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Sep 26, 2014 Web Exclusive By Christopher Prudhomme

Who better to give us all tips on new music than accomplished musicians themselves. For this new series we have asked more established artists one simple request: tell us who your new favorite band is. For this My Favorite New Band Christopher Prudhomme of San Francisco-based duo Painted Palms tells us about a former tour mate/opening act, Saint Pepsi (aka Ryan DeRobertis). Painted Palms’ debut album, Forever, came out back in January via Polyvinyl. Saint Pepsi is signed to Carpark. Below also check out Saint Pepsi’s remix of Painted Palms’ “Hypnotic.”

One of my favorite new bands is Saint Pepsi. He’s a producer from the east coast that toured with us for a little while. Listening to his DJ sets was really fun because he appreciates pop gems and has a great ear for huge hooks. His songs can be dense and generate amazing momentum, and sometimes he’ll subvert expectations for structure, but it’s always accessible.

People who have heard of Saint Pepsi have probably heard “Mr. Wonderful.” The production is super modern. Some trap drums and a large, variable palette of sound textures that ebb and flow between tight hooks and blissed out sections. I’m also really into the ending. There’s a build into another chorus but no payoff. It always makes me start the song over because I wanna hear more.

His new single is “Fiona Coyne.”

It’s a great illustrator of the beauty of simplicity, in terms of just chilling out and letting a vocal line guide a song patiently. There’s a lot going on, but the hook of the chorus is concise and direct enough that it forces you to listen and allow everything else to revolve around it. That chimey synth lead is a great counterpart.

Ryan would play a version of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” in his set while he toured with us.

I would always make sure I was in the audience for this because I’m a pretty big fan of the original. What he does with the vocal, for me, aligns really well with his general aesthetic. He writes a massive pop hook and creates a really dense, energetic atmosphere for it to shine through.

www.paintedpalms.net

www.soundcloud.com/saintpepsi