September 27, 2024 |
Since forming in 2013, Sunflower Bean have become synonymous with NYC’s flourishing indie scene. Composed of vocalist and bassist Julia Cumming, guitarist and vocalist Nick Kivlen, and drummer Olive Faber, the trio make a lot of noise… the good kind… with a signature, improvisational performance style and distinct artistic direction with a grungy-edge. Beginning their journey as high schoolers, spending their first five years together as a DIY band, the group have now both headlined and supported a number of worldwide tours, garnering a mass fanbase of eyeliner-swiped, vintage-wearing concert-goers. They’re also partial to playing a good ‘ol festival, with gigs at the likes of Glastonbury and Governors Ball safely tucked under their belt.
Today, they released a brand new EP via Lucky Number and it’s an addictive mix of heavy beats infused with raw, unfiltered vocals. Titled Shake, the record marks their first self-produced recorded project. Returning to their roots by referencing the sonic elements of their earliest bodies of work, Show Me Your Seven Secrets and Human Ceremony, the trio integrate rock, heavy metal and earthy tones in all five featured tracks, paying homage to Black Sabbath’s famous head-banging sound. And with plans to release an earthly-elements – earth, wind, water, fire, metal – inspired music video to accompany each song, Shake marks the band’s return to the music world following the release of their last album, Headful of Sugar, in 2022.
As Sunflower Bean gear up for four US club show underplays in NYC, LA, Chicago and Austin, we sat down with the trio to learn about their musical influences, their pre-show rituals and their most memorable mosh pits.
1. Who is Sunflower Bean?
Nick Kivlen: We are Julia, Olive and Nick, a rock trio from New York City.
2. How did the name Sunflower Bean come about?
K: It was a phrase that popped into my head while at a party, I like to think of it completely phonetically now. I liked how it sounded positive and mythical.
Julia Cumming: When I heard Nick say the words Sunflower Bean, I knew I was going to join that band.
Olive Faber: I’ll never forget when Nick said Sunflower Bean for the first time, we were still in high school, at a party in this storage facility that we would also throw shows in. He just said it, and it felt like magic, and the rest is history.
3. What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in your 10+ years experience in the music industry?
K: Let opportunities to do amazing things and making art that you really believe in guide you.
C: Be yourself, no matter the price.
F: Keep going. You’re making art because you have to, otherwise you’re just dying.
4. Who are your musical influences, and why?
K: I’m attracted to music that has an element of sexiness and fantasy. I’m inspired by songs that create a world outside of normal life.
F: Right now I’m really into ’50s and ’60s pop. I think there is something really profound and inspiring about the creativity at that time. No one was trying to do anything other than just document a song, a feeling and I think that is beautiful.
5. Describe the EP in three words?
K: Earth, shaking, melody.
6. Over the years, what has been your favourite performance so far?
K: The tours we did in Asia. It was amazing to go somewhere so far away and engage with other music fans in that shared passion”.
F: A year ago or so we got booked to play the Renn Fair at Reed college and we had no idea what to expect. It was one of the best shows, no one knew who we were or had heard our songs before, but we played the entire EP front to back and the entire concert hall jumping up and down. It was the closest thing to like a mosh pit you’d see in the ’90s. 500 people just bouncing. Really fun.
7. Dead or alive, who would your dream dinner date be and why?
C: Lou Reed. I would love to understand what his mine was like in the throes of conversation.
F: Ughhh! I would love to have dinner with Holly Woodlawn. Me and her would have been best friends I think. It’s a shame she passed away a couple years ago.
8. What’s your dream venue?
K: Any venue with a great audience is my dream. You can play in the dirtiest, worst sounding room in the world and the crowd can transcend you to feeling right where you’re supposed to be.
F: I want to play the local bar in my hometown, I think it would probably be unpleasant to be honest, but that’s kinda why I want to do it.
9. Do you have any pre-show rituals?
K: Watching classic concert clips that get you in the headspace of the magic. Also, partying with friends really helps, I like backstage to feel like a house party. I love to host.
C: I like to warm up, stretch, get into the performance headspace. It’s as sacred as you want it or need it to be.
F: Smoke a cigarette and listen to music.
10. Where do you see yourself in five years?
K: I’m locked into this musical journey for life, I always knew it since I was seven or eight. I never even planned on going to college or doing anything else. I always knew.
F: I’m not really sure, but I like it that way.
Photography by Yulissa Benitez.
