Los Angeles-based songwriter/producer/beatmaker TOKiMONSTA has today (April 9) released her highly anticipated, new full-length album HALF SHADOWS on Ultra Music. In celebration of the album's release, TOKiMONSTA has partnered with tastemaker outlet Noisey, Vice's new music channel, to premiere HALF SHADOWS in full. Listen to HALF SHADOWS on Noisey here.
TOKiMONSTA is hosting two record release parties to commemorate the release of HALF SHADOWS: tonight (April 9) at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in NYC featuring Branchez, Nick Hook plus other special guests and tomorrow (April 10) at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco featuring a performance from NYC production duo MNDR, who is featured on the HALF SHADOWS track "Go With It," as well as support from Astronautica and more.HALF SHADOWS features 13 new studio productions, including singles "The Force" featuring eclectic rapper Kool Keith and "Go With It" with MNDR. On "Go With It," TOKiMONSTA unleashes a dazzling production of light chimes with conga style beats, supported with an angelic vocal by MNDR. Watch the official "Go With It" video here.Earlier this year, TOKiMONSTA jolted mainstream dance fans into hip-hop's avant-garde with the psychedelic adventure of the official music video for "The Force" featuring Kool Keith. Watch the "The Force" featuring Kool Keith video here.
Inspired by one of her favorite books Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami, HALF SHADOWS takes listeners on a mind-bending sonic journey. There are vocal collaborations with Los Angeles songwriter and vocalist Gavin Turek, who also appeared on TOKi's Creature Dreams EP; Andreya Triana, a British songstress from the Ninja Tune family; and Jesse Boykins III, an emerging soul singer from Chicago by way of NYC. There are also tracks such as "808," named for the Roland drum machine, "Soul To Seoul," an homage to TOKi's Korean lineage, and "Waiting For The Break of Dawn."Known for her unique take on indie electronic/R&B/dance music, TOKiMONSTA's (Jennifer Lee) classical upbringing and eclectic music taste has allowed her to create vast textural soundscapes-a reverberation that fuses vintage sensibilities with progressive inclinations. Not only has she caught ears of many as a different dimension of Los Angeles-based music, TOKiMONSTA is notably the first female to join Flying Lotus' crew/label BRAINFEEDER, which is on the forefront of the Los Angeles music scene.Videos