The Bay Area duo best known as AG Club, short for Avant-Garde Club, has been making waves since their impressive debut album, Halfway Off the Porch, in 2020. A fusion of R&B, Memphis hip-hop, indie rock, and grungy skate soundtracks, the emotion-driven album, and the ensuing LP Imposter Syndrome, carried depth and weight — offering us a taste of the vast creative landscape the two members, Jody Fontaine and Baby Boy, were ready and willing to explore. Their tertiary release, and the most recent, BRODIE WORLD, sees a shift in tone, style, and structure. Over 10 tracks, AG Club dial back the darkness and intensity of prior projects and lean into what they call “high-energy shit” — a tremendous experiment in having fun that, despite being “made for their friends,” we all benefit greatly from. Back in the beginning, in an effort to find just the right nomenclature for their expansive, experimental sound, the group settled on AG Club, which Fontaine explains, “Avant-garde is an art movement that’s very rebellious in nature and form. It goes against the zeitgeist… That’s what we felt like we were doing.” Today, however, we can all see that that’s what they’re doing.
Read more: Elissa Steamer is moved by the music
In the wake of BRODIE WORLD’s release, AG Club took us through the eclectic influences that birthed their unexpected new project.
Amaarae – “Come Home To God”
This song sounds like where life begins. Love shit like this. It’s huge, and there’s this visceral edge to it. It feels as wet as the album cover itself. This was definitely on repeat throughout most of the BRODIE WORLD process. We just couldn’t put it down and referenced it in every session.
Prince – “If I Was Your Girlfriend” (2020 Remaster)
Proof of my (Jodie Fontaine) Prince obsession! The processing on the vocals in this song and the different textures… DAWG. It had me in a chokehold for the entire back half of last year. We did a lot of speed and pitch stuff for this new project and played around a lot with the vocals. I am just obsessed with the way these vocals sound. Also, when you’re playing with vocal processing, it allows you to try different things delivery-wise. I love how you can sense his awareness of that on this song. There are just so many inflections that hit so much harder because of the pitch change. Super dope. Huge inspiration. I played this in most sessions, too.
Vayda – “bingo”
Vayda my GOAT. This is self-explanatory. It’s super punchy, and it has a good-ass groove — a good-ass groove. She’s just blacking out on this beat for one-and-a-half minutes. We wanted our shit to punch like this. Songs like this just force you to move, and we were pushing for that same effect throughout our project.
Chicken P – “All Dawgs Go To Heaven”
That 808 pattern is DUMB AS FUCK! This had our summer in a chokehold for sure. Love the way that shit hits the floor. It definitely inspired the patterns on our song “CAJH DAY*.” Shit just turns you up and twists up your face. Love it.
Glokk40Spaz – “Treat You Better”
These melodies are our favorite. Just love how he slides, and this beat scratches a certain itch. This feels like a Glokk40Spaz B-side, if that makes sense.
THOTTWAT – “FED UP”
Absolutely love THOTTWAT. Feel like they’ve been defining a lot of the popular sounds of our generation for a while, especially ICYTWAT. They’re just so incredibly cool, and the feeling of this is so infectious. A lot of BRODIE WORLD was just trying to capture feelings from some of our favorite music. This was another super-punchy song on repeat.
TisaKorean – “BACKSEAT”
It’s just a perfect groove. Love the pitched vocals. I (Jodie Fontaine) hear this, and my shoulders instantly start swaying. Just perfect.
Loukeman – “Toes Down”
This is super infectious and colorful. Loukeman’s songs feel more like little trinkets or collectible moments than anything. We definitely wanted to give people that feeling.
