Ever Wonder What More Than 20 Notable Indie Musicians Grouped Together Sounds Like? Meet Gayngs.

Gayngs is a large collective concentrated out of the mid-west with a focus on re-creating a 1980s soft-rock sound but with a modern facelift. Founded my musician Ryan Olson in 2009, the group rapidly expanded and their official Facebook page currently lists 23 members; most notably is Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, rappers P.O.S. and Dessa of Doomtree, electronic acts Solid Gold, and Har Mar Superstar.

Gayngs released their debut album Relayted last year and earlier this year Doomtree remixed 7 songs and released a more hip-hop centered album under the Gayngs moniker called Affiliyated.

The music of Gayngs actually comes at much of a surprise, for including so many different artists from vast genres, you would expect a diverse sound from song to song (especially since the album features over a dozen contributing MCs), but instead the album is an incredibly consistent and odd piece of art. The entire album is set to a constant measure of 69 BPM, and all vocalists sing in a very dreamed-out 80s soft tone, this comes especially shocking from certain MCs such as rapper P.O.S. who usually raps in a rap/rock hybrid style but here is singing in an almost unrecognizable soul-manner.

To be honest, I do not think Gayngs' Relayted album is the most attention grabbing-piece of music that I have heard, but more so, I think it is an impress feat in music and different enough to warrant a listen. It has actually become some of my favorite music for studying, it is very easy listening and something you can play in the background.

Check it out below:

The Affiliyated album on the other hand, does not seem to quite represent the Gayngs "style" as much (despite maintaining the 69 BPM tempo) and ends up sounding more hip-hop and also features some pretty captivating instrumentals, but I find these songs much more attention grabbing than the full album (which probably shows my bias). You can hear some songs below and download the album for free from Doomtree's bandcamp site, here.