Back Then

VINYL FORMAT. Gunnar Bjerk wears his heart on his sleeve. It's displayed prominently in his straightforward electronic pop songs, which are romantic in every way: musically, sonically, lyrically. Bjerk, who arrived in New York City via Arizona a few years ago with hopes of becoming a studio engineer, ultimately landed at DFA, where he studied under the tutelage of label co-founder and LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy. As house engineer, he worked on a slew of DFA recordings for artists including LCD, The Crystal Ark and Shit Robot; when he wasn't in the studio, he began writing and crafting his own music. "Write what you know" is the old adage that nearly every up-and-coming writer learns, and Bjerk has adhered to that tried-and-true formula. His recordings document the wistfulness, longing and sadness he felt about the long distance between he and his girlfriend, who was still back home in Arizona while he made records in New York City.