At this year's FYF Fest, super-producer Chaz Bundick (aka Toro Y Moi) had his first major festival performance under his dance-ready alias Les Sins. As I waited patiently in the Arena stage amongst the hundreds of other curious and excited fans, it became clear that most of us weren't quite sure what to expect, as Chaz is known not to stick to one style/genre for too long. But what we received was an infectious mix of eccentric house beats and trap-influenced instrumentals that kept the audience engaged and grooving for it's entirety.
Chaz also thankfully agreed to an interview with EARMILK following the performance, where we discussed his current musical inspirations, creative processes, and future goals with his Les Sins side-project.
EARMILK: Thank you so much for meeting up with us! I just caught your set and thought it was quite diverse, especially since the two EPs you released under Les Sins felt more house oriented. Was most of the set original material?
Chaz Bundick: Yeah, all of it was original except for one song I played called "Spark it".
EM: Is some of that material going to be on a future Les Sins LP?
CB: Yeah the debut is actually coming out on November 4th, through my new label Company Records. (We're are also taking demo submissions on http://companyrecordlabel.com/!)
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EM: How did you come up with the name "Les Sins"?
CB: Well It is a play on the word 'lessons' and is kind of a nod to the french house scene, as that was the first kind of electronic music that I really got into. I am a huge fan of the whole Ed Banger scene haha.
EM: What other artist would you say influenced you to start delving into the electronic world?
CB: Well for one, a lot of producers now a days are getting picked up by larger labels and big name rappers, so that was sort of the main motivation: to try to get into that realm. I've been listening to a little bit of everything from like.. Evian Christ, and the Fade to Mind crew, to even older 90's stuff like Timbaland and the Neptunes.
EM: So is your goal to eventually start producing for other big name artist/rappers?
CB: Yeah! Well its not a goal but it is definitely something I want to do eventually. I guess the goal of my whole music career is to just be successful is some way.
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EM: You wouldn't consider yourself successful already?
CB: Yes, well I think that I am very fortunate to be able live solely off of my music and to have the freedom to make whatever I want, so.. technically I am successful. I just want to expand my production repertoire and accomplish as much musically as I can.
EM: If you could produce for any current rapper today, who would it be?
CB: I would work with anybody. Although I think cats like Tyler, The Creator and Kendrick Lamar are great, I wouldn't even mind trying to give someone unexpected a totally different look. Like what if… Mystikal came back with some new left-field production? I wouldn't mind working with someone like that, because that would show that they are open to new ideas and not just doing the same thing over and over again.
EM: A lot of the of the people in the crowd were obviously fans of your Toro Y Moi material, but weren't quite sure how to handle this project's musical direction. Are you trying to appeal to whole new audience with Les Sins?
CB: Well.. not really. Everything that I am doing is based primarily around pop music. Whether you can hear a rapper on it or somebody singing on it, everything I do is not going to be too abstract. Maybe people are just curious to know where its going to go, but I never try to make something that is hard to get.
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