Loma | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Dripping Springs, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Labels | Sub Pop |
| Members |
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Loma is an American indie rock band formed in 2016 in Dripping Springs, Texas, by singer and visual artist Emily Cross, multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Meiburg and musician and producer/engineer Dan Duszynski. [1] [2] The group formed after Cross Record (Cross and Duszynski) toured with Meiburg's band Shearwater, leading the three to collaborate. They released their self-titled debut album on Sub Pop in 2018, followed by Don't Shy Away (2020) and How Will I Live Without a Body? (2024). [3] [4] [5]
Loma formed in 2016 in Dripping Springs, Texas, after Shearwater frontman Jonathan Meiburg began working with Cross Record members Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski following a shared tour. [1] The trio recorded their self-titled debut album at Duszynski's home studio, Dandy Sounds, a rammed earth house whose acoustics and surrounding wildlife contributed field recordings incorporated into the music. [1] [2] During the sessions, they developed a signature vocal approach in which Cross's voice was subtly pitched down, described by the band as a "sonic mask” that became a recurring feature of their work. [3] Loma was released by Sub Pop in 2018. [3]
Meiburg and Duszynski began developing new material at Duszynski's Texas studio while Cross was touring her solo project, with Cross joining later to select and refine the songs. [4] Don’t Shy Away was released in 2020 on Sub Pop and recorded largely at the same studio. The album broadened the group's sound with programmed electronics, horns, free jazz-influenced textures and extensive field recordings. [4] Meiburg wrote most of the lyrics, Cross shaped vocal and structural choices, and Duszynski oversaw engineering and mixing. [1] The group discovered Brian Eno was a fan after he praised the album track "Black Willow" on BBC Radio, which led to their inviting him to collaborate on the track "Homing." [6]
Following Don't Shy Away, the members of Loma lived in different countries—Cross in Dorset, Meiburg in Germany and Duszynski at Dandy Sounds in Texas—and began work on a third album remotely before reconvening in England to record in the stone house where Cross works as an end-of-life doula and in a nearby chapel used for natural reverb. [5] The album title comes from AI-generated text trained on Laurie Anderson's work, elements of which appear in "How It Starts" and "Affinity." How Will I Live Without a Body? was released by Sub Pop on June 28, 2024.