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Proto Play

Records and side projects from before the Chris Portka era

Before the records released under the name my ever loving parents gave me, were decades of obscure music made under other names, some released and some still unreleased. Two early projects, Rhiao (aka me) and Beardwail (aka Tom Meagher) are full of playful, art-y, and eclectic music. Most is still up on Bandcamp, some are buried on SoundCloud and YouTube, a few are gone to the sands of time, and even more have never been released.

Rhiao

Solo project, Oakland, 2014–2015. Pop, experimental, ambient, impressionist, primitive. Two releases on Bandcamp.

1. 

   what rhymes with now?

   January 2014

   Ambient impressionism with wafting guitars and pianos. Features some piano work by Nicholas R. Chen.

2. 

   first breathe, best breathe

   January 2015

   Eight suffocatingly mean tracks with glimpses of the light. First take, best take. Sunshine girl features Beardwail.

3. Beardwail & Rhiao — All-Else

   October 2014

Beardwail

A limited sampling of the legend Tom Meagher’s musical output. Creative collaborator across decades — features Rhiao on Out of Time and Sassaphrasing, even a song “Deep Fried Killer Whale” about someone you might know. Tom also plays lead guitar across The Album Everyone Wants.

Bandcamp

1. 

   Dead and Together

   July 2012

   Fourteen tracks of experimental chillwave and collage. Rhiao appears on Out of Time and shot the cover photo.

2. 

   Failures

   January 2015

   Twenty-one tracks. Rhiao features on Sassaphrasing.

Full Beardwail discography on Bandcamp →

SoundCloud

1. 

   Deep Fried Killer Whale

   May 2016

   Dedicated to Crisp Orca.

Ten tracks at soundcloud.com/beardwail →

Your Entire Arm Is Red

“Laughable” b-side

1. 

   out-takes

   September 2014

   Single track, the renaissance man of today. Priced at $1,000.

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