College

French electronica artist David Grellier issues his material under the College moniker whenever he steps away from his Mitch Silver alias in Sexy Sushi or his oversight of the Valerie label and collective. His early output drew directly from an immersion in the synth pop soundtracks that shaped his formative years, yielding the albums Secret Diary and Northern Council along with the EPs Teenage Colour and A Real Hero. Recognition arrived after “A Real Hero,” a collaboration with Electric Youth’s Austin Garrick and Bronwyn Griffin, appeared on the soundtrack to the 2011 Ryan Gosling vehicle Drive. The track registered on the charts, cultivated a dedicated cult audience for College, and preceded the 2013 album Heritage. One year later the Saves the Day EP arrived, its atmosphere shaped by 1970s and 1980s stalker cinema and anchored by Nola Wren’s vocals. Grellier marked the project’s tenth anniversary in 2016 by issuing the archival set Old Tapes. He returned the following year with the full-length Shanghai, whose thematic core reflected the city’s lasting aura and incorporated vocals from native singer Hama.