Ryan DeRobertis


Ryan DeRobertis is an American electronic musician and singer who grew up in Farmingville, New York and attended Boston College for two years studying music. His electronic music project Saint Pepsi began in December 2012. After the release of his ninth studio album Hit Vibes in May 2013, he would retire the Saint Pepsi name due to legal threats from the soft-drink company PepsiCo. He would adopt the name Skylar Spence in 2015, and release his debut record under that moniker, Prom King. In 2019, he would return under the name Saint Pepsi with the release of Mannequin Challenge, and he currently uses that name for live performances and certain releases.

Career

named DeRobertis their "band to watch" in July 2013, calling his music "addicting and fun." Pitchfork praised the release of "Mr. Wonderful," the lead track off the 2014 EP Gin City, which was hosted on the music blog Gorilla vs. Bear. In February, Gorilla vs. Bear also hosted the premiere of the track "Baby."
In June 2014, Saint Pepsi went on tour with Painted Palms after signing to Carpark Records, whose roster includes artists such as Beach House, Cloud Nothings, Toro y Moi, and Memory Tapes.

Style

DeRobertis' musical style has been described as being in the categories of future funk, vaporwave, disco-pop, futurepop, liquid disco, slow jam and gibber boogie, although he also borders between traditional music genres. He often incorporates unorthodox sounds in his music, using sources such as the soundtracks from games like Mario Kart 64. He also commonly samples pop songs.
The Fader calls his nonchalant approach to Top 40 hits "refreshing," and calls his music "restless and nostalgic and sonically curious." He is quoted as saying, "I’m drawn to tuneful melodies; complex chord structures; outlandish synths and drums; and I like to take pop a cappellas and see how I can warp the songs while keeping the melodies almost entirely intact I want to make pop music for freaks, basically."

Discography

As The Cold Napoleons

  • ''Adversaries''

    As Saint Pepsi

Albums

  • Laser Tag Zero
  • Triumph International
  • New Generation
  • World Tour
  • Empire Building
  • Late Night Delight
  • Studio 54
  • Winner's Circle
  • Hit Vibes
  • Choice Cuts
  • New Mount Everest
  • Mannequin Challenge
  • SAINT PEPSI Can Suck My ####
  • ''Cash Wednesday''

    Deluxe albums

  • ''Winner's Circle ''

    Extended plays

  • Local Singles
  • Gin City
  • Saint Pepsi Meets the Metallic Ghosts
  • ''Reflektor''

    Singles

Five Grammies

As Skylar Spence

Studio albums

  • ''Prom King''

    Deluxe albums

  • ''Prom King Deluxe Ten Year Anniversary Edition''

    Singles

  • "Fiona Coyne/Fall Harder"
  • "Polyvinyl 4-Track Singles Series, Vol. 2"
  • "Can't You See"
  • "Faithfully"
  • "Carousel / Cry Wolf"

    Mixes

  • Mysteryland
  • ''Alive 2020''

    As Amelia Airhorn

Mixtapes

  • ''The Knocks & Skylar Spence Present... Amelia Airhorn''

    Singles

  • "Miracle"
  • "New York is Red Hot"
  • "Street Performers Part. II"