Toro y Moi Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 3rd 2010 7:13AM by Steven Horowitz
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South Carolina native and resident Chaz Budnick performs under the moniker of Toro y Moi. The 23-year-old one man band uses keyboards and a mixing board to create dense, danceable, atmospheric music. He fuses lo-fi and high tech sounds together to make what some call Chillwave, but what he calls just "pop music." Toro y Moi succinctly answered Spinner's interview questions ahead of SXSW, perhaps with his tongue somewhat in cheek.

Describe your sound in your own words.

I'd say its pop music.

How did your band form?

I started it when I was about 15.　

What are your musical influences?

Pretty much everything from pop to avant garde.

How did you come up with your band name?　

I made it up in the car when I was on a family road trip.

What's your biggest vice?

Chocolate and girls.

What's in your festival survival kit?

Band aids.

Who was your first celeb crush?　

Probably Justin Bieber; she's so cute.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?　

The Choir Quit.

Beatles or Stones?

The Kinks.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

A venue we just played caught on fire and we had to carry everything into the snow.

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