Buckhead Shaman

Since adopting his Buckhead Shaman moniker, Tyler Hobbs has proven himself a mercurial songwriter. Part of this eclecticism can be attributed to his eagerness to collaborate with a wide group of musicians, but there’s no denying that Hobbs appears fascinated with the many directions one can stretch and twist a pop song. Past efforts have seen the DIY songwriter embrace elements of everything from abstract psychedelia and dream pop to sinewy rock, so it’s no surprise to find Hobbs once again expanding his musical horizons.

“I’m About It,” the lead cut from Buckhead Shaman’s new two-song single, sounds like yacht rock on speed. The smooth melodies and breezy rhythms are there, but the delivery is brisk, insistent—almost agitated. To help create the song’s lush grooves, Hobbs enlisted the help of bassist Grandma Stuff and vocalist Zee G whose airy accompaniment brings needed depth to Hobbs’ more stoic, nearly deadpan singing. On the surface, it’s a driving, propulsive number with an elastic funk feel, but it’s hard to shake the aura of unease lurking beneath. No wonder it’s a love song.

Meanwhile, “Toby’s Theme” sees Hobbs reaching deep into his bag of tricks and taking a surrealist approach to production. The song swells forward in a glut of expansive textures and impressionist layering of sounds. It’s a fantastical track that takes it cues from the likes of the Beatles and the Flaming Lips, although the enveloping echoes that reverberate within Buckhead Shaman’s soundscape feel more woozy than blissed out, a result, perhaps, of the way the single was recorded.

“[I] wanted to take more of a punk rock approach: record it at home, fast, not spending too much time mulling over the mixes,” says Hobbs. “I’m About It” is plainly and simply a love song. It’s thin and to the point. “Toby’s Theme” is more of a dense work that I felt like adding more and more layers to. The two tracks are very different, but they’re both good indicators of what’s to come from Buckhead Shaman. New record is being written now.” - Immersive Atlanta

Who: Buckhead Shaman
Song: “Tastebloods”
Appears On: Buckhead Shaman just released the second video and single off of their forthcoming album, set to be released October 31st, 2018.
Current Location: Atlanta
Info: Atlanta’s local ‘freak-pop’ band, Buckhead Shaman will be releasing the second video and single off of their forthcoming album, set to be released October 31st, 2018. Directed and produced by Buckhead Shaman and Nick Rhodes of Coalesce Films, this “lyric video” works as a deliberate companion to a song that lands somewhere between queasy and cute. The track dishes swampy 90s tropical house underneath pop vocal worms about climate change. There’s a dark cynicism, but there’s also a zest for life that propels Tastebloods. With no real character narrative, it is gourmet eye candy to take in with Buckhead Shaman’s apocalyptic musings. A lyric video with visuals that look like a JC Penny commercial— which is serious enough to be endearing, and just strange enough make someone tilt their head.

Tastebloods was written and recorded by Clay Skinner and Tyler Hobbs in Atlanta, Georgia in April 2018. Additional Vocals by Michael Jordan.
Comments: Buckhead Shaman is a rising local artist out of Atlanta, a total DIY musician who may just be a prime example of what makes DIY art out there so interesting. There are no restrictions in the music, it’s an artist experimenting and creating something new and unique that wasn’t conceived solely for radio play. On “Tastebloods”, Buckhead Shaman plays with an assortment of soundscapes throughout the airy, warm feel of the song, providing witty, unique lyricism that stands out from a typical pop playbook of lyrics. The song creates an atmosphere that engulfs the listener into it’s world, and will have you grooving right along to the electronic beats. Not only is the song easy on the ears, but the video itself is a beautiful display of cinematography that captures the summery feel of the song. While that song brings the warm vibes, it’s the lonely undertones that sweep up the hopeless romantic in us all. While this song may never reach real song of the summer status, perhaps it should, because it definitely feels exactly like the summer of 2018. Either way, Buckhead Shaman is an artist we should all be getting behind. - Open Ears Music

Have you been searching for answers to questions from the beyond? Well, Atlanta's own Buckhead Shaman might have some answers.

Buckhead Shaman just released their featured, self-titled EP and the sound is a dive into a mystical, freak-pop snakepit. Buckhead Shaman's front man, Tyler Hobbs, spearheads the project in composition and instrumentation. He brought the project into another realm with pop song structures and his use of chaotic sonic timbres.

Sound composition is the driving force throughout this project. Hobbs rejects consistency in an attempt not to conform to any specific genre. Hobbs's says, "We don't want to come across as fake in any sense," expressing his desires for an unclassifiable, unique sound. The randomness of the EP follows that theme and explores different aspects of music, touching on the anxiety and inconsistency that we all face in our everyday lives.

This EP isn't conventionally conceptual but features aspects of society that are simultaneously refreshing and reminiscent. Hobb’s describes ideas of, "current consumerism confusion and post-apocalyptic/capitalist survivalism, paralleled by an underlying satirical narrative of being holistic, healthy, and hypocritically spiritual," referencing the lyrical themes.

Buckhead Shaman wants listeners to know that music making doesn’t have to be serious, business, or live up to any sort of standard. Let’s reject social constricts and hierarchies of creativity. Hobbs wants that change to start here, in Atlanta. Buckhead Shaman is a project that can’t be stereotyped or categorized. There are several music scenes in Atlanta; Buckhead Shaman refuses to fit in and consequently created a whole new sound.

Listen to Buckhead Shaman here and enjoy yourself while you're at it. You deserve it! - Plasma Magazine