To no surprise, the Miami based synthpop monopoly, Magdalena Bay, has taken #1 on my most listened to artist for the third year in a row, and there’s a countless checklist of reasons why they should end up on your podium too.
Merging synthpop with a fictionalized world, the renowned duo takes matters into their own hands to revive the genre seeing the fall of artists such as Grimes in the modern day. Infused with classic acts such as David Bowie and Tears for Fears, they’ve blessed the world with a set-in-stone discography for the ages.
But where did they start? The duo emerged as Tabula Rasa with their self-titled debut in 2014 during high school as a rock band, establishing their start in the music industry. Matthew Lewin on production and Mica Tenenbaum on vocals, both contributors are of Argentine descent with Mica immigrating as a child.
Post-Tabula Rasa, the duo developed a new project to fruition, that project being Magdalena Bay as of 2016. The moniker is borrowed from Lewin’s co-worker Maggie Bay. Shifting from the rock scene, Magdalena Bay adopted the vaporwave, synthpop persona we know and love today. Slow beginnings occurred with albums such as “mini mix vol. 1” and the respective “mini mix vol. 2” that would eventually lead to the release of their first full album, “Mercurial World.”
“Mercurial World” is a concept album, featuring songs that seamlessly blend into others–as long as you’re listening in track order–and digitized harmonies on tracks such as “You lose!” and “Chaeri.”
The immaculacy that “Mercurial World” possesses is for another day, however, because the real talk of the town is their latest album: “Imaginal Disk.” Released in August of 2024, the album has since climbed the charts in just two years and
claimed a spot on the AOTY website leaderboard as a must-listen album. “Imaginal Disk” is renowned for its similarity to “Mercurial World”, including tracks woven together in another concept album.
The concept this time around, however, follows a woman named True who undergoes a Diskinsertion’ procedure to meet her brand new image. The sentence above doesn’t make sense now, but will, once listened to for the first time. Or Second. The album addresses the listener immediately on the opening track “She looked like me!” with a simple Hello. Your attention is captured from the very start, throwing you into a rabbit hole of synthesizers. Under the synthpop veil, the album explores topics of bodily image, immigration, and American corruption through metaphors crafted by the duo themselves. It’s a love letter to the community. While dancing through fictional concepts, “Imaginal Disk” is still tethered to reality by its underlying meanings. Tenenbaum, being an Argentine immigrant, makes it all the more special when you realize she speaks of her own experiences in a first hand account. The same
track exclaims that “America stole my fate” and it “turned their tongue, changed their name.” It’s especially important to remain vigilant of our society and the pressures faced by people coming here under the guise of a new
life.
“Imaginal Disk” is entirely self-produced, as is their other music, with Lewin taking production and
Tenenbaum delivering haunting vocals just as they did during their previous act. If my descriptors have enticed you, consider listening to the following: “Image”, “Death & Romance” and “Angel on a Satellite.” The ballad of the three, “Angel on a Satellite”, marks my personal favorite track as it’s purely vocal bliss with a grandeur instrumental, parts piano, parts string, and parts bongo.
If you find yourself wishing to rejuvenate your music taste on a daily basis yet don’t know where to start when presented with a sea of millions of albums, discover “Imaginal Disk.”
