Brooklyn songwriting partnership Toledo have reached the end of one phase, and the beginning of another.
The group – Dan Álvarez de Toledo, and Jordan Dunn-Pilz – peppered 2021 with intriguing musicality, with their ‘Jockeys Of Love’ EP becoming a breakout moment.
The Gabe Wax produced ‘Beach Coma’ soared to fresh heights, before the pair locked the door of the studio to focus on a full length project.
Out now, ‘How It Ends’ closes one chapter, and opens another; the record brings together their evolutionary instincts, affording them a broader palette to work with. ‘Soda Can’ opens the project, which taps into 90s alt flavours while also channelling the legacy of Elliott Smith.
Tune in now, then catch up with Toledo’s cultural pursuits after the jump.
Books
I (Jordan Avery Dunn-Pilz) recently finished The Wind Up Bird chronicle. It was heavily recommended to me by some trusted friends, and it got me stoked on Murakami and back into reading after a long dry spell. I have a copy of The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World sitting on a shelf somewhere. I was feeling a bit uninspired on our last tour and picked this up in an effort to remind myself why I love performing and telling stories. I don’t think Daniel has read in a long time.
Film
That being said, we both love watching films. Daniel is constantly watching B horror movies. He got me into David Lynch and Felini, who I both hold very close nowadays. I have been really into Wong Kar Wai recently with the new Criterion release. I’m a basic bitch and go to them for my taste. Also, I secretly love anime and have a Totoro tattoo. On my body. Forever.
TV
Speaking of, I’ve been watching Devilman Crybaby. It’s pretty intense stuff, but I love that director and his art style. We are both currently watching House of Dragons and Rings of Power in tandem. Because Duh. OH and we are both huge fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It would change my life to meet any of the cast members. I have a Buffy tattoo. On my body. Forever.
Music
I don’t know where to start! We consume so much music daily. Part of it is for fun, and part of it is to keep in touch with what’s going on in the music scene today. We are producers as well and run a studio in Brooklyn, so it’s important for us to stay “hip”. Today alone we got new Alex G, Magdalena Bay, The Wonder Years, etc. and I listened to it all. Enjoyed every second.
Gadget
I am so into sonos products (again, basic bitch) and have it set up to connect to my record player. I love having music playing throughout the house all day. Right now we’ve got the American Football vinyl out on display, but I also like to play country music to ramp me up for a night out. I set the record player to double speed and it gets crazy. We have plans to someday record directly to vinyl at a very slow tempo, so we can speed it up before we sing over it. There’s something magic about the compression that takes place there.
—
‘How It Ends’ is out now.
