For the release of their new single “Too Late / One of Us”, we sat down with the San Francisco rock band, TREASVRE, to talk more in-depth about their past, present, and future projects.
Blending elements of shoegaze and post-rock, this iconic band formed by five San Francisco natives, brings rich synth textures and heavy guitar riffs to their audience. Vocalists Sabrina Simonton and Samantha Peña create wistful harmonies that bring to surface emotions of nostalgia, melancholy, and hopefulness found in their lyrics. The drama and depth conveyed in the music create a distinctly cinematic quality that captures the complex range of human emotion in beautiful and inspiring ways.
How would you describe your style?
We like to incorporate different genre stylings, but we tend to describe our sound as atmospheric rock. We love the saturated sounds of shoegaze and post-rock and the heaviness of stoner rock and metal. Sometimes we like to add ethereal elements to our sound, especially using synths and vocals. We usually gravitate towards the dark but beautiful kind of aesthetic.
When did you decide to form the band? How did it all start?
TREASVRE started as the side project of our guitar players, Julian and Jason, and they recruited the rest of us. Evan and Julian are friends from high school, so he was next to join as a drummer, and through him, Sabrina became involved playing synths and vox. We spent some time as four-piece experimenting with different sounds until we finally convinced Sam to become our bassist and join Sabrina on vocals. It definitely took some time, but eventually, all the pieces fell into place.
What makes you unique?
We’re unique in the way our different musical backgrounds and influences come together and gel into a very specific sound that’s hard to categorize. Sabrina loves 80’s new wave, Evan is into dark electronic music, Sam likes sad folk songs, and Julian and Jason just really love pure unadulterated rock n roll in all its forms. It’s really a great experience to see our varied influences synthesize into something new when we write music together. It’s something that we couldn’t create individually, or with anyone other than the five of us.
In just a few words, I would love to know what it means for each one of you to be part of the band.
Sam: It’s like therapy.
Sabrina: Creativity and community.
Jason: I love collaborating with my friends.
Julian: It’s all about creating something bigger than ourselves.
Evan: Beats watching Netflix every night!
What was your goal when you first started and how has it changed over the years?
The main goal, in the beginning, was to just write music with friends. As more people were added to the project, the sound evolved, and we were able to hone in on what we wanted to do creatively. Over the years we’ve definitely become more invested in it, more focused on getting our music out there, and become more active in our community. We used to be really focused on live shows, but when all events got canceled for the foreseeable future, we had to step outside our comfort zone and adapt our live performance online. We began creating more video content, booking online events, and even had a virtual release party for our latest EP, Devils / Echoes. With more releases lined up through the end of the year, we’re working on other creative ways we can reach people with our music. While we still love writing songs together as friends, our goals have definitely evolved as we’ve grown and the world has changed.
If you could give one piece of advice to young artists that are just starting out in the industry, what would it be?
Make your art your priority, and don’t let your skill or self-doubt hold you back. You’ll get out of it what you put into it, so it’s worth the investment if it’s really what you want to do. Commitment is key.
With the release of their new EP “Too Late / One of Us” coming out today on their Bandcamp and streaming platforms everywhere, TREASVRE also have a music video in the works.
Photo credit: Jeff Straw - Instagram
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