Blackbird Blackbird (formerly Bye Bye Blackbird) is the moniker/musical outlet of San Francisco, California wunderkind Mikey Maramag. His reverb-laden musical collages tend to lean towards anthemic, inspirational, and dream-driven themes. Maramag’s influences range from various ends of the musical spectrum. Blackbird Blackbird often tweaks nature-samples and mixes electronic textures with organic instrumentation (guitar, drums, synths, vocal-harmonies). Ghostly female vocals are chopped and screwed, spun around a paint-splattered collage of sound. Maramag’s deep, textured, and hypnotic pop songs pay homage to the psychedelic pop that the Beatles could have imagined but cannot make today. Blackbird Blackbird’s music is made with the warmth of analogue instrumentation spliced with digital bells and twinkles. Blackbird Blackbird’s debut album “Summer Heart” was self-released by Maramag in July 2010, and is really just a collection of his past EPs: “Happy High” and “Let’s Move on Together”. His standout singles “Pure” and “Hawaii” received the most attention, and his single “Ups and Downs” helped Mikey capture the ears of Pitchfork, Transparent, Prefix Magazine, The Fader, Brooklyn Vegan, and other musical tastemakers.

Chillwave is alive and well in Chicago. Magicks combines mellow indie-pop with atmospheric noise to create what Magicks (either seriously or not) refers to as “beach daze.” And beach daze seems to perfectly describe that moment where you’ve been baking under the sun for far too long and then sets that feeling to music.  Recently taking the lead on vocals, Monica Rose is a thoughtfully stylish Chicago, Illinois-based indie jazzy/pop singer-songwriter, rollerblader, subconscious mind student, future fashion icon, and skilled painter. She intrinsically fuses that healing melody that helps us deal with our day, as this is a caring musician who selflessly makes music to help others through her art.

We’re a bit different than your average electronic band. We happen to like using as many EDM genres as possible. Honestly, when was the last time a band played a House track live? Our point exactly. The project started earlier this year when Chris contacted Tandrea about starting a band different than anyone else out there. Ever since then, the band has been taking over. And we are JUST getting started.

Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Biiko is an experimental pop act that’s as much Bonobo as it is Beach Boys. Formed with a combination of live instrumentation and electronic manipulation, his music manages to keep a strong, base sense of melody while boldly venturing into the realm of the new. On one end of the musical spectrum exists a land of simple, lilting pop melody, music that’s at one time both pleasant to the ears and almost groundbreaking in its simplicity. On the other is a much more involved category, that of electric weirdness; that commendable ability to take literally whatever ideas or sounds you can fathom and smash them together. Somewhere in the middle, fully aware of both pulses, exists Biiko.