Ryan DeRobertis (known by his stage names Skylar Spence and SAINT PEPSI) is an American electronic musician and singer[3] who grew up in Farmingville, New York and attended Boston College for two years studying music. His electronic music project SAINT PEPSI began in December 2012. After the release of his ninth studio album Hit Vibes in May 2013, he would retire the SAINT PEPSI name due to legal threats from the soft-drink company PepsiCo.[4] He would adopt the name Skylar Spence in 2015, and release his debut record under that moniker, Prom King. In 2019, he would return under the name SAINT PEPSI with the release of Mannequin Challenge, and he currently uses that name for live performances and certain releases.
Career
Stereogum named DeRobertis their "band to watch" in July 2013, calling his music "addicting and fun."[5] Pitchfork praised the release of "Mr. Wonderful,"[6] the lead track off the 2014 EP Gin City, which was hosted on the music blog Gorilla vs. Bear.[7] In February, Gorilla vs. Bear also hosted the premiere of the track "Baby."[8]
DeRobertis' musical style has been described as being in the categories of future funk, vaporwave,[11]disco-pop,[6]futurepop, liquid disco, slow jam and gibber boogie,[3] although he also borders between traditional music genres. He often incorporates unorthodox sounds in his music, using sources such as the soundtracks from games like Mario Kart 64. He also commonly samples pop songs (ex: "Private Caller", which also appeared on the compilation album Portals Summer II,[12] sampled Canadian artist Lustt's 1983 cover of Sylvia Robinson's 1973 track "Pillow Talk").[13][14][15]
The Fader calls his nonchalant approach to Top 40 hits "refreshing,"[16] and calls his music "restless and nostalgic and sonically curious."[17] He is quoted as saying, "I’m drawn to tuneful melodies; complex chord structures; outlandish synths and drums; and I like to take pop a cappellas and see how I can warp the songs while keeping the melodies almost entirely intact [...] I want to make pop music for freaks, basically."[4]
Discography
As The Cold Napoleons
Adversaries (November 16, 2012)
As SAINT PEPSI
Albums
Laser Tag Zero (December 27, 2012)
Triumph International (January 1, 2013)
New Generation (January 2, 2013)
World Tour (January 3, 2013)
Empire Building (January 29, 2013)
Late Night Delight (split with Luxury Elite) (February 2, 2013)
Studio 54 (March 7, 2013)
Winner's Circle (split with ショッピングワールド [Shopping World] jp ) (May 11, 2013)
Hit Vibes (May 31, 2013)
Choice Cuts (split with Crowns, Dinosaurus Rex and Harrison) (July 25, 2013)
