Digital Leather

Shawn Foree originated the synth-punk outfit Digital Leather by merging vintage electronic keyboards and loud, fuzzy guitars into a hybrid that draws from punk, garage rock, synth pop, and new wave, yielding music that remains raw and fervent beneath its electronic veneer. Born in Yuma, Arizona in the early '80s, Foree grew up in what he describes as "a hippie commune" centered around the Baha'i faith, and he still tells interviewers of his ongoing effort to capture "a hippie vibe" in his music, even if the records suggest otherwise. Music eventually drew his attention and turned him into a committed home-recording enthusiast; during his freshman year at college he used student-loan funds to acquire his first four-track recorder. Foree states that he devoted most of his sophomore year to bedroom recordings and experiments with hallucinogens before deciding not to return. After he began circulating those recordings, Bryan Wong joined in 2002, shifting Digital Leather from a solo project toward a band configuration. Several 7" singles preceded the release of the first album, Monologue, in 2006, after which Foree assembled a live lineup consisting of himself on synthesizers and vocals, Ryan Wong on drums, Rusty Rousseau on synth, and Steve Sleaze on guitars. The second album, Blow Machine, followed in 2007. Goner Records issued Sorcerer in 2008, combining live captures from Memphis' Buccaneer Lounge with new material cut in Foree's makeshift studio. Fellow new-punk provocateur Jay Reatard mastered the record and, sufficiently impressed, became Digital Leather's manager. In 2009 the group signed with Fat Possum Records, which released the fourth album, Warm Brother, in the fall of that year.