Sister Crayon is a Sacramento indie/electronic project led by vocalist and songwriter Terra Lopez, built around downtempo, atmospheric music that blends live drums, programmed beats, synths and dramatic female vocals.[1][2] Submerge consistently identified the act as local — "our beloved Sister Crayon," "hometown heroes," and a Sacramento "Home Base" — and explicitly called Lopez and Dani Fernandez "native Sacramento."[3][2][4][5]
At a glance
- Origin: Sacramento, CA — repeatedly framed as a local/hometown band; described as a "native Sacramento duo" in 2015.[3][2][5][4]
- Founded by Terra Lopez circa 2006, growing out of the breakup of her prior band The Evening Episode.[6][3]
- Core sound: downtempo, intense indie rock/trip-hop with operatic vocals, mixing live drums and programmed percussion with keys, synths and guitar.[2]
- Discography traced in Submerge: Loneliness Is My Mother's Gun (2009), Enter Into Holy (Or)ders EP, Bellow (2011), and Devoted (2015).[6][7][5]
- Signed at various points to Juene Été Records (Chicago) and Manimal Vinyl.[6][2]
- In July 2016, the project rebranded as Rituals of Mine, signed to Warner Bros. Records, and continued releasing music through 2020.[8][9][10]
Origin and members
Sister Crayon began as a solo vehicle for Terra Lopez. Submerge reported that the seeds of the band were sown "three years ago" relative to a 2009 interview — i.e., around 2006 — when Lopez's prior band broke up and left her performing solo.[6] A 2010 retrospective tied this directly to the demise of The Evening Episode, stating that had that band not split, "Terra Lopez would not have gone on to create our beloved Sister Crayon."[3]
Lopez performed alone for about a year before meeting Dani Fernandez, who played drum machine and synthesizer; the pairing shaped the band's sound, fusing Lopez's singer/songwriter material with hip-hop and electronic elements.[6] The band operated as a duo for roughly a year before keyboardist Genaro Ulloa (also rendered Ulloa-Juno) joined.[6] Drummer Nicholas Suhr — described as hailing from the Bay Area — was the most recent addition as of mid-2009, joining only a "week or two" before the band recorded.[6]
At the band's first full-band performance (February 2009 at Luigi's Fun Garden), the lineup was Lopez, Fernandez (on MPC beat machine), Ulloa (keyboards/synths) and drummer Leon Smith.[1] By the Bellow era (2011) the lineup centered on Lopez, Fernandez (synth/keyboards) and Suhr (drums), with Ulloa credited as a former member who wrote the song "Ixchel, The Lady Rainbow."[7]
By 2015 the project had pared down to a duo of Lopez and Fernandez, with Submerge calling them "the creative force known collectively as Sister Crayon" and noting Fernandez had been living in Oakland.[5]
Local status
The evidence that Sister Crayon is a Sacramento-origin act is strong and repeated. Submerge called the band "local band Sister Crayon" and "our indie darlings" in 2011, headlined a 2015 feature "Native Sacramento duo Sister Crayon," listed their "Home Base" as "Sacramento, Calif." in 2011, and described them as "hometown heroes" opening for a touring act in 2016.[7][5][2][4] Lopez herself referred to Sacramento as "our hometown" in 2015.[5] The band's formation, early shows and recording history are all situated in Sacramento and at the Sacramento studio The Hangar.[1][6][7]
Releases (as traced across articles)
- Loneliness Is My Mother's Gun (2009): Released earlier in 2009 via Chicago indie label Juene Été Records. Lopez described it as "bedroom recordings" — essentially her solo material, with Fernandez on a couple of tracks — that she had not originally intended to release; the label approached her and paid for it.[6] The album's title was described as Beatles-inspired.[1]
- Enter Into Holy (Or)ders (EP): The band's first proper full-band recording, made at The Hangar and produced by the band with engineer Scott McChane/McShane. Suhr learned and wrote his drum parts in the studio. Sessions ran 14–18 hour days and were described as "intense." A CD release party was set for Aug. 21, 2009.[6][7] (Submerge variously called this an album and, later, the "first Sister Crayon EP.")[7]
- Bellow (2011): The band's debut LP. Sessions spanned about a year and a half at The Hangar with engineer Scott McShane, who had produced the prior EP. Originally conceived as a five-song EP written by Lopez and Fernandez (with "I'm Still the Same Person" the only pre-released track), it expanded to ten songs after the first batch was finished. Closing tracks included the one-take ballad "Ixchel, The Lady Rainbow" (written by former member Genaro Ulloa) and the brighter "Souls of Gold."[7] The album's lyrics drew on French writer Jean Genet and 20th-century Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa.[6][7] A release party was held at Luigi's Fungarden on Feb. 19, 2011.[7]
- Devoted (2015/2016): Originally released in February 2016 on Rodriguez-Lopez Productions, then remastered by Tom Coyne and re-released on Warner Bros. Records on September 30, 2016 under the Rituals of Mine name.[11][9] The Devoted sessions began in June 2015 as the stripped-down Lopez/Fernandez duo recording "on their own."[5] Demoed in Sacramento and Oakland, then recorded over two weeks in St. Augustine, Florida with producer Wes Jones; on the band's last day, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta asked to help produce the record, a connection from Sister Crayon having toured with one of his projects in 2013.[5] A single, "Ride or Die," was released as a video to coincide with the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling, reflecting Lopez and Fernandez being openly gay.[5]
