Morningsiders to release debut EP 'Unfocus'
Originally published in the Columbia Spectator, September 17, 2016 | Click to Read
Arguably the biggest band to come out of Columbia since Vampire Weekend, Morningsiders, completely comprised of recent Columbia alumni, will release its new EP "Unfocus" this Friday. The band will perform at an Alumni Arts-supported, sold-out release party on the same day. They will be returning to their alma mater on April 6 for a performance at Postcrypt Coffeehouse.
The band, which was founded in June 2012 at Columbia, writes and plays folk music. Magnus Ferguson, CC '14, plays guitar, Reid Jenkins, CC '14, plays fiddle, Cody Gibson, GSAS '14, plays bass, and David Su, CC '14, plays drums. Every band member sings.
Though the songs might sound different, they are all connected by a common message.
"The album is four stylistically different songs, but they all have themes of having a new phase of our life, and all four songs have this vibe of new decisions to make and the reaction to that, which is [to] take a step back," Jenkins said in an interview with Spectator.
After mastering their college sound, the band members are excited to move on to refining their sound now that their Columbia days are behind them.
"We held out on putting out a project while students, so we definitely felt pressure about our first release and we wanted to show sounds that we made when we first played at John Jay and fraternity houses, but we also wanted to show where we're going as a band because we've changed in our sound and goals... Now we can try out new things," Ferguson said.
As opposed to their previously organized days of classes, Morningsiders now work on a more unstructured schedule and have to focus on more laborious, time-consuming projects.
"This is not something you put in eight hours and you get eight hours worth of work out of it. It's an erratic process now and it can be frustrating after you first graduate because it's hard to be like, today I'm going to finish this song. It's a process," Ferguson said.
Collaboration within the band is essential, as each member plays a different instrument and lends a new perspective to Morningsiders. Together, they can add pieces of what they like into the song, creating a unique sound.
"The general process is that someone will bring in an idea and it'll either be a melody or a full song and then we'll listen and give feedback," Su said.
Because the band mixes folk music with more experimental sounds, the members often employ the process of elimination to create the different rhythms in their songs.
"We may move things around but we continue to work through an idea until it's presentable and we may play things a hundred different ways before we like it," Gibson said.
In response to what genre it is, the band could not fully commit to one style, but felt that their sound is some variation of folk music.
"We have a debate on what our style is, so I asked Instagram and I think my favorite response was 'thought-profolking,'" Gibson said.
The band is excited about how the new EP represents their current style and personality.
"Every recording is a document of the artist [at] a point in time, so we felt we had something worth documenting," Su said.