ARTICLE BY JAMIE SKOWRON
PHOTO BY VERONICA MUNOZ
Originally from Sacramento, the quartet known as Sister Crayon had no trouble conveying the beauty of the world in every one of their songs, with vocalist and effect processor Terra Lopez leading the pilgrimage. Los Angeles’s summer nights retain the potential of viscous dreamy events, and tonight you could just feel the energy bleeding through the crisp air, promising something amazing would occur.
With the venue only half-full at downbeat, Sister Crayon poured their soul into an incredible performance—with a perfect unison of texture, rhythm, and harmony. In addition to Lopez, the band’s arsenal consisted of Nicholas Suhr, a beastly acoustic drummer with some electronic pads; Dani Fernandez on synthesizer plus effects processing; and Genarro Ulloa, a dual keyboard player who also took on duties as the bassist and guitar player. Sister Crayon’s sound was reminiscent of Bjork and Denali, with the confidence of heavy rock and the mysticism of iconic electronic music. The set was ethereal and dreamy, but Suhr definitively propelled this band into another realm, with seemingly minimal sampling and a heavy reliance on the band’s live performance of electronic and acoustic sounds.
The night’s aura was brought back to Earth when the band delivered their version of Notorious B.I.G’s “Going Back To Cali,” with exponentially more emotion and soul than the original. By mid-set, I was totally blown away at what a musically cohesive performance I was involved in, as not many texture-based artists with electronic tools can deliver a better sound live than on record. The experience was amplified by the eccentric visuals that layered the wall behind the band.
As the venue filled with more people and the collective energy began to grow, the concert built to a beautifully climatic acapella section that felt like “the eye of the storm”—so serene and memorable. Lopez’s voice is incredible, with great stamina and perfectly complimented by the rhythmic and textural battlefield projected by the rest of the band. This humble group shows so much promise in the years to come and completely transcends the indie/electro scene, let alone Los Angeles, while setting drastic marks of progression to inspire artists to come. Sister Crayon is definitely worth paying attention to!
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