try to auto-complete my search was “glasses.”
That’s funny. I didn’t know that.

Do you get a lot of compliments on your glasses?
I do! Yeah, it’s really odd. I wasn’t really expecting that.

What brand are they? Maybe we can get you an endorsement deal.
Yeah, for sure, I’ve been trying to get endorsed by them forever. It’s called SEE.

I apologize for this next question, because they specifically asked me not to bring up the “C” word…
I don't know why they tell people…I'm not mad or anything about it. It's just a question that's already out there. But yeah, I mean, when it comes to categorizing music, it makes sense to make up a genre name. I just think “chillwave” ended up being kind of cheesy-sounding.

And I do think you and many of the other artists originally associated with chillwave, like Neon Indian, are already progressing beyond it.
Yeah, it’s cool. If you look at all the artists that are associated, we're all doing our own thing.