Teebs: DJ, Visual Artist, Skater, Trash Collector

Teebs at his home in California. Photo by Bree Kristel Clarke.

In an act of synchronicity that seems less purposefully timed than a charming coincidence, Teebs quietly deposited Estara, his second full-length album, on the Brainfeeder label just as the first blushes of spring wash over New York. No one seems better suited for affixing a sound to this delicate season. Waves of tape hisses, Rice Krispie pops and sleigh bells gently unfurl beneath jazzy melodies, sometimes swelling into stirring reveries, other times becoming subsumed under a droning haze. Estara is about turning nostalgia into decadence. It's about sounding pretty without sending empty. And while it's not about bird chirps… there's certainly some of that, too.

But Estara is a mere glimpse into Teebs' creative cosmos. The 27-year-old Californian doesn't live in a hermetically sealed world of sound—his carefully constructed collages live in visual form, too. "Being both a visual and musical artist can be difficult at times, but it's the only way I can share everything I want," Teebs said. "I'm a strong believer in mixed media and its ability to speak to many people."

Some of Teebs' earliest artwork

To wit, Teebs is also the co-founder of the SoCal-based art collective called My Hollow Drum. He first met the guys in his crew through DJing before realizing they were "on the same shit," in terms of wanting to work beyond music. After pulling together, they started having group shows where everyone pitched in with installations, paintings, and music. "My Hollow Drum is my family and they definitely helped shape my sound," Teebs said. A statement on their website describes that sound in these colorful terms: "death drum anthems, dimlit psychedelia, sugar-coated dirt, moments of melodic bliss along with the squishiest of textures, lounge boom-bap and art of all mediums."

Album art for

Ardour

As for his most recent cover, Teebs says the art came about "pretty organically" as he was finishing sounds for the record. Some visual symmetries exist between the art for his breakout album Ardour and Estara—namely, the confetti-like squiggles that formed a tight ball in the former have become softer, in some places even having the impression of being smudged into erasure.

Teebs with his latest album,

Estara

It would be impossible not to see this progression in his visual style reflected in the maturation of his music. Estara is Teebs' "difficult second album," and he seems to have confronted the challenge of possible failure by diffusing his beats into even hazier territory, sometimes sounding so hazy they collapse into white noise. The overall effect is slightly more abstract, and perhaps, harder to hold on to. Teebs explained the shift in style two ways—first, a change of medium to paint on fundamentally altered the technical aspects of his work. But conceptually speaking, something funkier is going on. "It's as if the album has aged and grown into itself," he said.

Teebs' studio in California. Photo by Jon Furlong.

Asked to describe Estara in three words, Teebs has somewhat cheekily replied, "It's finally here." But who can blame him for the relief—it took four years of gestation for this album to finally be unleashed. Now that it's out, Teebs will continue with another project: a travelling art show called Ante Vos.

Artwork from

Ante Vos

Artwork from

Ante Vos

Between all the music and art, Teebs is also a dumpster diver extraordinaire. Between 2012 and 2014, he fished out 400 discarded record sleeves, and repurposed them with paintings, drawings, and collages. Some sleeves were collaborations with friends, but most are unmistakably and singularly Teebs. Like any savvy artist, he's slowly releasing them on the market. If you want a slice of this genius, fork over some dough over here.

Teebs' Estara is out now

Michelle Lhooq is a writer in New York and yes she knows how cliche that sounds - @MichelleLhooq