illuminati hotties
Illuminati Hotties leader Sarah Tudzin describes her music as "tenderpunk," a self-constructed genre that fuses the energy of pop-punk with the melodic smarts of indie rock and a lyrical outlook that ponders the joys and calamities of being a grown-up under the age of 30. A successful producer and engineer, as well as a songwriter and recording artist, Tudzin writes songs that are deeply personal and witty at the same time, and her studio skills help give her music a subtle sophistication. She introduced the Illuminati Hotties to the world with 2018's Kiss Yr Frenemies, escaped from record label turmoil with a set of jagged pop gems on 2020's FREE I.H: This Is Not the One You've Been Waiting For, and 2021's Let Me Do One More pushed the emotional boundaries of both joy and self-doubt. After three years in which she focused on working on studio projects for others, Tudzin stepped back into the spotlight with 2024's Power, a set of songs informed in part by love and loss.
Honing her chops in the Los Angeles music scene, Sarah Tudzin worked as a producer and engineer alongside a whole host of A-list stars including Coldplay, Barbra Streisand, and Lady Gaga, as well as indie stalwarts such as !!! and Porches. An alumnus of Berklee College of Music, Tudzin also worked with engineer and producer Chris Coady, as well as having sound design credits on the Grammy-winning musical Hamilton. While she was a talented musician and songwriter, Tudzin initially wanted to focus on building her resumé as an engineer and producer. However, when it occurred to her that she had plenty of credits assisting Coady and other producers but didn't have much work to point to as her own, she created Illuminati Hotties as a vehicle to show off her studio skills with her own songs.
Primarily recorded during studio downtime from projects for others, Tudzin created 2018's Kiss Yr Frenemies as a calling card for potential production clients, but when work took her to Nashville, several of her musically inclined friends (including singer/songwriter Lucy Dacus and Jacob Blizard) urged her to give the material a proper release. Tudzin partnered with the indie label Tiny Engines to issue the album, but while she was working on her next LP, Tiny Engines was having severe financial and organizational problems, and rather than give her next album to a label about to go under, Tudzin bought out her contract. Instead of finishing the record she had begun work on, she quickly put together a 12-song mixtape titled FREE I.H: This Is Not the One You've Been Waiting For. The release was well received, and she started working with other musicians to play occasional Illuminati Hotties live shows.
Rather than finding another label to support her career, Tudzin founded her own label, Snack Shack Tracks, in association with the indie punk imprint Hopeless Records. Together they released Illuminati Hotties' third full-length, Let Me Do One More, in late 2021. The album was well-received by critics and fans, but Tudzin's next few years were primarily occupied by projects with and for other artists. She helped engineer and produce Boygenius's successful 2023 release the record (which earned her a Grammy nomination), produced and engineered sessions for Lou Roy (2022's Pure Chaos), Speedy Ortiz (2023's Rabbit Rabbit), and Eliza McLamb (2024's Going Through It), co-wrote two songs on Sir Chloe's 2023 LP I Am The Dog, added vocals to 2022's The Unravelling of Puptheband by PUP, and made a guest appearance on Dim Wizard's 2023 track "Ride the Vibe." Despite her busy schedule, Tudzin didn't entirely step away from Illuminati Hotties. In July 2023, she issued a new Illuminati Hotties track, "Truck," and in May 2024, she debuted a new song, "Can't Be Still." Can't Be Still" proved to be the lead-off single from the third Illuminati Hotties album, 2024's Power, which balanced Tudzin's clever pop songcraft with a moodier outlook as she pondered failing relationships and her struggles in the wake of her mother's death. The release was followed by an Illuminati Hotties tour beginning in September 2024.
© Rich Wilson & Mark Deming /TiVo
Discography
22 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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POWER
Rock - Released by Snack Shack Tracks - Hopeless Records on 23/08/2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Truck
Rock - Released by Snack Shack Tracks - Hopeless Records on 19/07/2023
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Didn't (feat. Cavetown)
Rock - Released by Snack Shack Tracks - Hopeless Records on 5/06/2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Tiny Engines on 4/09/2019
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Let Me Do One More
Rock - Released by Snack Shack Tracks - Hopeless Records on 1/10/2021
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Can't Be Still
Rock - Released by Snack Shack Tracks - Hopeless Records on 2/05/2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
December
illuminati hotties, Hopelessly Devoted To You
Rock - Released by Hopeless Records on 22/11/2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Kiss Yr Frenemies
Alternative & Indie - Released by Tiny Engines on 11/05/2018
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
FREE I.H: This Is Not the One You've Been Waiting For
Rock - Released by Snack Shack Tracks on 17/07/2020
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The L
Rock - Released by Snack Shack Tracks - Hopeless Records on 31/07/2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Sandwich Sharer
Rock - Released by Snack Shack Tracks - Hopeless Records on 2/02/2022
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Doomsday (Illuminati Hotties Version)
Mini Trees, illuminati hotties
Alternative & Indie - Released by Run For Cover Records on 23/08/2023
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
I Wanna Keep Yr Dog
Rock - Released by Tiny Engines on 6/03/2019
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Power
Rock - Released by Snack Shack Tracks - Hopeless Records on 10/07/2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
illuminati hotties on Audiotree Live
Alternative & Indie - Released by Audiotree Music on 14/03/2019
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
(You're Better) Than Ever
Alternative & Indie - Released by Tiny Engines on 21/02/2018
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Pretenders (illuminati hotties Remix)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Last Gang on 27/02/2023
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Patience
Alternative & Indie - Released by Tiny Engines on 27/04/2018
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Pool Hopping (Strange Pool Remix) [feat. Bartees Strange]
illuminati hotties, Bartees Strange
Rock - Released by Snack Shack Tracks - Hopeless Records on 19/08/2021
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Paying Off the Happiness
Alternative & Indie - Released by Tiny Engines on 30/03/2018
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo