Anna Butterss' Lo-fi City Pop Shares "Pokemans" Feat. Phoebe Bridgers, Jeff Parker

Australian-born bassist and composer Anna Butterss shares their new single and video for “Pokemans,” ahead of their recently announced debut album Mighty Vertebrate (International Anthem) due out October 4, 2024. They’ll also play an album release show in LA on October 4, and live in Chicago September 28, more info below.

“Pokemans” was written under the prompt to elaborate on a guitar riff and drum machine idea by using “the bass in a way that doesn’t conform to the typical role or function of bass; Butterss “wanted to see how things would open up if there wasn’t a bass line.” “Pokemans” echoes Tortoise’s excellent 2001 album Standards as much as it does Four Tet or any of Junichi Masuda’s 8-bit school bus classics, employing a breezy electric guitar theme with 808-style bumps and lo-fi City Pop sounds, sprinkled with delicate, chiming synth melodies in a would-be Gameboy soundtrack. This all cracks wide open at the halfway mark, giving way to a warmly distorted saxophone solo from Josh Johnson and a driving drum beat from Ben Lumsdaine before the theme returns to drive it home.

Extending their ongoing, trusting collaboration with Tortoise member John Hendron, Butterss trusted him entirely with the video for “Pokemans.” Butterss explains, “I first connected with Johnny in maybe 2015 or 2016 – we played a show at the Griffin in Los Feliz with Jeff Parker and Nate Walcott, and it was the first time I’d ever played a whole gig of improvised music, which was very impactful for me. After that, I became enamored with his art… I love working with Johnny because I know he’ll understand the music intuitively, and come up something great without me having to be involved or restrict him in any way. It’s really his vision.”