Magdalena Bay is the Los Angeles synth-pop duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, formed in 2016 after the two met as teens in Miami playing prog rock. Imaginal Disk (2024) was hailed as one of the year's most important pop albums and earned a Grammy nomination; Mercurial World (2021) got there first. Browse Magdalena Bay vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Magdalena Bay formed in Los Angeles around Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin in 2016. The duo originally met in Miami in their teens (initially performing in the progressive rock band Tabula Rasa). They have been independent across their catalog, with extensive DIY production approaches. Their debut Mercurial World (2021) brought them critical attention, and their 2024 album Imaginal Disk was widely cited as one of the most important pop albums of 2024 - earning a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2025 ceremony. They contributed production work to Lil Yachty's Let's Start Here (2023).
Magdalena Bay's sound combines synth-pop, electropop, indie pop, alternative pop, hyperpop, and bedroom pop with Tenenbaum's distinctive vocal delivery, Lewin's dense electronic production approaches, and arrangements drawing on classic 1980s synth-pop, progressive rock, and contemporary hyperpop and bedroom pop traditions.
Luminelle Recordings and Mom + Pop Music pressings of the Magdalena Bay catalog have been issued in multiple color variant editions and limited deluxe pressings.
Listeners new to Magdalena Bay typically start with Imaginal Disk (2024) or Mercurial World (2021).
