Yumi Zouma, an alternative/dream pop band from New Zealand, graces DC via the Black Cat on Saturday, April 9th.
They are touring for their fourth album, Present Tense (via Polyvinyl), which came out in March.
They’ve released three singles from Present Tense, and have developed a thematic series of videos for these three songs. “Astral Projection” (Part III in the trilogy), is about looking to the future after a relationship that didn’t go as planned, and accepting the emotions you feel as that future takes shape.
“Agreeing to make three interconnected videos was something I should have thought about for longer than 15 seconds before agreeing to it.” says director Alex Ross Perry. “The anxiety of conceptualizing a small story, that can be told without dialogue, and set to music, gripped me from the moment my video call with the band ended. Their thoughts were excellent, specific, and unachievable with the time and resources I would be able to pull together. But I began to feel inspired by the concept of taking these vast ideas and situating them within a single location, transforming the aesthetic, visuals, and mood to match the three different songs. My only chance for success was to rely heavily on a great cast and crew to create these spaces and film them in a way that felt consistently alive and unique. Fortunately for me, they all over-delivered.”
Yumi Zouma are finally returning to DC after their aborted tour from early 2020, where COVID-19 ended their remaining shows after the first date. The first show just happened to be in DC on March 12th, at DC9 on the day before the city itself shutdown. That was the last concert I attended for 1-1/2 years, until August 2021, when venues started to reopen.
They started in 2014, and the band is comprised of Christie Simpson (vocals, keyboards), Josh Burgess (vocals, guitar, bass, etc.), Charlie Ryder (guitar, bass, keyboards, etc.) and Olivia Campion (drums).
If you don’t have your tickets yet, correct that immediately. You won’t regret it.
Get your tickets here.
Tickets are $18 ($20 day of show). Doors open at Black Cat at 8pm. Opener is NoSo.
Check out “Astral Projection” and one of my personal favorites, “December” from their album Willowbank.
A DC Journey 