Rostam Batmanglij Wanders to the Edges of American Sound

"“There is a desire to push the form-to push what can be in a pop song,” he told me recently. His production style is verdant but gentle: sticky percussion, a dreamy mix of acoustic and synthesized instruments, layers, mystery. He is exceptionally good at drawing something raw and unmediated out of a vocalist. For a listener, this can feel like stumbling into a room where something interesting is happening."

"As a solo artist, Batmanglij writes in a style that is baroque and sophisticated, and lightly warped in a way that recalls both Paul Simon and Radiohead. “American Stories” is a lush and thoughtful album about an evanescent romance and the ephemeral, sometimes flashing nature of love. On the chorus of “Like a Spark,” the record's first single, Batmanglij sings of trying to excise any possessiveness from his feelings of devotion:"

"This month, Rostam Batmanglij will release “American Stories,” his third solo record since leaving Vampire Weekend, the rock band he helped form in 2006, when he was an undergraduate studying classical music at Columbia University. Batmanglij, who records under his first name, was born to Iranian parents in Washington, D.C."

"In the past two decades, he has built an enviable career as a polymath producer and multi-instrumentalist, making visionary, searching pop songs for a roster of indie-leaning artists, including Clairo, Maggie Rogers, and Haim, as well as cult favorites like Carly Rae Jepsen and Charli XCX. (Batmanglij, who is queer, has also worked with Frank Ocean; he arranged and produced the distorted, quivery guitar on “Ivy,” perhaps the most poignant and incandescent song on “Blonde.”)"

Rostam Batmanglij, formerly of Vampire Weekend, is releasing American Stories, his third solo record since leaving the band. He records under his first name and has built a career as a producer and multi-instrumentalist, creating visionary pop songs for artists such as Clairo, Maggie Rogers, and Haim, and also working with Carly Rae Jepsen and Charli XCX. His production style blends sticky percussion with dreamy acoustic and synthesized textures, drawing raw, unmediated performances from vocalists. As a solo writer, he creates baroque, sophisticated songs with subtle distortion reminiscent of Paul Simon and Radiohead. American Stories centers on an evanescent romance and the fleeting, sometimes flashing nature of love, including themes of removing possessiveness from devotion.

Read at The New Yorker