From the mind of eclectic NYC-based producer Mike Brun comes Ciao Ciao Marigold, a lofi psychedelic music project that pairs catchy, instrumental beats with a pleasantly trippy animated visual world. Imagine the Venn diagram where Khruangbin, Studio Ghibli, and THC gummies overlap. Then build a giant glass botanical garden around that Venn diagram. Ciao Ciao Marigold is like the mysterious and reclusive wealthy benefactor who funds that garden. Understand? Of course you don’t, because Ciao Ciao Marigold isn’t supposed to be understood rationally, with the brain. CCM is something you feel in your bones. And if CCM’s 25,000+ social media followers, and 400,000+ listeners across streaming platforms can feel it, so can you.

Brun quietly launched Ciao Ciao Marigold in December of 2022 without telling any friends. He wrote, produced, and mixed the music all on his own, playing nearly all the instruments himself as well, and began posting to Tik Tok and Instagram using animations that he co-conceived with visual artist Hannah van der Weide. Within a year, CCM posts were regularly going viral, winning people over instantly with its brand of stoned virtuosity and unabashed love of crafting an absolute bop. Funky bass parts unravel next to reverb-washed synthesizers, interlocked guitars, and vibey drum grooves, all played by Brun and his elite community of New York City musicians. In a world flooded with robotically bland lofi beats to whatever to, CCM has raised the bar of hand-crafted thoughtfulness and taste, offering music that saturates life with technicolor chillness.

To date, with just a few online releases and zero live concerts played, Ciao Ciao Marigold enjoys nearly 2 million Spotify streams per month, surfing on a massive wave of fans all across the world. Honestly, there’s a good chance you’ve already heard CCM: it’s on your local coffeeshop’s speakers; it’s in the background of your favorite micro-influencer’s new post; it’s your musician friend’s favorite discovery from last week.