Fun Fest Chats: Toro y Moi on how SXSW=Summer Camp, Fun Fest=Day Care

Doing anything big later to celebrate?

Oh yeah we’re probably gonna do it up, you know, South Carolina’s gonna represent tonight in Austin.

How do you feel about representing South Carolina musically?

Oh, it’s great. The last thing we were known for is Hootie. But seriously, it’s good to be put in that category.

So do you feel like you’re bringing Hootie back to life with your music?

I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think Columbia’s proud. I mean, everyone from cross punks back home to music snobs, they’ve all come up to me and said how proud they are and they’re really happy for me. It’s great. Columbia’s a really small community, so I gotta represent.

So you gonna do like some Hootie covers on your next tour and everything?

(Laughs) Yeah, we actually did this one thing where we made this one song where it’s pretty much a medley of all of Hootie’s number one hits. Seriously, it’s like, [singing] “Hold My Hand…Let Her Cry.” We did this nice medley.

A lot has gone down for you since SXSW, when you played Austinist’s day party. Could you summarize what’s different between Austin at SX and Austin now in November?

Well, first off, SXSW is kind of chaotic. It’s like, go play here—I mean the last time I did SXSW I did like 9 shows in 3 days and I was, like, dying. I carried my flight case, everything within all these blocks and it was just getting to me. By the 3rd show I was dead. But this is nice. One show, early 30 minute set or something. But the cool thing about SXSW is it is like a summer camp almost. Because you just wake up like, okay gotta do work, get shit done with and have a good time with friends. And you meet friends and it’s all within a couple blocks. It’s like summer camp. But this is cool, too. It’s like day care.

That was summer camp and this is daycare? Nice analogies. Back then you were strolling solo, right?

Yeah, that’s what the thing is, just carrying all my stuff around, solo. And I think playing solo—it was a good introduction considering it’s all me on the recordings and stuff, but I think with the full band’s my favorite by far.

So you definitely appreciate having people helping you out on the stage?

Yeah, the rhythm section I think is the most important thing, so having Patrick [Jeffords] and Andy [Woodward] on bass and drums, I couldn’t ask for anything else. It’s really good.

Your album came out way back in January, which is like an eternity ago.

Yeah. It leaked in January, or it leaked in December and it came out February.

The next album—are you working on that yet?

Yeah, it’s pretty much complete. Only a matter of time. It’s live instruments and stuff. There are no samples or anything. The guys aren’t playing on the recordings, but I had them in mind when I was making it.

You were still the exclusive writer, but you wrote with the full band in mind?

Yeah. It’s just sort of like, “It’d be cool if Patrick and Andy did this thing together.” We’re actually getting this guitarist next March. So it’s like, you just come up with ideas, and knowing that there’s gonna be people there to be doing those parts opens so many more possibilities.

So you’re expecting to add a guitarist?

Yeah. He’s actually our tour manager. He’s gonna play guitar. It’s pretty cool.

Are you planning on having that down for next SX?

Yeah, it’s weird. People were like, “are you playing SX?” and I was like “yeah.” And they were like, “but you played it last year,” and I was like, “we get to show the new band!”

Are you at the point now, after all these months of talking about it, where you’ve come to grips with the chillwave title, or are you sick of it?

It doesn’t bother me. It’s kind of like clockwork to think about. But yeah, it’s fun. Chillwave is—it was a genre made up, and I think everything sort of fits in a genre. It might have a funny name, it might not have a funny name. It’s fun, I think, because I put things in genres and categories, too. So yeah, I don’t mind it. I would call it experimental pop or soul, I don’t know. R&Bish. But chillwave, definitely, I could understand why. It doesn’t bother me at all.

With people up there with you, a lot more of the funk element is coming out.

Yeah. The rhythm sections stands out more. I like that a lot.

---

Toro y Moi [MySpace] [Official]