Great music often starts out small—some fiddling of guitar strings, the first few chords of "Wonderwall," lyrics doodled amidst homework. With Moses Sumney, it started with a single notebook.
“I started writing music at the age of 12,” Sumney says. “By the time I started performing, I had written more than 100 songs, before I started learning how to play an instrument.”
In fact, all of his songs back then were strictly acappella, with lyrics written down and the melodies memorized. Now the folk-meets-singer-songwriter, who did it all without knowing how to read music, channels those vocal beginnings into intricate, almost bombastic songs like “Everlasting Sigh.”
Sumney, who grew up in San Bernardino County before moving to Ghana, returned to Los Angeles for college and has since become an indie sensation, opening for Karen O on her Crush Songs tour, performing at NYFW with Solange and Kelela, and collaborating with Beck on Song Reader. It’s easy to forget that he only has a scattering of releases on Soundcloud.
Next up, a full-length album, showcasing exactly what Sumney can do. OC recently chatted with the singer over the phone, while he drove around Los Angeles.
JESSICA CHOU: Let’s talk a little about your live show. I feel like given your use of looping, a lot of the experience is lost in the recording.
MOSES SUMNEY: That’s the thing that’s a little tricky and surprising for people. The recordings I have out now are very modest and stripped down. Everything was recorded in the bedroom, but the live show is much more dynamic. People don’t expect it.
So why did you go so bare bones for your EP?
I had never recorded myself before, and I had such little experience with it. Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio recommended that I learn what I like on my own, so he lent me a four-track recorder, and I used that to record my demos. On a four-track, I couldn’t make something super layered and dynamic. But the other reason is that I’m personally a huge fan of early recordings of artists, stuff that’s really lo-fi, stripped down, and weird, so I really wanted to capture that.
You started writing songs really early–you said once in an interview that you had written 120 songs between the age of 12 and 20?
I would just hear these songs in my head, so I had a huge notebook I had written of acappella music with melodies I knew in my head. I don’t know if I would perform them now. They’re a different vibe, they’re a little more juvie. One of the first songs I wrote was called like, “Mesmerizing Eyes."
Most of your music now has a lot of acappella influence. Why is that?
When I was growing up, I didn’t have any instruments at my disposal, because my parents weren’t into me becoming a musician, so it’s always been voice-based. The whole thing for me has been making the most about what I have at my disposal, so I resort to claps and snaps and stomps and hitting the microphone, just making the most of the elements around me. I started doing some looping things, because I had all these musical ideas.
But you’ve started to incorporate guitar into your act, especially in your EP. How did you learn?
I started with the guitar stuff when I was 20, when I moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA. At that point, I wanted to start performing b
“I started writing music at the age of 12,” Sumney says. “By the time I started performing, I had written more than 100 songs, before I started learning how to play an instrument.”
In fact, all of his songs back then were strictly acappella, with lyrics written down and the melodies memorized. Now the folk-meets-singer-songwriter, who did it all without knowing how to read music, channels those vocal beginnings into intricate, almost bombastic songs like “Everlasting Sigh.”
Sumney, who grew up in San Bernardino County before moving to Ghana, returned to Los Angeles for college and has since become an indie sensation, opening for Karen O on her Crush Songs tour, performing at NYFW with Solange and Kelela, and collaborating with Beck on Song Reader. It’s easy to forget that he only has a scattering of releases on Soundcloud.
Next up, a full-length album, showcasing exactly what Sumney can do. OC recently chatted with the singer over the phone, while he drove around Los Angeles.
JESSICA CHOU: Let’s talk a little about your live show. I feel like given your use of looping, a lot of the experience is lost in the recording.
MOSES SUMNEY: That’s the thing that’s a little tricky and surprising for people. The recordings I have out now are very modest and stripped down. Everything was recorded in the bedroom, but the live show is much more dynamic. People don’t expect it.
So why did you go so bare bones for your EP?
I had never recorded myself before, and I had such little experience with it. Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio recommended that I learn what I like on my own, so he lent me a four-track recorder, and I used that to record my demos. On a four-track, I couldn’t make something super layered and dynamic. But the other reason is that I’m personally a huge fan of early recordings of artists, stuff that’s really lo-fi, stripped down, and weird, so I really wanted to capture that.
You started writing songs really early–you said once in an interview that you had written 120 songs between the age of 12 and 20?
I would just hear these songs in my head, so I had a huge notebook I had written of acappella music with melodies I knew in my head. I don’t know if I would perform them now. They’re a different vibe, they’re a little more juvie. One of the first songs I wrote was called like, “Mesmerizing Eyes."
Most of your music now has a lot of acappella influence. Why is that?
When I was growing up, I didn’t have any instruments at my disposal, because my parents weren’t into me becoming a musician, so it’s always been voice-based. The whole thing for me has been making the most about what I have at my disposal, so I resort to claps and snaps and stomps and hitting the microphone, just making the most of the elements around me. I started doing some looping things, because I had all these musical ideas.
But you’ve started to incorporate guitar into your act, especially in your EP. How did you learn?
I started with the guitar stuff when I was 20, when I moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA. At that point, I wanted to start performing b