Monster Rally

Ohio-bred crate-digger Ted Feighan, better known as Monster Rally, produces sample-based tracks drawing from lounge and Tropicalia as well as hip-hop, bringing to mind the Avalanches, People Like Us, or Madlib on an exotica bender. His releases are typically adorned with collage artwork as colorful and surrealist as the music. He issued his debut LP, Coral, in 2011, and continued releasing intriguing records at a prolific pace, including 2013's Return to Paradise and 2015's Foreign Pedestrians, with rapper Jay Stone. His music edged closer to instrumental hip-hop with releases like 2017's Flowering Jungle and 2022's Botanica Dream. With 2026's Echoes of the Emerald Sands, Feighan completely changed his creative process, recording all of the instruments from scratch and inviting a cast of guest vocalists.