“A self-described feminist loop artist, mystic and yogini, Idgy Dean infuses her one-woman psychedelic rock with a calming Zen presence that belies the emotional intensity of her DIY beats. Although she released her debut LP Ominous Harminus in 2015, the Brooklynite otherwise known as Lindsay Sanwald has been making music since she was a teenager, inspired to play drums, guitar and bass and write her own songs by the dual presence of Kate Bush and Nine Inch Nails. If those influences sound divergent at first glance, think again - Dean’s music combines a visceral mysticism with a performative grandeur that reflects the dark and the life-giving in equal measure, doling out tribal drum beats and clangorous guitar lines underneath airy vocals during her live shows, which are symphonies of emotion wrought from loop pedals. A magnetic performer, Dean’s ethereal experimental pop has naturally found its way into theater, when she was responsible for the live score of The ETLE Universe, a “queer feminist cyborg time-travel epic thing.” -Red Bull Music Academy
She was one of the 70 hand-picked artists from around the world to attend the Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal, where she participated in two weeks of mentoring lectures and studio workshops with musical luminaries including Björk, Pauline Oliveros, Susan Rogers, Jam & Lewis, Deradoorian, tUnE-yArDs, Dev Hynes, Thundercat, Dorian Concept, and Matias Aguayo.
She tracked her most recent EP, Heavy Cosmic Lumber, at Red Bull Studios in New York, who released this live video/piece made in conjunction with the EP’s release. Heavy Cosmic Lumber was engineered and co-produced by Evan Sutton (aka Astrolith), a fellow RBMA alum who recently collaborated on a new track with his mentor Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode, plus Cakes Da Killa, Spank Rock, and TT The Artist. Sutton also mixed Idgy Dean’s last record, Ominous Harminus.
In the summer of 2018, she produced her annual Solstice Party at House Of Yes in Bushwick, Brooklyn, signed to Mano Walker (partnered with Words & Music and Big Deal Music Publishing), and co-collaborated with the legendary hip-hop icon and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (founder of Run-DMC) on a new track. After witnessing her performance on the roof of Whole Foods at Southwest Invasion during SXSW 2018, Darryl invited Idgy Dean onstage to help close his headlining set and sing Steven Tyler’s part in “Walk This Way.” The two tracked their new song together at Platinum Sound with engineer Serge Tsai over the spring of 2018, and “Remember This - 3 into 4,” was released on January 11th, 2019. They performed together on the eve of the song’s release at House of Yes.
She had her TV debut on The Chris Gethard Show with special guest star Diddy, plus song placements in this Adobe ad, Dell commercial, SURFER Magazine feature, and Vetra Sunscreen spot. Her press highlights include a feature on NPR's WNYC Soundcheck, Tom Tom Magazine, Noisey, The Village Voice, and Refinery 29.
She has opened for the Grammy Award winning Thundercat, Dorian Concept, Liars, and Britta Phillips, and headlined sold out shows at House of Yes in Brooklyn and Arlyn Studios in Austin. She also teaches Yoga, pastors part-time as a sober bartender, and is presently studying at Harvard Divinity School.
Respect the hustle.