Chaz Bear, known professionally as Toro y Moi, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He is often recognized as a spearhead of the chillwave genre in the 2010s, alongside contemporaries Washed Out and Neon Indian, although his music has explored various styles since. His stage name is a multilingual expression consisting of the Spanish words toro and y and the French word moi.
Toro y Moi in 2010
Toro y Moi performing at Koko in Camden Town in 2013
Chillwave is a music microgenre that emerged in the late 2000s. It is characterized by evoking the popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s while engaging with notions of memory and nostalgia. Common features include a faded or dreamy retro pop sound, escapist lyrics, psychedelic or lo-fi aesthetics, mellow vocals, slow-to-moderate tempos, effects processing, and vintage synthesizers.
Neon Indian performing in 2010
Chaz Bundick (Toro y Moi, pictured in 2012)
The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson was linked to chillwave's common subject matter