Animalweapon

Creating in a nuanced space between electronica and indie (“It’s about songs rather than tracks”), Animalweapon’s heartfelt laptop pop has been an atypical feature of Raleigh’s vibrant scene for a decade. “I feel weird playing with bands, because I perform with a laptop,” said Cortes, who cites influences spanning Flying Lotus, Nine Inch Nails, Baths, and BT. “On the other hand, I’m not clubby, or EDM, or dancehall enough to fit in on electronic nights.”

Beginning as a side-project experiment with the song “Mexican Standoff” in 2010, Animalweapon almost inadvertently became Cortes’ chief musical expression. His cultured bedroom pop flirts with skittering hip-hop beats, ambient soundscapes, and borderline club music to become something entirely its own.

Animalweapon’s 2012 debut album Good Luck, which earned rotation on Raleigh’s WKNC-FM, was followed by 2015’s Flares and Signal Fires EP. While finishing the EP, Cortes began contributing music to popular podcast Undisclosed (follow-up to #1 iTunes series Serial), for which he won a 2017 Webby Award.

Sophomore Animalweapon album Tyrannosaurus, released last May, was an all-consuming personal and perfectionist effort three years in the making.

Following a period of decompression from Tyrannosaurus, Cortes put together a split EP with prior collaborator Neo Obsidian in just three weeks this summer. But then, as the nights began closing in again, his thoughts returned once more to what would become “Summer’s Over.”