Skylar Spence

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Skylar Spence
Birth nameRyan DeRobertis
Also known as
  • Saint Pepsi
Born (1993-02-02) February 2, 1993 (age 28)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
OriginLong Island, New York, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
Years active2012–present
Labels
Associated acts

Ryan DeRobertis (born February 2, 1993, known by his stage name Skylar Spence and formerly known as Saint Pepsi) is an American electronic musician and singer[3] who grew up in Farmingville, New York and attended Boston College for two years studying music. His electronic music project Saint Pepsi began in December 2012. As Saint Pepsi, he released his ninth studio album Hit Vibes in May 2013.[4] He is a current resident of Brooklyn, New York.

Career[]

Stereogum named him their "band to watch" in July 2013, calling his music "addicting and fun."[5] Pitchfork praised the release of "Mr. Wonderful,"[6] the lead track off the 2014 EP Gin City, which was hosted on the music blog Gorilla vs. Bear.[7] In February, Gorilla vs. Bear also hosted the premiere of the track "Baby."[8]

In June 2014, Saint Pepsi went on tour with Painted Palms[9] after signing to Carpark Records, whose roster includes artists such as Beach House, Cloud Nothings, Toro y Moi, and Memory Tapes.[10]

Hit Vibes[]

The 2013 album Hit Vibes was very well known around the vaporwave and future funk communities, and is highly praised by critics. This would be Saint Pepsi's last full-length album, before changing his alias to Skylar Spence, after some legal trouble involving the name.[11] However, Spence would use the alias again when releasing Mannequin Challenge in 2019. Hit Vibes has received acclaim from music critics for its seamless edits and catchy grooves alongside cleverly entwining dialogue from Woody Allen's musical comedy Everyone Says I Love You.[12]

Track listing[]

No. Title Sample used Length
1 Hit Vibes I Wouldn't Change a Thing by Johnny Bristol (1975) with dialogue from Everyone Says I Love You (1996) 1:02
2 Have Faith A Chance for Hope by The Live Band (1982) 2:39
3 Better I Can Make It Better by The Whispers (1980),[13] Nintendo character sound effects and There It Is by James Brown (1972) 3:46
4 Cherry Pepsi B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Baby) by Sister Sledge (1983) [14] 3:08
5 Together We Belong Together by Rockie Robbins (1985) 2:25
6 Around Wait Until Tonight (My Love) by Phil Fearon & Galaxy (1983) 3:02
7 Skylar Spence Love Talkin' (Honey It's You) by Tatsuro Yamashita (1982) 3:39
8 Interlude For You Everything by Norman Connors (1977) with dialogue from Everyone Says I Love You 1:16
9 I Tried It's You That I Need by Enchantment (1977) 2:41
10 Strawberry Lemonade Show Me Girl by Clarence Mann (1985) 3:56
11 Fantasy Mr. Fantasy by Trilark (1982) and Rapper Dapper Snapper by Edwin Birdsong 3:35
12 Miss You White Day by Girl's Day (2013) 4:08
13 Outro Dialogue from interview of Paddy McAloon 1:02

[15]

Late Night Delight[]

Also from 2013 (this time, collaborating with fellow vaporwave artist Luxury Elite), Late Night Delight features Enjoy Yourself [16] which samples Michael Jackson's title track from his 1979 album Off the Wall. The song used, for its music video, a McDonald's commercial [17] from the late 1980s featuring corporate mascot Mac Tonight.[18][19][20][21]

Track listing[]

No. Artist Title Sample used Length
1 Luxury Elite All Night Rock with You by Michael Jackson 0:46
2 Luxury Elite Mild Seven A Few More Kisses To Go by Issac Hayes

