In years gone by, it seemed as if an artist would periodically come out of obscurity to shake up any preconceived notions of normality.
They’d be someone who would experiment maniacally, shaping an original sound into their own form of musical expression that would end up being revered. But it’s 2016 now, and with an abundance of music available online, artists like Moses Sumney – the live-looping, falsetto-smashing all-round good guy – are leveraging their online presence to sell out shows all over the world, quicker than most of their predecessors ever could. It’s something Sumney says is surreal, but flattering and life-affirming all the same.
“I think life in general these days is just surreal for me,” the Californian laughs. “Floating through the earth, realising that I have a body and flesh and bone – it’s incredibly strange and alienating. But every time something excitable happens, it just kind of blends into this larger dream of being alive.”
Sumney’s emphasis on live performance is one of his biggest drawcards. He plays with only a guitar and a collection of effects and loop pedals, and the outcome is nothing short of incredible. Sumney says being a solo artist places him at an advantage musically, allowing him to form an important emotional connection with the audience that he couldn’t achieve with an ensemble.
“I don’t use a full band because of this thing called money that I don’t have enough of,” he laughs. “But really, the primary reason is because I find it most engaging to perform as a soloist, especially when people are seeing me for the first time. I think that often solo artists make the mistake of feeling like their music is inadequate, and that’s just not true. I like presenting the music to people in its rawest state, and that’s why I use the loop pedal – I can do it all by myself instead of doing rehearsals. I mean, I’ve played with a band many times and it’s rewarding, but it’s just a real struggle for me.”
While vintage soul music can seem kind of old-fashioned these days, Sumney is one of those taking the reigns and reinventing the genre sonically yet respectfully. His talents have scored him a support slot on tour with James Blake, the chance to perform at the renowned Radio City Music Hall in New York, and collaborations with an impressive list of established artists like Solange, Beck, Local Natives, and most recently the Brainfeeder legend Thundercat. The result of the latter partnership – the single ‘Lonely World’ – sets a lofty precedent for anyone with whom Sumney might work in the future.
“I opened for Thundercat three years ago in LA, and somehow I just conned him into being down to play music with me,” Sumney says. “I’m still not even sure how it happened – I kind of just texted him and asked him to play on something, and he said yes. You always think people who are so much more brilliant than you are going to say no, but he just came in and smashed it – the entire intro on ‘Lonely World’ is literally just him improvising. Incredible.
“I only partially grew up in America so there’s a bunch of cultural things that I missed – Radio City in New York where I played with James is one of them. It’s probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever performed in.
“There’s a lot of people I’d like to work with eventually, but I’m always afraid to say, because what if they read this and think I’m lame? Haxan Cloak, Unknown Mortal Orchestra… Kimbra and I have always wanted to do something together but it’s just never happened. I’m really terrified of all of them.”
But while his collaborations have entitled Sumney to a degree of respect from artists worldwide, it is his original material that’s made for his strongest work yet. His recently released Lamentations EP is a lush, heartbreaking and captivating journey into the inner workings of his mind. The songs are not only meant to be motivating but introspective, with their themes of alienation, self-worth and lost love. As for the potential arrival of a full-length album, Sumney remains enigmatic.
“[Lamentations is] basically just a collection of songs that I took from my upcoming album I had been working on,” he says. “I kind of just decided abruptly that I would put it out – three of the songs on there weren’t even recorded [at the time]. In all honesty, it was a bit rushed, and we announced it before it was even finished. I ended up finishing it in two-and-a-half weeks, and it seemed quite bizarre at the time, but now I think it’s great. It worked out for the better I guess … For an album, I’m almost done. But I would just say stay tuned.”
Australia is the next stop on Sumney’s busy calendar. He will be travelling here over the summer for a range of shows, including a spot at Sydney Festival, and he says the emphasis will be on the emotion – and not just his own overwhelming excitement at performing in a city that is high on the list for many of his peers.
“Hopefully everyone expects to cry, because I love giving people an emotional experience,” he says. “I mean, I’m going to cry. I’m definitely over the moon and extremely excited.”
Lamentationsis out now independently, and Moses Sumney appears at St. Stephen’s Uniting Church Saturday January 14 and at theMagic Mirrors Spiegeltent on Sunday January 15, as part of Sydney Festival 2017.
