“Last time we were (in Ann Arbor) we went to Zingerman’s for lunch and then we went to Roadhouse for dinner and then Zingerman’s for lunch the next day, so we’ve got Grizzly Bear beat on that one — you better write that,” Matthew Dear said in an interview with the Daily.

It’s no secret that when famous acts like Grizzly Bear roll into Ann Arbor, they often drop in on the A2 mainstay. But for a University alum like Matthew Dear, a quirky spot like Zingerman’s means more than mammoth-sized sandwiches and small-town charm. For Dear, it’s synonymous with the city of Ann Arbor itself, the place where the techno talent and indie crossover laid the foundations for his career.

While attending the University, Dear met Sam Valenti at a party. After becoming fast friends over an affinity for electro beats, the two decided to create the now-thriving Ann Arbor record label Ghostly International. From there, Dear started DJing at parties and eventually moved into production.

But according to Dear, he and Valenti never expected the type of success they revel in today. For them, their accomplishments serve as a simple reminder of how far they have come.

“Sam and I have been at the club before, and we hear a record of ours playing and it feels really good," he said.

"When we got into this we were like 19 or 20," he added, "so to hear stuff like that is really cool.”

Dear is currently situated in Brooklyn, N.Y. And though Ann Arbor is starting to look like the Brooklyn of the Midwest these days, Dear is still nostalgic for his Ann Arbor roots.

“Brooklyn has a lot of Ann Arbor-esque characteristics compared to Manhattan, but it’s a bit more in-your-face. Ann Arbor is essentially a lot more laid back,” Dear said.

The often-insufferable strain of living in New York proved to be inspiration for his latest endearingly dark album, Black City.

“I think I get influenced by the pressure of living in New York and making music in that kind of environment,” Dear explained. “I usually sit down and turn on all the machines and computers and start making noise and see what happens. I don’t really like to preconceive my songwriting ideas. I don’t sit down with ideas I came up with on the guitar or anything.”

While Dear used to use his acoustic guitar to aid his songwriting, the instrument now serves another purpose.

“I used to when I was younger, but I don’t do that anymore. I still like the guitar but that’s something different. I think I just do that for more kind of meditative therapy, like sitting on the couch and hugging my wife.”

This year’s Black City has more of a brooding, haunting quality than previous records like 2003’s Asa Breed. And whether or not this mood shift was Dear’s intent, it is definitely apparent on his latest album.

“I think it’s reflective of the mood shift I was talking about," he said. "Going to New York and being a bit more inundated with humanity and surrounded by a lot more stressors in life, but in a good way. I think it kind of influenced me to make music differently.”

One of the most striking qualities of Black City is the stark juxtaposition of themes of love (sentimental soul spilling on “Gem”) and overt sexuality (lusty double-entendres on “You Put a Smell on Me”).

“All of my music is going to have those two opposing themes. I don’t know. I think I am a pretty sexually charged human being, but I am also love-charged as well. Even my electronic techno stuff had the blending of those two,” Dear explained. “But again, Asa Breed was a bit more laid back, being Ann Arbor material, and Brooklyn’s Black City is a bit edgier. So that’s how the darker side of love made its way onto the record.”

Dear’s avant-garde pop has been compared to the likes of Talking Heads and David Bowie. But Dear doesn’t necessarily see himself in that way.

“I find myself influenced by a lot of things that influenced them in terms of music.