An unexpected dance detour...
It’s probably the year’s most unexpected dance release.
‘Sunburn’ features three tracks of Balearic glow, matching House textures to a song-based sensibility half-inched from the indie world. It’s out on Greco-Roman, and was promoted with a slot on seminal London live streaming show the Boiler Room. Oh, and it’s by the bass player from Vampire Weekend. Confused? So were we.
“I wanted to make definite dance music” explains Chris Baio. “I don’t view these as bangers by any means, I think there’s something introspective about the sound. I wanted it to sound like on some level, it was made in someone’s apartment, but at the same time it could work on dance floors. I try to think of there being oppositions in the music, like kind of opposing forces within one track. So there’s stuff that I played on an instrument that I think sounds human, but there’s also programmed, very mechanical sounds in there too. I wanted to straddle those sorts of lines. It’s not just party music, but I do want people to be able to dance and party to it, absolutely”.
It’s a fair description. ‘Sunburn’ has a buoyant atmosphere, a fun and frothy take on the house resurgence. Yet there’s also a nostalgia here, a tear in the material that allows something darker, more affecting to seep out. “I just think that’s more of a reflection of me as a person and I just wanted it to be something that people could also listen to at home, maybe read to” he continues. “There’s plenty of incredible music you can just read to and there’s plenty of incredible music you can just dance to, but for me just having as a goal when I set out to make a track something that can do both of those things”.
Out now on Greco-Roman, ‘Sunburn’ is no mere indie-dance release. Hadouken! This ain’t – instead, Chris Baio has worked hard at something which can fit into a challenging, forward thinking club set. Kompakt lynchpin Michael Mayer certainly agrees, and recently stepped in remix ‘Tanto’ after coming across the material. “That was thrilling for me just because I’d been a fan of Kompakt and his work since I was 20 years old and to have him be down to work on something I made that’s very much in his field and is something in a world that he is incredibly talented at, it really means a lot to me” the producer says.
“I met Michael Mayer very briefly at Field Day festival last summer” he continues. “There’s this Field Day radio thing where they have people who are playing the festival do a webcast for an hour. He was coming in right after me so when he came in I was like, ‘Hi, I’m Chris, I play in the band vampire Weekend and I’m a very big fan of yours.’ He said, ‘Oh, I’m a big fan of yours too.” You never know if someone is being nice when they say something like that, but his manager told me he’s into the band, so that’s pretty cool”.
Baio - Sunburn Modern
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Dropping past the Boiler Room during the Greco-Roman takeover, Chris Baio delivered a tasteful set which nudged towards British bass culture and hip hop whilst remaining essentially rooted in house. Confirming a handful of DJ slots this summer, it’s clear that club culture is something close to the musician’s heart. “What I like about deejaying is that it’s not a different schedule from a band” he muses, “so it’s something I can keep pursuing on tour a year from now. I’m always down after a show to go out and play for another two hours, it’s something that I’ve grown to love”.
Photo Credit: Thom Kaine
- - -
‘Sunburn’ is out now.
‘Sunburn’ features three tracks of Balearic glow, matching House textures to a song-based sensibility half-inched from the indie world. It’s out on Greco-Roman, and was promoted with a slot on seminal London live streaming show the Boiler Room. Oh, and it’s by the bass player from Vampire Weekend. Confused? So were we.
“I wanted to make definite dance music” explains Chris Baio. “I don’t view these as bangers by any means, I think there’s something introspective about the sound. I wanted it to sound like on some level, it was made in someone’s apartment, but at the same time it could work on dance floors. I try to think of there being oppositions in the music, like kind of opposing forces within one track. So there’s stuff that I played on an instrument that I think sounds human, but there’s also programmed, very mechanical sounds in there too. I wanted to straddle those sorts of lines. It’s not just party music, but I do want people to be able to dance and party to it, absolutely”.
It’s a fair description. ‘Sunburn’ has a buoyant atmosphere, a fun and frothy take on the house resurgence. Yet there’s also a nostalgia here, a tear in the material that allows something darker, more affecting to seep out. “I just think that’s more of a reflection of me as a person and I just wanted it to be something that people could also listen to at home, maybe read to” he continues. “There’s plenty of incredible music you can just read to and there’s plenty of incredible music you can just dance to, but for me just having as a goal when I set out to make a track something that can do both of those things”.
Out now on Greco-Roman, ‘Sunburn’ is no mere indie-dance release. Hadouken! This ain’t – instead, Chris Baio has worked hard at something which can fit into a challenging, forward thinking club set. Kompakt lynchpin Michael Mayer certainly agrees, and recently stepped in remix ‘Tanto’ after coming across the material. “That was thrilling for me just because I’d been a fan of Kompakt and his work since I was 20 years old and to have him be down to work on something I made that’s very much in his field and is something in a world that he is incredibly talented at, it really means a lot to me” the producer says.
“I met Michael Mayer very briefly at Field Day festival last summer” he continues. “There’s this Field Day radio thing where they have people who are playing the festival do a webcast for an hour. He was coming in right after me so when he came in I was like, ‘Hi, I’m Chris, I play in the band vampire Weekend and I’m a very big fan of yours.’ He said, ‘Oh, I’m a big fan of yours too.” You never know if someone is being nice when they say something like that, but his manager told me he’s into the band, so that’s pretty cool”.
Baio - Sunburn Modern
- - -
Dropping past the Boiler Room during the Greco-Roman takeover, Chris Baio delivered a tasteful set which nudged towards British bass culture and hip hop whilst remaining essentially rooted in house. Confirming a handful of DJ slots this summer, it’s clear that club culture is something close to the musician’s heart. “What I like about deejaying is that it’s not a different schedule from a band” he muses, “so it’s something I can keep pursuing on tour a year from now. I’m always down after a show to go out and play for another two hours, it’s something that I’ve grown to love”.
Photo Credit: Thom Kaine
- - -
‘Sunburn’ is out now.
