Naytronix

The solo alias for producer, multi-instrumentalist, and tUnE-yArDs bassist Nate Brenner, Naytronix's experimental electronic pop navigates danceable beats, dreamy ambience, and whimsical compositional elements. After Brenner debuted the project with a self-titled EP in 2012, his third Naytronix album, 2019's Air, adopted a darker, more muscular synth pop complexion.

A native of Bloomington, Indiana, Brenner studied jazz bass at Ohio's Oberlin Conservatory before joining Merrill Garbus' tUnE-yArDs in time to record the project's second album, 2011's W H O K I L L. He contributed bass, percussion, and backing vocals as well as horn arrangements. In May 2012, Brenner released the four-track debut EP Naytronix, which included a cover of Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done for Me Lately." He followed that two months later with the full-length Dirty Glow. Garbus, a horn section, and a few other instrumentalists pitched in while Brenner performed the bulk of the music. Like the EP, the album was issued on the Plug Research label.

Continuing on as a member of tUnE-yArDs, Brenner returned in 2015 with the Naytronix full-length Mister Divine, issued on City Slang. Harvested from hours of material written while on the road with tUnE-yArDs and Naytronix, it was recorded at New, Improved Recording in his adopted base of Oakland, California, with guitarist Mark Allen-Piccolo and percussionist Robert Lopez.

After contributing the score of Boots Riley's 2018 film Sorry to Bother You as a member of tUnE-yArDs, Brenner returned with his third Naytronix album, Air, in 2019. It featured contributions from, among others, Garbus (vocals, co-production), Ross Peacock (synths, co-production), Hamir Atwal (drums), and Madeline Kenney (vocals). ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi