Sunsabetchez, an up-and-coming EDM collective based out of New Orleans, incorporated a different kind of storytelling experience into its performance on BUKU Music + Art Project’s Back Alley stage on March 12.
The collective, formed six months ago, is composed of New Orleans native producers Chase LaBure, Brendan Pechon and Matthew Zuppardo. This was their first BUKU performance as a group.
TDR: How did you all first start working together?
Chase LaBure: We each have our own individual brands that we’ve developed. I’ve been in the scene for about three and a half years. I played BUKU two years ago. Zuppardo’s been in the scene for about a year and Pechon is our visual designer. He does all of the graphic work for us. We developed the Sunsabetchez trio through a Facebook message group that we used to talk to each other and share music and ideas. Eventually, we had all of this music and all of these cool ideas in this Facebook chat that we just happened to name “Sunsabetchez.” So, we had an opportunity to play Ignition Festival about six months ago in New Orleans East.
Brendan Pechon: We had a 30-foot geodesic dome that we projection mapped. It was crazy.
CL: We had the opportunity to curate our own lineup and stage and from there we decided to make Sunsabetchez a real thing. And here we are playing BUKU.
TDR: What can you tell me about your “Everything Changes” series?
CL: We like to create a story behind our sets. We also have a sort of underground, hard-to-find media outlet. We don’t have a specific Facebook or SoundCloud page.
Matthew Zuppardo: Sunsabetchez itself is born from the internet. It’s just a bunch of s**t put together that makes our lives run the way they do. It’s fueled entirely by the internet, so we want to incorporate ourselves as an entity of the internet instead of just another band. It’s a story.
TDR: How do you try to differentiate yourselves from other producers coming out of New Orleans?
MZ: We have an hour to play today and we want to take as much time as we can to tell a story and not so much play track after track to get people moving. It’s like we create an environment that draws people in as opposed to trying to grab people. People just naturally gravitate toward us. It’s kind of like creating a large magnetic field of sound.
CL: We like to turn heads and have people going, “Son of a b***h!”
TDR: What do you mean by “tell a story” exactly?
CL: For instance, today’s story is the blending of life and technology. It’s the violent clash between them. It’s this concept of becoming technology or becoming human.
TDR: What’s the most memorable event you’ve ever performed at?
BP: I’d have to say Ignition Festival. It was pretty neat. We had a 35-foot structure burning 40 feet in front of us playing in a projection mapped dome.
CL: We were able to headline that night and it really was one of the highlights of the entire festival. And we’ve heard that from more than just us.
TDR: Are you the founders of your label, Dohm Collective?
CL: We’re three of the six founders of Dohm Collective. We hand-built the dome itself.
TDR: If you had to perform at one music festival or event, which one would you choose?
CL: BUKU and it’s happening.
BP: I really can’t think of a better one for right now than Sunsabetchez at Buku this year.
TDR: Are you working on any new projects right now?
CL: Always. There’s a constant flow of ideas going everyday amongst us.
BP: Ideas on how to incorporate the crowd and incorporate the environment. A lot of things.
TDR: Are you going to be sticking around for the rest of Buku? What sets are you looking forward to?
MZ: Absolutely. Feed Me. I’m really looking forward to Sunsabetchez, personally.