Shmu

Shmu is the solo project of Sam Chown, a musical veteran (Zorch, Botany) who for years has been exploring and finding the middle ground between acoustic and electronic instruments and elements, going for an organic, lush & psychedelic sound that vacillates (& is sometimes at once) frenetic while being hypnotic and inviting. Stereogum describes Shmu's music as “an explosive marriage of sounds that bursts with superhuman energy; half delightful retro pop, half abstract electronic noise, all mad scientist wizardry” or as Shmu likes to put it, “a meditation of the last 40 years of music collapsing in on itself. I’m attempting to create a post-internet pop music, utilizing mid 80s pop and R&B sounds, early 90s vaporwave-esque muzak samples, mixed with some 70s psych/R&B & yacht-rock influences that are glitched out with modern electronics." Shmu’s shapeshifting, unpredictable fourth full-length, Vish is the LA-via-Austin based musician’s version of a mixtape, a collaborative and beautifully chaotic effort featuring key contributions from close friends and musical peers. Sharpening his chops in recent months as the touring drummer for Vinyl Williams, Shmu’s knack for jagged, razor-sharp groove ensures Vish thrives as a living, breathing, amorphous experience that demands repeat listens.