Toro y Moi is the polyglot stage name of Chaz Bundick, South Carolinian producer and DJ extraordinaire, whose dance-pop tour de force “Low Shoulder” comes in at the #7 spot on the Countdown. I first got acquainted with Toro y Moi’s unique style and mastery of the soundboards last year when he remixed Washed Out’s “Feel it All Around.” On that track, and others like this year’s excellent “You Hid,” Toro y Moi weaves deftly between hi- and lo-fidelity, creating a sensation of floating and detachment from reality – life as a permanent dreamscape.
On “Low Shoulder,” he weaves somewhat less subtly between pumping the jams and pumping the jams, creating a sensation with symptoms similar to acute funk syndrome and chronic head bob-itis. If this song does not make you want to get down like James Brown, seek medical attention immediately, as you could be in dire need of a groove marrow transplant.
In the first few bars of the track, the keyboard comes in with what can only be described as the fundamental beat of the universe – the first jams God put on his 8-track player after he turned on the lights. Soon accompanied by a thumping bass line, hand claps, and soaring synths, the song builds in less than thirty seconds to a full-blown dance party in a box. It’s the type of sonic explosion that needs to be blasted through speakers to be fully appreciated – save the earbuds for the subway.
By the time the song reaches its mini-breakdown at the 2:15 mark, it’s clear that Toro y Moi is fully in control of the jam sandwich that he has created, served up on a party platter, and washed down with a pre-prohibition Four Loko. His show at the Middle East in Cambridge this past May was canceled after somebody stole his laptop in Brooklyn – occupational hazard of hipsterdom - but I’ll see him next time he’s in town, and you should too. Making the best beats out there right now, Toro y Moi was a no-brainer for the Top Ten of 2010.
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