Sur Back
Jupiter, FL | Established. Jan 01, 2015
Music
Press
Jupiter, Florida’s Caroline Sans — aka Sur Back — is set to drop her new Kitsch EP this Friday, but you can stream the whole thing now: it’s a self-assured debut featuring 4 tracks of dreamy, vibrantly produced art-pop, including a newly remastered version of the aforementioned stunner “Trophy Daughter” that sounds particularly massive. Listen below, and get Kitsch July 1st on iTunes: - Gorilla Vs. Bear
Jupiter, Florida’s Caroline Sans, aka Sur Back, is set to release her gorgeous debut EP Kitsch next month, and we’re psyched to premiere the video for her exquisite new single. The ambitious and hypnotically woozy “Trophy Daughter” is her loftiest (and best) song yet, with Caroline’s striking vocals warranting all of the inevitable St. Vincent comparisons, and that crucial breakbeat anchoring the track’s eerie, upwardly swirling ethereal pop vibes. Caroline says of her self-directed video for the song:
“Trophy Daughter” was born out of a coming-of-age type narrative, and on the surface, it might seem like just a personal celebration of femininity and aspiration. But I really strove to make a palatable pop song that uses its accessibility to further the idea of a completely inclusive feminine spectrum – one that rebrands the caring, maternal archetype so that women not only celebrate themselves, but use the successes of their personal feminism to nurture social movements that currently have less support.”
Sur Back’s Kitsch EP is out July 1.
Read More: video premiere: Sur Back – Trophy Daughter | http://www.gorillavsbear.net/video-premiere-sur-back-trophy-daughter/?trackback=tsmclip - Gorilla Vs. Bear
Sur Back, the solo project "experimental pop brainchild" of Caroline Sans, is sharing her new track "Valentino" exclusively with EARMILK. The track, produced and written by the former ballerina pirouettes between layered combinations of guitars, vocals, and beats, along with various string and brass instruments, a la St. Vincent. It's haunting, yet light, whimsical, but domineering.
When asked about the track, Caroline shared with EARMILK:
"I wrote Valentino with the idea of scoring a fashion show—it's straightforward and confident but also jagged and theatrical, and I like to think it sounds like walking in heels. Lyrically, it's a conglomeration of thoughts on social hierarchy and mental health; sonically, it includes a kiss, a bite into an apple, and a cathedral choir chopped and screwed."
The track is off her forthcoming second EP, Kitsch II, due out February 23rd, 2018. The formally trained dancer and current producer and musician, has embedded the transitional experience of moving from her childhood home in Florida to New York City in the eloquent poetic track. Between the ethereal vocals, you can feel the wide-eyed optimism associated with taking on a new adventure. It's in jaggedness of the track but also the earnest and straight forward lyrics in lyrics. In "Valentino" she seems to sing about the facade of someone she's crossed paths with in her new the empire sate home, crooning, "buried your Rolex in tasteless snow / forget all about it, dear / limping back into genuine American smirk / candied pink coral under the skull / is that all you take me for?"
With nods to in vogue trends matched with a sound that seems to dance the way she used to, Sur Back's "Valentino" accomplishes an echoing experience that is not just trendy – it's timeless. - Earmilk
SONG OF THE DAY
The solo endeavour of Caroline Sans, a classically trained ballerina and self-taught musician, Sur Back is a consummate exploration of baroque pop.
Taken from EP Kitsch II and following previous single “Valentino”, “Anyone Else” is a multifaceted improvisational work full of whimsy and mysticism. Complex layering and gorgeous harmony borrow from elements of classical and folk music and reflect Sur Back’s transition from rural idle to city living; the main theme of the record.
Speaking about the song and the EP, Caroline said: "This song and Providence (another song on the EP) started out as one, and it was partly about the excitement of being in a new city for the first time and finding joy in observing the lives of strangers. Anyone Else/Providence was one of the first songs I wrote for Sur Back and it was all on guitar. As I got more invested in production over the years, I decided to make it an orchestral piece with many movements, but it became so long that I decided to split it into two songs. When I went on tour a couple years ago, I had barely produced the ending and was still playing it on electric guitar, and someone suggested the song was about religion...it’s actually about sex. The really beautiful, timeless, placeless kind where you’re really in love. I wanted to write about something down-to-earth but let the high stakes speak through the production, like euphoria veiled in mundanity—like if Rogers & Hammerstein wrote about a picnic."
The EP was written, recorded and produced by Sur Back with final mastering duties conducted by Patrick Brown (Zola Jesus, Grimes).
Kitsch II is out 23 February. - The Line of Best Fit
“Trophy Daughter” - Sur Back
You won’t be able to take your eyes off this self-taught producer, guitarist, and singer. Sur Back makes what she likes to call “high and lowbrow art” that blends orchestral instrumentation and jazz-inspired melodies with ’80s synth pop. This vintage-styled video makes us want to stay in bed all day. - Nylon
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Sur Back is the experimental pop brainchild of former Florida ballerina, Caroline Sans. A talented manipulator of both her voice and live performance, Caroline's influences can be heard as clearly as the delicate layers of guitar, vocals and bass in her tracks. Caroline draws the name of her moniker from a natural phenomenon described as "the green ray," first observed by Arctic explorer Sir George Back. The green ray is also said to be a philosophical phenomenon: a moment of epiphany where your thoughts, and the thoughts of those around you are perfectly understood—a heavy struggle that plays a clear role throughout Caroline's tracks. The "Sir" was changed to "Sur" to imply the Turkish translation of "sur"—"steer"— in hopes her music will "steer back" its listeners to epiphanies of their own.
Band Members
Links