A further title, Cynic, is referenced by Lopez in 2015 as an earlier release whose lyrics dealt straightforwardly with her mother, father and childhood; the article does not give its date.[5]
Rebrand: Rituals of Mine (2016–)
In July 2016, Sister Crayon announced it was rebranding as Rituals of Mine, with the new name drawn from a lyric on Devoted. Fernandez said the name "totally resonates with what we do."[8] The transition coincided with a major-label signing: the band signed to Warner Bros. Records after A&R Vice President Samantha Maloney — a neighbor of manager Shawn Carrano — heard their music through Carrano and championed them. Lopez recalled the moment of hearing the news: "I called Dani and I was shaking and she started crying."[8][9]
As Rituals of Mine, the band toured with the Deftones in 2016, including an early show on the arena-sized Fresno stage in July 2016 and a broader tour with the band in October 2016.[8][10] The reissued Devoted arrived September 30, 2016 on Warner Bros.[11]
The band continued releasing music through Carpark Records, releasing the Sleeper Hold EP on October 4, 2019, and the full-length Hype Nostalgia in 2020.[10]
Early releases and notable collaborations
Sister Crayon's debut music video, for the track "(In) Reverse," was directed by New York fashion photographer Robert Ascroft and aired on MTV's LOGO network in May 2010.[12]
In 2010, the band released a split 7" with Warpaint on Manimal Vinyl as a David Bowie tribute. Warpaint covered "Ashes to Ashes" and Sister Crayon covered "The Bewlay Brothers"; the limited translucent red edition was pressed to 900 copies.[13][9]
Recording home: The Hangar
Sister Crayon's early-to-mid catalog was tied to The Hangar, a Sacramento warehouse recording studio (home of Tape Op magazine, owned by John Baccigaluppi) that had once been a punk venue. Lopez "mixed parts of their record" there, and the band logged marathon sessions for both the Holy (Or)ders EP and Bellow with engineer Scott McShane.[6][14][7]
Scene relationships and notable shows
Sister Crayon was deeply networked into the Sacramento scene:
- The band's first full-band show was Feb. 7, 2009 at Luigi's Fun Garden.[1] Luigi's Fungarden recurred as a home venue, including the Bellow release party.[7]
- In 2009 they toured on the "Broke Bitches Tour" alongside fellow Sacramentans Agent Ribbons, traveling in a red Volvo station wagon.[6]
- Chelsea Wolfe appears in tour photos and recollections from the band's early touring period.[6][3]
- Sister Crayon performed at Submerge's 100th Issue Party on Dec. 16, 2011 at Ace of Spades, on a bill of Sacramento acts including Tera Melos, Ganglians, Zuhg, Random Abiladeze with DJ Rated R, and Early States. At that point they were signed to Manimal Vinyl Records and had recently toured with The Album Leaf.[2]
- In January 2012, Lopez announced she would host all-ages, low-cost (never more than $5) live music nights at Broadacre Coffee, opening Jan. 27, 2012 with Exquisite Corps, Garrett Pierce and a DJ set by Lopez and Fernandez — an effort to add all-ages venues to the city.[15]
- Lopez guested on the local electronic duo Tel Cairo's 2013 album Voice of Reason, appearing on the track "Twelve Paths Toward Movement" alongside hip-hop artist TAIS; Cameron Others of Tel Cairo and Lopez were described as "damn near best friends."[16]
- Drummer Omar Barajas toured with Sister Crayon before joining the Sacramento band Cove; he described Sister Crayon's music as "electronically driven with heavy beats."[17]
- Sister Crayon played the 2014 TBD Festival in West Sacramento, and returned in 2015 to spin a DJ set at the official TBD Fest after parties (hosted by Requiem Events at Midtown BarFly).[5][18]
- The band's first local show after Devoted was at Harlow's on Aug. 1, 2015 (with DLRN and Stevie Nader), preceded by a DJ set at Dive Bar.[5]
- In April 2016 Sister Crayon opened for touring indie rock band Built to Spill at Harlow's (April 14, 2016), a show booked by promoter Brian McKenna of Abstract Entertainment; Submerge called them "hometown heroes."[4]
- As Rituals of Mine, the band opened for the Deftones in Fresno in July 2016 and completed a broader Deftones tour in October 2016.[8][10]
The 2010 electronica feature on Tycho/Command Collective name-checked Sister Crayon (alongside CityState) as fresh local talent that could bring new life to Sacramento's electronic scene.[19]
Sound and influences
Submerge characterized the band as downtempo, "yet intense" indie rock / trip-hop with "operatic and dramatic female vocals."[2] Early performances were likened to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, CocoRosie and Björk, with the latter two cited as big influences on Lopez.[1] As fan touchstones the magazine listed Portishead, The XX and MGMT.[2] Lyrically, Lopez drew on the writers Jean Genet and Fernando Pessoa.[6][7] By Devoted, the duo cited Chicago footwork/juke, deep house and drum-and-bass as influences on their beat-driven sound.[5]