Magdalena Bay is an American

alternative pop Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

duo formed in 2016 from

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, and currently based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The duo consists of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, who met in high school. Both members write and produce together. They have released two studio albums, three

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, and three mixtapes titled ''Mini Mixes''. The duo released their debut studio album, ''

Mercurial World ''Mercurial World'' is the debut studio album by the American musical duo Magdalena Bay, released on October 8, 2021, through Luminelle Recordings. Developed for two years, ''Mercurial World'' was written, produced, and recorded by both members ...

'', on October 8, 2021. They have been noted for their informational

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

videos on the music industry and their

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

y, DIY visuals, often inspired by early-2000s internet culture. Their second album, ''

Imaginal Disk ''Imaginal Disk'' is the second studio album by the American musical duo Magdalena Bay, released through Mom + Pop Music on August 23, 2024. Both members of the duo, Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, entirely wrote and produced the album, ...

'', was released on August 23, 2024, to widespread critical acclaim.

History

1995–2016: Early lives, Tabula Rasa

Tenenbaum was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina, and immigrated with her family to the United States when she was one year old, growing up in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Lewin was born in Miami and is of Argentine descent on his father's side. Both Tenenbaum and Lewin are Jewish. They originally met in high school at a program run by Live! Modern School of Music, where they were placed in a

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

cover band and later began writing and performing their own

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

music with other musicians (including current Magdalena Bay touring drummer Nick Villa) as Tabula Rasa, releasing a self-titled EP, and a self-titled studio album.

2016–2019: Formation, first singles and covers

After Tabula Rasa released their final album, ''Crimson'', Tenenbaum and Lewin formed Magdalena Bay in 2016 while on vacation from college—Tenenbaum at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and Lewin at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

—and continued to collaborate remotely. The duo reconnected creatively over their appreciation for alternative pop artists

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

Chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

, and

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

, and wanted to recreate the sounds they were inspired by in a new project, which they named after Maggie Bay, an administrator at Lewin's former job. Their first single, "Voc Pop", was released on June 1, which has been since removed from streaming services and YouTube. In September 2016, the duo released a cover of " Head over Heels" by

Tears For Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...

, accompanied by a music video. 2017 saw the releases of the singles "Neon" (alongside a music video), "Set Me Off", "Drive Alone", and "Move Slow", and 2018 saw the releases of "Waking Up", "The Girls", and "Ghost".

2019–2020: First EPs'', Mini Mix Vol 1.'' and ''Mini Mix Vol 2.''

In January 2019, Magdalena Bay released their first two EPs ''Day/Pop'', and ''Night/Pop'', containing remastered versions of their early singles and covers. In February, the duo began releasing short music videos on YouTube as part of a "Mag Minis" series, starting with "Afternoon in Heaven". The "Mag Minis" series led to the duo being signed by indie label Luminelle Recordings, and the full "Mag Minis" series was released to streaming services as the mixtape ''Mini Mix Vol. 1'' on July 19. The duo released their first EP for Luminelle Records, ''A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling'', on March 13, 2020, and their second mixtape, ''Mini Mix, Vol. 2'', on November 20, 2020.

2021–2023: ''Mercurial World'', ''Mini Mix Vol. 3'', and first tour

The duo released their debut studio album, ''

'', on October 8, 2021. The album's release was preceded by four singles: "Chaeri", "Secrets (Your Fire)", "You Lose!", and "Hysterical Us". The album was teased with a "Y2K-inspired" website designed by Tenenbaum, and music videos accompanying the album's singles were also released in promotion of the album. A deluxe version of ''Mercurial World'', containing fan-submitted "secrets", remixes, and two new songs, was released on September 23, 2022. Magdalena Bay performed at several prominent festivals in support of ''Mercurial World'', including

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as Primavera) is an annual music festival held at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, during late May and early June. It was founded in 2001 by Pablo Soler as "a showcase for Spanish Noise rock, noise ban ...

in June 2022,

Porter Robinson Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Robinson began producing electronic music during his adolescence. He sign ...

's Second Sky in October 2022,

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

in April 2023 and

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

in August 2023. On April 13, 2023, Magdalena Bay released a third mixtape, ''Mini Mix, Vol. 3''.

2024–present: ''Imaginal Disk''

On May 28, 2024, Magdalena Bay released the single " Death & Romance", their first release under

Mom + Pop Music Mom + Pop Music is a New York City–based independent record label. Founded by Michael Goldstone in 2008, its roster includes Alicia Keys, Courtney Barnett, Magdalena Bay, Madeon, Tom Morello, Porter Robinson, Maya Hawke, Tycho, Tash Sul ...

, and also announced their "Imaginal Mystery Tour". On July 10, 2024, the single and accompanying music video for "

Image An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...

" was released. In a post-music video livestream, the duo announced their second studio album, ''

''. On July 31, 2024, the album's third single, "Tunnel Vision", was released. The final single, "That's My Floor", was released on August 21, 2024. ''Imaginal Disk'' was released on August 23, 2024, to widespread critical acclaim. On March 28, 2025, Magdalena Bay appeared on

triple j Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

's ''

Like a Version ''Like a Version'' is a long-running weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves musicians playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs and then a cover version. The series was created by pres ...

'' segment where they performed "Image" and covered

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's " Ashes to Ashes". In support of ''Imaginal Disk'', Magdalena Bay performed at several festivals, returning to Primavera Sound and playing at III Points Music Festival in Miami. In July 2025, Magdalena Bay will support

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes (song), Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her broth ...

on Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour for three nights in London. On July 31, 2025, they will return to Lollapalooza.

Musical style and influences

The group has been described as

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

, and they have cited

, and

as influences. After the release of ''

'', Lewin said, "I think what would be a positive thing is if we start to be seen less as a pop group and more like an 'alternative' group." ''Paste'' described them as "a pop act with a

rockist Rockism and poptimism are ideological arguments about popular music prevalent in mainstream music journalism. Rockism is the belief that rock music depends on values such as authenticity and artfulness, which elevate it over other forms of ...

core", featuring

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

and

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

influences. Lewin listened to progressive rock and

growing up, and admitted to "making fun of people for liking

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

." He shared these influences with Tenenbaum once they met.

Members

;Current members * Mica Tenenbaum – lead vocals, bass,

keytar A keytar (a portmanteau of ''keyboard'' and ''guitar'') is a keyboard instrument similar to a synthesizer or MIDI controller that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is held. Overview Though the ...

(2016–present) * Matthew Lewin – keyboards, synthesizer, guitar, bass,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

, backing vocals (2016–present) ;Current touring musicians * Nick Villa – drums (2022–present) * Myles Sweeney – keyboards, guitar, bass (2024–present)

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (2021) *''

'' (2024)

Extended plays

* ''Day/Pop'' (2019) * ''Night/Pop'' (2019) *'' A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling'' (2020)

Mixtapes

* ''Mini Mix Vol. 1'' (2019) * ''Mini Mix Vol. 2'' (2020) * ''Mini Mix Vol. 3'' (2023)

Selected singles

*" Death & Romance" (2024) *"

" (2024)

Tours

Headlining * The Mercurial Tour (2021–2022) * The Imaginal Mystery Tour (2024–2025) Opening act *

– Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (2025) * Halsey – For My Last Trick: The Tour (2025)

References

{{Authority control 2016 establishments in Florida American electronic music duos American synth-pop groups American people of Argentine-Jewish descent Electronic music groups from Florida American electropop groups Indie pop groups from Florida Jewish American musicians Jewish musical groups Mom + Pop Music artists Musical groups established in 2016 Musical groups from Miami