biography

Automatic Lover makes music that moves you.

Featuring members of some of the Midwest’s best funk, rock, and hip-hop outfits, the Madison supergroup is born to bring you to the dance floor.

At its core, this is a latin funk party. But it’s music that can change on a dime. One minute they’re all backbeats and groove, next they’re putting a new spin on soca or sinking into full, driving rock. It’s like a crate-digger’s dream, pulling LPs from a wall full of vinyl, to find music that revels in surprises and keeps you dancing.

Page through their influences and you’ll hear strands of the Budos Band and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Khruangbin, and Ozomatli. They can be as electric as early Police, as funked out as the Brand New Heavies, and as joyful as Manu Chao.

The band writes and operates like a collective. You can hear the respect they have for each other in the way they carve space for each instrument, a deep admiration that weaves in and out of each song. They’ve waited a long time to finally make this music together.

Frontman Uriel Lopéz-Rodriguez honed his chops through years writing and producing hip hop and latin pop for artists across Mexico City, California, Arizona, and Wisconsin, including The Prolé, where he first played with jazz-inspired, journeyman keyboardist, Matthew Rief.

Brett Farrey (bass) and Shanan Galligan (guitar) were the rhythm section in the hip-hop/acid-jazz combo Smokin’ with Superman and alt-rock Little Earthquakes. Grammy-nominated Joey Banks (drums) carries on the legacy of his close friend and mentor, Clyde Stubblefield as well as a wide portfolio of projects from Steely Dane to the Funkee JBeez.

And then there’s the horns: featuring Ben Knox (sax), Jamie Kember (trombone), and Mike Boman (trumpet), they are among the area’s most in-demand musicians, gracing the stage with bands from The Big Payback to the Youngblood Brass Band.

After a debut summer playing some of the area’s most-exciting festivals and stages, Automatic Lover is returning to the studio to put the finishing touches on their first album, to be released January 2026.