Conner Youngblood

Based in Nashville, Conner Youngblood produces experimental indie folk distinguished by its richly layered arrangements. Capable on more than thirty instruments, among them woodwinds, harp, and tabla, he builds tracks that feel open and impressionistic while remaining carefully assembled, his delicate voice conveying dreamlike verses shaped by years of global movement. After issuing multiple EPs and early recordings, his atmospheric first album, Cheyenne, arrived in 2018. Scattered singles followed before the 2024 release of his sophomore effort, Cascades, Cascading, Cascadingly.

Born in Dallas, Texas, Youngblood absorbed an eclectic mix during childhood that encompassed country, Americana, emo, indie rock, rap, and R&B. He earned a degree from Yale in American Studies, completing a thesis centered on “The Weight” by the Band. Beginning with the 2012 collection Sketches, he started sharing digital compilations of original material. Drawing from indie folk figures such as Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens alongside the wide-ranging pop approach of Gorillaz, his work combined acoustic elements with electronic rhythms and intermittent distorted guitar, while his words evoked natural settings and specific locales regardless of personal visits.

Residing in a home on the outskirts of Nashville, Youngblood maintained an active travel schedule and continued issuing EPs, including 2014’s Confidence. His recordings attracted notice from British broadcasters Annie Mac and Gilles Peterson, leading to a relationship with Counter Records, an imprint connected to Ninja Tune, which put out the 2016 EP The Generation of Lift. He subsequently shared stages with Janelle Monáe and Milky Chance and, in 2017, collaborated with singer Nylo on the singles “Higher” and “Everyday.” His first proper full-length, Cheyenne, appeared in 2018. Additional tracks tied to that project formed an EP issued in 2019. A new version of the earlier track “Australia” came out in 2020 to support relief efforts after the Australian bushfires.

Original songs from Youngblood surfaced again in 2023 with the release of “All They Want Is Violence.” Further tracks emerged gradually, culminating in the full-length Cascades, Cascading, Cascadingly on Missing Piece Records in 2024.