Toro Y Moi Rides a Flying Jeepney in the Video for 'Postman'
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Filipino-American neo-psychedelia and soul artist Chazwick Bundick a.k.a. Chaz Bear, or better known by his stage name Toro Y Moi, kicked off 2022 by paying homage to his Filipino roots. And he did it by posing in front of a jeepney parked in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Only Chaz can pull it off ahead of his upcoming album aptly titled MAHAL.
Releasing under Dead Oceans—an established US-based label that houses fellow alternative rock and pop darlings like Mitski, Japanese Breakfast, Bright Eyes, just to name a few—MAHAL sounds like he has refined his lethargic brand of neo-soul: it’s a lot more punchy and funky than his previous material. Both the singles “Postman” and “Magazine,” which features Salami Rose Joe Louis, help him stand out among his peers in the indie scene today.
Chaz is well-known for distorting samples and re-arranging polished synthesizers into a bevy of dense textures in his music. Even after popularizing the microgenre known as Chillwave, releasing several albums with tight guests from the indie scene, a Grammy nod, and playing in the middle of a desert just for the heck of it, it doesn’t seem like he feels that his job as a musician has been fulfilled thus far. His next mission is becoming a postman on behalf of the diaspora, mailing their loved ones back in the motherland, and offering a charming love letter on behalf of his Filipino heritage.
If the mail isn’t fast enough to phone home, then a flying jeepney would answer that problem fast in the music video for “Postman,” which is directed by Kid Studio. A 15-second clip of animation shows the singer-producer hovering over the streets of a neighborhood during the track’s instrumental breaks. The video then switches back into reality, with Chaz emerging from the Balikbayan box at the break of dawn. The video’s packed with bags of fresh Boy Bawangs, grooving 3D-rendered longganisa, and a heavy load of infectious basslines all throughout.
Watch the music video for “Postman” below. MAHAL will be released on April 29, 2022 in streaming services everywhere.
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