Dancin' Doll by Kiyomi Suzuki and Rats & Star

1:44
3 Luxury Elite Cruising Let's Pretend by Kazu Matsui 0:55
4 Luxury Elite Schaumburg N/A 1:26
5 Luxury Elite Yeah Everyday by Yuichi Ikuzawa 1:15
6 Luxury Elite Nightlife Refrain by Yurie Kokubu 1:02
7 Luxury Elite Beauty Information From Night Wind by Kingo Hamada 1:57
8 Luxury Elite Silk Mayonaka No Joke (真夜中のジョーク) by Takako Mamiya (間宮貴子) 2:21
9 Luxury Elite Sizzling° What I Got Is What You Need by Unique 1:53
10 Luxury Elite Tonight° I'll Return (Extended Version) by 52nd Street 2:33
11 Luxury Elite Champion° Midnight Sun by Mezzoforte 2:31
12 Saint Pepsi Mac Tonight Easier to Love by Sister Sledge[22] 2:23
13 Saint Pepsi Can't Afford Can't Afford by 52nd Street 2:20
14 Saint Pepsi Need U Tonight I Need Someone Tonite by A Certain Ratio 1:50
15 Saint Pepsi Shakealong Do It to the Music by Raw Silk 2:33
16 Saint Pepsi Behind The Mic Our Love Story by Jermaine Jackson 2:04
17 Saint Pepsi Number One You're the One (You're My Number One) by Kassie Kissoon 1:56
18 Saint Pepsi Gimme Your Love Give Me Your Love by Peebles 3:02
19 Saint Pepsi Angels Got Me Some Angels by Andraé Crouch 1:12
20 Saint Pepsi Enjoy Yourself Off the Wall by Michael Jackson 1:57

[23]

Mannequin Challenge[]

Following a six year hiatus with the alias Saint Pepsi, in 2019 a surprise comeback featuring a new album was announced on August 27th and released the 30th of the same month. [24]

Track Listing[]

No. Title Sample Used Length
1 MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE N/A 1:10
2 I Need Your Love In Me N/A 3:05
3 The Party Line No Promises by Icehouse[25] 2:35
4 Visions N/A 2:27
5 Pinchers (I Like the Way You) Dance With Me by Al Marshall 1:56
6 Sea Tea N/A 2:31
7 Fantasy Breakfast (Interlude) N/A 1:14
8 Greg Treat Her Like a Lady by The Temptations 3:00
9 Detective Pepsi Native Boy by Animal Nightlife 2:01
10 Bench Presley Look What You Made Me Do by Mighty Fire 1:52
11 God is My Best Friend Travelin' On by The Chestnut Brothers 2:16
12 Egg McMacy There's No Other Like You by Archie Bell & The Drells

It's Hard Not to Like You by Archie Bell & The Drells

Love-Sign by Roberta Kelly

2:30
13 Myself When I Am Real Gina by Najee 2:40
14 Mr. Wonderful, pt. 2 He's So Wonderful by Milton Brunson and The Thompson Community Singers 2:33
15 God, pt. 2 God Only Knows by Patti Austin 1:19

[26]

Style[]

Spence's musical style has been described as being in the categories of future funk, vaporwave,[27] disco pop,[6] futurepop, liquid disco, slow jam and gibber boogie,[3] although he also borders between traditional music genres. He often incorporates unorthodox sounds in his music, using sources such as the soundtracks from games like Mario Kart 64. He also commonly samples pop songs (ex: Private Caller, which also appeared on the compilation album Portals Summer II,[28] sampled Canadian artist Lustt's 1983 cover of Sylvia Robinson's 1973 track "Pillow Talk") [29][30][31]

The Fader calls his nonchalant approach to Top 40 hits "refreshing,"[32] and calls his music "restless and nostalgic and sonically curious."[33] He is quoted as saying, "I’m drawn to tuneful melodies; complex chord structures; outlandish synths and drums; and I like to take pop a cappellas and see how I can warp the songs while keeping the melodies almost entirely intact [...] I want to make pop music for freaks, basically."[4]

Discography[]

As The Cold Napoleons[]

  • Adversaries (November 16, 2012)

As Saint Pepsi[]

Albums[]

  • Laser Tag Zero (December 27, 2012)
  • Triumph International (January 1, 2013)
  • New Generation (January 2, 2013)
  • World Tour (January 3, 2013)
  • Empire Building (January 29, 2013)
  • Late Night Delight (split with Luxury Elite) (February 2, 2013)
  • Studio 54 (March 7, 2013)
  • Winner's Circle (split with ショッピングワールド [Shopping World] jp ) (May 11, 2013)
  • Hit Vibes (May 31, 2013)
  • Choice Cuts (split with Crowns, Dinosaurus Rex and Harrison) (July 25, 2013)
  • Mannequin Challenge (August 27, 2019)

Extended plays[]

  • Local Singles (December 28, 2013)
  • Gin City (February 25, 2014)

As Skylar Spence[]

Studio albums[]

  • Prom King (September 18, 2015) [34]
  • Festival Music (TBA, 2020)

Singles[]

