Song of the Day: Les Sins - Bother

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song is “Bother” by Les Sins from the 2015 album Michael on Carpark Records.

Les Sins - Bother (MP3)

Although best known under the moniker Toro Y Moi, Chaz Bundick takes his musical output in a more dance-oriented direction as Les Sins, where he predominantly plays the role of a producer rather than a songwriter or bandleader. Seeking an avenue for some dance-oriented songs that wouldn't fit in on any Toro Y Moi album, Bundick first started releasing the tunes on a series of 12" singles as Les Sins. Touching on trance, French house, garage, and plenty of other touchstones on the dance music spectrum, Bundick's interest in pursuing more work in this vein led him to take a year off from Toro Y Moi after finishing the tour cycle behind 2013's Anything In Return. Holed up in his home studio, Bundick steadily worked on Michael, his full-length debut as Les Sins that followed the early singles' lead in adapting a variety of dance-based ideas into the increasingly groove-driven songwriting. In his review of Michael, KEXP's Gerrit Feenstra called "Bother" a track of "pure adrenaline, with a rapturous bass pound that nods to 2-step and garage with the slightest of nods, while maintaining Chaz’s textbook jazz signature throughout." It's a spot-on description: Bundick condenses his insular work mantra ("don't bother me/I'm workin'") into an unlikely hook, building the rest of the track into a slick and danceable number that cleverly turns his studio rat persona into a dancefloor maven.

Aside from a one-off as Les Sins at Lightning In A Bottle, Bundick is on tour as Tory Y Moi throughout 2015, but he hasn't announced any Pacific Northwestern dates yet. Keep an eye out for those over at his website and Facebook, and watch the video for "Bother", directed by Harry Schleiff & Harry Israelson.