TORO Y MOI’S “BUFFALO”
DEBUTS ON THE FADER
SET TO TOUR NORTH AMERICA THIS SPRING
WHAT FOR? OUT APRIL 7 ON CARPARK RECORDS
“Mr. Bundick’s music sizzled in a way his peers’ generally did not, and it had an
emotional presence that was signature as well.”—The New York Times
“[Chaz Bundick is] a prolific artist who never comes off like he’s
in a race with his muse.”—Pitchfork
“Though looped in with the woozy-pop ‘chillwave’ trendlet,
Chaz Bundick has always had more cooking.”—Rolling Stone
“Buffalo,” the second track from Toro y Moi’s forthcoming album What For? is premiering viaThe FADER, listen via FADER here and SoundCloud here. Of the track, The FADER says, “Switching up sounds is daunting, and Toro's one of the few that do it confidently almost every go-round.” What For? is out April 7 on Carpark Records.
“When I started writing this song I was experiencing a bit of writer’s block and this song was what pulled me out,” Toro y Moi mastermind Chaz Bundick tells The FADER. “As soon as I wrote it, I knew it would set the tone for the entire album.”
To celebrate the release of What For?, Toro y Moi will embark on a tour of Europe and North America this spring. Kicking off March 24 in Visalia, CA, the tour includes stops at Coachella and headlining dates at New York’s Terminal 5 and Washington, D.C.’s 9:30 Club, in addition to sold out dates at Los Angeles’ The Fonda and San Francisco’s The Independent. Tickets are available now at toroymoi.com.
What For? is available for preorder here with an exclusive shirt designed by Bundick, and via iTunes with instant downloads of “Buffalo” and “Empty Nesters” here. The video for “Empty Nesters”—directed, written and shot by Bundick— recently premiered via Pitchfork, watch ithere.
Recorded in the Berkeley, CA home studio of Toro y Moi producer, singer, songwriter and mastermind Chaz Bundick over the course of 2014, What For? draws inspiration from Big Star, Talking Heads and Todd Rundgren, as well as Brazil’s Tim Maia and France’s Cortex, among many others. Unknown Mortal Orchestra guitarist Ruban Nielson appears on the album, as does multi-instrumentalist Julian Lynch.
“I’ve done electronic R&B and more traditional recorded type R&B stuff. I just wanted to see what else was out there,” Bundick says of the record. “It’s all coming from the same mindset and point of creativity. It’s just me trying to take what I already have, and then taking it further.”
Having spent his formative years playing in punk rock bands and studying graphic design at the University of South Carolina, Bundick began making bedroom recordings under the name Toro y Moi in 2001. Those early recordings made up the seeds of his critically acclaimed 2010 debut album Causers of This, which was hailed as “a bold introduction to a promising newcomer” byFilter. Bundick went on to record 2011’s highly regarded Underneath the Pine and theFreaking Out EP before making his move to California in 2012. Toro y Moi’s critically-adoredAnything In Return followed in 2013, along with the debut full length from Les Sins, Bundick’s dance music project in 2014.
TORO Y MOI LIVE
March 24 Visalia, CA The Cellar Door*
March 25 San Luis Obispo, CA SLO Brewing Company*
March 26 Big Sur, CA Loma Vista Gardens*
March 28 San Francisco, CA The Independent [SOLD OUT]*
March 31 Berlin Lido
April 1 Amsterdam Melkweg
April 2 Brussels VK
April 3 Zurich Mascotte
April 4 Paris La Maroquinerie
April 6 Manchester Sound Control
April 8 London Oval Space
April 11 Indio, CA Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
April 15 San Diego, CA North Park Theatre†
April 16 Los Angeles, CA The Fonda Theatre [SOLD OUT]†
April 18 Indio, CA Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
April 29 Washington, D.C. 9:30 Club*
April 30 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer*
May 1 New York, NY Terminal 5‡
May 2 Northampton, MA Pearl Street*
May 3 Boston, MA Paradise*
May 5 Toronto Danforth Music Hall*
May 6 Detroit, MI Magic Stick*
May 7 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Smalls Theatre*
May 8 Columbus, OH Skully’s Music Diner*
May 9 Louisville, KY Headliners Music Hall*
May 10 Nashville, TN Exit/In*
May 12 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
May 13 Columbia, SC Music Farm§
May 14 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse§
May 15-17 Gulf Shores, AL Hangout Music Festival
May 18 Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s§
May 19 Dallas, TX South Side Music Hall§
May 20 Austin, TX Emo’s§
*with Vinyl Williams
†with Mattson 2
‡with Vinyl Williams and Sinkane
§with Keath Mead
WHAT FOR?