Breach the Summit
Irvine, California, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2011 | SELF
Music
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Breach the Summit, a young indie pop band from Irvine that nabbed a best new artist nomination last year, showed remarkable growth with confident stage presence and a much more mature sound. The group has built a solid following while honing its act, and the single “Step,” heard recently on KROQ’s Locals Only program, is strong, although only a small taste of what this blossoming quartet can do. - Kelli Skye Fadroski (OC Register)
OC Music Awards Showcase #1: Breach The Summit, Ceasefire, The Devious Means, Jeramiah Red, The Field Trip
January 8, 2014 5:11 PM
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breach the summit OC Music Awards Showcase #1: Breach The Summit, Ceasefire, The Devious Means, Jeramiah Red, The Field Trip
On a beautiful Santa Ana night, five Orange County bands vied for Best Live Band at the elegantly retro Yost Theater. This long-loved musical treasure was the perfect backdrop for the OC Music Awards’ modern rock and roll glamor. At this point, the awards aren’t just a wide-eyed ingénue amongst a sea of artists, but a reputable, well-organized catalyst for creativity to be encouraged and exalted. Almost in reflection of that, the five bands that played last night were all OC Music Awards veterans: Breach The Summit, Ceasefire, The Devious Means, Jeramiah Red, and The Field Trip. Being veterans (and from what we could see, all good friends), the bands each brought their own brand of polished energy. There wasn’t any frenetic worry or anxiousness. Playing in front of their core audiences was something they were all very well-acquainted with.
The first band up was young indie-pop group, Breach The Summit. A trip around the sun has served these boys well, as their newer sound is less nervous and showcases their inherent musicality. Drummer/frontman Olen Kittleson has perfected the art of pulling back and pulling the audience into his intimate space, letting them follow his gorgeous tenor falsettos into a wide spectrum of sound backed up hints of tribal, almost tropical tremors of percussion. They’ve added Kody Buxton as their permanent bassist and the band just released an EP called The City on November 4th of last year and said the very “collaborative” album is about the “overarching topic of making it in the music industry and the difficulties of devoting so much time to being a musician.” Clearly, that time did not go to waste. - Nadia Noir (KROQ)
Discography
EP - Methods of Transportation (2012)
EP - Family (2013)
EP - The City (2013)
Photos
Bio
Irvine, California-based indie pop band Breach The Summit features Olen Kittelsen (vocals/drums), Sam Beresford (keyboards/piano), Jacob Berger (guitar/backing vocals), and Kody Buxton (bass/backing vocals).
The name Breach The Summit wasnt what the Irvine four-piece began with. Beresford says we used to have an extremely not-unique name and were desperately trying to come up with something better... It was a phone call that Beresford had with a former member of the band that sparked a back and forth discussion of potential band names, with the former member rejecting the majority of them. At the end of the conversation the former member told Beresford to write down Breach The Summit. Understandably Beresford asked why and added thats the stupidest name Ive ever heard. It came down to a vote and Breach The Summit was chosen and it has grown on them since. Its a part of who they are and Beresford cant imagine them being called anything else.
The broad genre of indie pop that Breach The Summit creates comes from a variety of influences. The four band members all listen to tons of different music and share their new discoveries with each other. Whilst they get a lot of comparisons, there isnt one that is constant. They rather like to think of themselves as a bit of everything including Two Door Cinema Club, Young The Giant, Foals, Walk The Moon, Death Cab For Cutie, Bastille, Kings Of Leon and Vampire Weekend amongst many more. This sound that combines everything, but doesnt single out one thing is a little bit of a trend with indie bands of late, but one thing sets Breach The Summit apart becomes obvious when you see them in the live environment Kittelsen is the lead singer...and the drummer. Beresford remarks people are usually pretty surprised when they learn that and wonder how its possible. Beresford himself doesnt even know, but Kittelsen makes it work pretty damn well.
They released their latest EP The City in November 2013 and it is an EP that differs lyrically, but has an overarching theme that speaks to the road to success in music. The name The City was actually a working title for You Dont Know, which Beresford says is a good representation of the theme of the EP as a whole. Living in Southern California and Los Angeles puts Breach The Summit right at the epicentre of the music industry, with LA almost demanding the best out of everyone if you want any chance of succeeding. Therefore, The City EP is all about trying to overcome all of the obstacles and make it in the music industry.
When it comes down to things that Breach The Summit want to achieve in the future, Beresford actually has a file saved on his computer containing a hefty list of goals the band wants to achieve. One of their biggest goals is to play Coachella, with some of the members attending the festival last year; the atmosphere is something that Beresford really wants to be a part of with Breach The Summit in hopefully the not too distant future.
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