Brandon Biondo adds electronic Walsh to resume

Photo by Nichole McMinn

Knoxville musician Brandon Biondo creates "anti-genre" electronic music under the moniker Walsh.

KNOXVILLE — Since last fall's release of the "Smoke Weed About It" EP, Brandon Biondo's electronica project Walsh has garnered much acclaim. Although still relegated to side-project status, juggling ventures is nothing new to Biondo, who admits his focus is still on his now four-piece COOLRUNNINGS project.

And with the re-emergence of Wyld Stallyns, Biondo says live outings may be in short supply for Walsh, but this is also due to the digital nature of the music and its static stage presentation.

Walsh's electronic sound is a modern reinterpretation of retro synth-pop, often labeled as chillwave. The chillwave designation, however, has become a vague umbrella term to describe any music with synthesized elements and is used to classify vastly divergent acts from Beach House to Crystal Castles. For that reason the term is despised by many artists accused of chillwavery, and Biondo is no exception.

"I hate this," Biondo says. "It's a term that lazy people use to describe anything with synthesizers anymore. The whole point of Walsh is more about the idea of anti-genre; I don't want it to be classified. If I had to pick though, I think the best description I've read has been that it sounds like the soundtrack to the best TV show that never existed.

"I started making instrumental electronic stuff when I was still playing in Royal Bangs. I wasn't really planning on starting another project, but one day I made a playlist of the songs that I had been recording and realized that I had enough to release something."

The digital release of "Smoke Weed About It" has elated hoards of music bloggers since September, but the theme of the material is still a matter of debate. Its seven tracks are sparsely peppered with the lyrics of guest vocalists, but the EP is predominantly instrumental. The EP's title can be interpreted as a comment on the tendency of some to get high as a means of escaping finite woes or possibly a suggestion of how the music might best be enjoyed. Either way or neither way, Biondo isn't talking. Perhaps the title is merely an expression of the lighthearted inanity of attaching names to instrumental songs.

While Biondo's many acts appear frequently around town, and Walsh has put on a show or two of late, the project was not originally intended for live performance. Walsh gigs may dwindle in the coming months as Biondo gears up for tour dates with the reconfigured COOLRUNNINGS, which include a stop at South by Southwest. Adding to his hesitance to book shows in excess, Biondo shares that the ideal stage adaptation of a one-man electronic band, especially in regard to arrangement and whether to add players, is something he is still pondering.

"The EP was more of an experiment in the sense that I didn't really care about playing the songs live when I made them," recalls Biondo. "Although I really enjoy nerding out with this stuff, I can't say for sure if I'll be playing it live all of the time or really want to. It's impressive to me, but I always assume it's boring to watch live.

"There are pre-recorded tracks, but the majority of the stuff that you are hearing is played live. That was actually the most fun I had with this project because I really had to learn a lot and build my live set which, in turn, made doing COOLRUNNINGS a lot more interesting and better. But if I had a choice, I would much rather play with other people and still use a lot of the methods I'm using now."

Kanye's catch: The FishSticks will perform a set of cover tunes at Preservation Pub at 10 p.m. Tuesday, March 8. The venue will offer $2 pints all night.

Down under-rated: Wednesday night former Man at Work Colin Hay brings his singer-songwriter project to The Square Room on a bill that also features Chris Trapper. Doors open at 7 p.m. with music to begin at 8. Tickets are $23 in advance or $26 the day of the show.

© 2011 Knoxville.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.