Magdalena Bay (duo)

Early and personal lives

Mica Tenenbaum was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and immigrated to the United States at age one, growing up in Miami. Matthew Lewin was born in Miami and is of Argentine descent on his father's side. Both are Jewish. Tenenbaum attended Design and Architecture Senior High School; Lewin attended Krop High School. They met in 2011 at a program run by Live! Modern School of Music, where they played in a classic rock cover band and later formed Tabula Rasa with other musicians, including future Magdalena Bay touring drummer Nick Villa. Tenenbaum studied communications at the University of Pennsylvania; Lewin majored in music business at Northeastern University. They moved to Los Angeles in 2018.

Career

After Tabula Rasa released their final album, Crimson, Tenenbaum and Lewin formed Magdalena Bay in 2016 while on college vacation, collaborating remotely. They named the project after Maggie Bay, an administrator at Lewin's former job. Their first single, "Voc Pop", was released on June 1, 2016, and has since been removed from streaming services and YouTube but remains on SoundCloud. In September 2016 they released a cover of "Head over Heels" by Tears for Fears with a music video.

Singles followed in 2017 and 2018. In January 2019 they released two EPs, Day/Pop and Night/Pop, containing remastered early singles and covers. The full series was released as the mixtape Mini Mix Vol. 1 on July 19, 2019. Their first Luminelle EP, A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling, came out on March 13, 2020, followed by Mini Mix, Vol. 2 on November 20, 2020.

In 2021 their song "Killshot" went viral on social media via fancams. Their debut studio album, Mercurial World, was released on October 8, 2021, preceded by four singles and promoted with a Y2K-inspired website designed by Tenenbaum. A deluxe version with fan-submitted secrets, remixes, and two new songs arrived on September 23, 2022. They performed at Primavera Sound in June 2022, Porter Robinson's Second Sky in October 2022, Coachella in April 2023, and Lollapalooza in August 2023. On April 13, 2023, they released Mini Mix, Vol. 3.

Musical style and influences

The group has been described as synthpop, with influences including Grimes, Chairlift, St. Vincent, and Charli XCX. Tenenbaum has called Fiona Apple her biggest songwriting influence. Paste described them as a pop act with a rockist core, incorporating progressive rock, shoegaze, and disco influences. Both members grew up listening to progressive rock and classic rock; Lewin said he used to make fun of people for liking popular music.