“…trippy grooves, thick basslines and ‘jammy’ feel with this very much an expectation of what to come. Are we excited? Hell yeah!” Stoney Roads
“…takes listeners on a chronological journey through genre, as they ride across Bear’s deep groove excursions.” Purple Sneakers
“might be his best and most eclectic project to date” NME
“alt-pop blasted into imaginative realms, bedroom pop with the doors and curtains closed” Clash
“vibrant and playful signifying an artist in total control” Notion
“a groovy, laidback slice of funk-pop” Pitchfork
“heavily funky, vocally low-key heater” Stereogum
Toro y Moi, a.k.a Chaz Bear shares another offering from his forthcoming album MAHAL, due April 29 via Dead Oceans. ‘Déjà Vu‘ arrives with a Justin Morris-directed video that begins with the viewer entering a white stretch limousine that acts as a portal to dreamlike vignettes of Bear, culminating in a montage of him traveling across America. Speaking about the video, Bear shares, “I hope you enjoy this small slice of American pie that I have prepared for you.”
‘Déjà Vu’ follows the previously released singles ‘The Loop‘ and ‘Postman,’ both of which arrived with videos directed by Kid. Studio, and the Arlington Lowell-directed video for ‘Magazine‘ featuring Salami Rose Joe Louis.
MAHAL follows Toro’s highly celebrated 2019 album Outer Peace, which Pitchfork described as “one of his best albums in years” along with his Grammy-nominated 2020 collaboration with Flume, ‘The Difference,’ which was also featured in a global campaign for Apple‘s Airpods.
Toro y Moi is the 12+ year project of South Carolina-reared, Bay Area-based Chaz Bear. In the wake 2008’s global economic collapse, Toro y Moi emerged as a figurehead of the beloved sub-genre widely known as chillwave, the sparkling fumes of which still heavily influence musicians all over today. Over the subsequent decade, his music and graphic design has far, far surpassed that particular designation. Across 9 albums (6 studio as Toro y Moi along with a live album, compilation and mixtape) with the great Carpark label, he has explored psych-rock, deep house, UK hip-hop; R&B and well-beyond without losing that rather iconic, bright and shimmering Toro y Moi fingerprint. As a graphic designer, Bear has collaborated with brands like Nike, Dublab and Van’s. And as a songwriter and producer, he’s collaborated with other artists like Tyler, The Creator, Flume, Travis Scott, HAIM, and Caroline Polachek.
