Topographies Balance Work, