June 18, 2016
Off the 405
Getty Museum, Los Angeles
At just 24 years old, and only performing music since 2013, Moses Sumney is an artist emerging in a big way. Despite only a few recordings under his belt, his incomparable vocal style and dynamic live performances have already caught the attention of music luminaries like Solange, Sufjan Stevens, and Beck, and last year he was invited to open for St. Vincent and Erykah Badu at the Hollywood Bowl.
A shy son of a preacher who grew up between California and Ghana, Sumney makes a unique instrument of his voice in more than one way. By building up rhythms and beats through digitally layered and looped vocalizations, he creates a prismatic foundation for his breathy, intricately phrased singing that infuses guitar-based indie-folk with a honeyed soulfulness. SPIN magazine described him as a "soul-folk warrior," and the Pigeons & Planes blog called his voice a "breathing instrument that suggests a depth of feeling lyrics can only partially express."
Sumney appeared at the Getty as part of a highly limited set of performances in summer 2016 at select music festivals, including FORM Arcosanti, Moogfest, Primavera Sound, and the Pitchfork Music Festival.