  • "Fiona Coyne/Fall Harder" (originally released as Saint Pepsi) (August 12, 2014)
  • "Polyvinyl 4-Track Singles Series, Vol. 2" (June 1, 2015)
  • "Can't You See" (July 7, 2015)
  • "Faithfully" (October 10, 2016)
  • "Carousel / Cry Wolf" (September 4, 2018)

Mixes[]

  • Mysteryland (June 15, 2016)
  • Alive 2020 (August 26, 2020)

As Amelia Airhorn[]

Mixtapes[]

  • The Knocks & Skylar Spence Present... Amelia Airhorn (June 19, 2017)[35]

Singles[]

  • "Miracle" (June 1, 2017)
  • "New York is Red Hot" (June 14, 2017)
  • "Street Performers Part. II" (June 19, 2017)

References[]

  1. ^ "EMPIRE BUILDING | fortune 500". Fortune500.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  2. ^ "Hit Vibes | Keats//Collective". Keatscollective.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Gruber, Jesse. "Saint Pepsi's Ryan DeRobertis talks music, method". Columbia Spectator. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Skylar Spence". Carparkrecords.com. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  5. ^ Bowe, Miles. "Band to Watch: SAINT PEPSI". Stereogum.com. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Szatan, Gabriel. "Saint Pepsi: "Mr. Wonderful"". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  7. ^ Chris. "mp3 premiere: Saint Pepsi – Mr. Wonderful". Gorilla vs. Bear. Gorilla vs. Bear. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  8. ^ Chris. "premiere: Saint Pepsi – Baby". Gorilla vs. Bear. Gorilla vs. Bear. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  9. ^ McDermott, Patrick. "Stream SAINT PEPSI's Feel-Good Remix of Painted Palms' "Hypnotic"". The FADER Inc. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Carpark Records". Carparkrecords.com. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  11. ^ Subscribe. "Saint Pepsi changes name to Skylar Spence". Diymag.com. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  12. ^ "Music Review: SAINT PEPSI - HIT VIBES". Tinymixtapes.com. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  13. ^ "The Whispers - I Can Make It Better by UnidiscMusic on YouTube".
  14. ^ "B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Baby) by Sister Sledge on official YouTube channel".
  15. ^ "Hit Vibes by SAINT PEPSI: Album Samples, Covers and Remixes". WhoSampled.com. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  16. ^ "Luxury Elite / Saint Pepsi - Late Night Delight (album review ) | Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  17. ^ Schilling, Dave (September 18, 2015). "Songs of the Week: Skylar Spence, Vampire Weekend's Chris Baio, and the Return of Chillwave". Grantland.com.
  18. ^ "♫ Listen: Luxury Elite / SAINT PEPSI - LATE NIGHT DELIGHT". Tinymixtapes.com. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  19. ^ "Drown yourself beneath the vaporwave". Geek.com. June 3, 2016.
  20. ^ "McDonald's Mac Tonight should make a comeback as the lead in a fast food cinematic universe". Geek.com. May 19, 2016.
  21. ^ "How Vaporwave Was Created Then Destroyed by the Internet". Esquire.com. August 18, 2016. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  22. ^ Easier to Love by Sister Sledge on official YouTube channel
  23. ^ "Late Night Delight by SAINT PEPSI: Album Samples, Covers and Remixes". WhoSampled.com. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  24. ^ "SAINT PEPSI Releases Surprise New Album 'Mannequin Challenge': Stream". Stereogum. 2019-08-27. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  25. ^ No Promises by icehousebandtv on YouTube
  26. ^ "Deciphering Saint Pepsi". RateYourMusic. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  27. ^ Lester, Paul (September 5, 2014). "New band of the week: Saint Pepsi (No 21)". Theguardian.com.
  28. ^ "Portals Summer II". Open.spotify.com.
  29. ^ "Pillow Talk by Lustt-Topic". YouTube.
  30. ^ "Pillow Talk by Lustt: Album Samples, Covers and Remixes". WhoSampled.com. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  31. ^ "Pillow Talk (Instrumental) by Lustt-Topic on YouTube".
  32. ^ McDermott, Patrick. "Listen to SAINT PEPSI's K-Pop-Sampling "Baby"". The FADER Inc. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  33. ^ McDermott, Patrick. "Download Saint Pepsi's Gin City EP". The FADER Inc. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  34. ^ Lange, Maggie. "Skylar Spence, Pop Music's New Disco Whiz Kid". GQ.com. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  35. ^ "The Knocks & Skylar Spence Present Amelia Airhorn - Amelia Airhorn". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2020-04-03.

External links[]

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