Brothertiger

With his woozy blend of warm, ’80s-driven synth pop and hypnotic lo-fi ambience, Brothertiger emerged in the early 2010s amid the still-burgeoning chillwave boom led by acts like Tori y Moi and Washed Out. A pair of albums for the Mush label helped establish him in advance of his acclaimed self-released third album, 2015′s Out of Touch. A series of smaller projects occupied the latter part of the decade as he readied his fourth album, Paradise Lost, which appeared in 2020. Along with an ongoing series called Fundamentals, Brothertiger returned in 2022 with a self-titled LP.
A native of Toledo, Ohio, John Jagos started making upbeat electro as Monoteque in 2006. Taking influence from the ambient moodscapes of Brian Eno and the pulsing pop of M83, he started recording more experimental music under the moniker Brothertiger while attending Ohio University in 2009. Eventually relocating to Brooklyn, New York, Jagos released a pair of well-received EPs in the chillwave vein, Apache Feathers and Vision Tunnels, before signing to Mush Records, home to acts like Bibio and Daedelus. Golden Years, Brothertiger’s full-length debut, arrived in 2012, followed one year later by Future Splendors, both on the Mush imprint. A steady stream of singles kept Jagos busy in 2014, leading up to the independent release of his third album, Out of Touch, in 2015. Rather than rush into his next proper album, Jagos undertook a series of smaller and more experimental releases, covering Tears for Fears’ classic Songs from the Big Chair in its entirety and releasing EPs like 2019′s A Chain of Islands and 2020′s Fundamentals, Vol.1. His next proper album in the Brothertiger canon, Paradise Lost, arrived in September 2020.
Over the next two years, Jagos expanded his Fundamentals series, adding three more volumes which he then collated into Fundamentals: The Anthology. Meanwhile, he continued releasing singles like “Wallow” and “New Life,” which comprised his eponymous 2022 release and fifth proper Brothertiger LP. ~ Jason Lymangrover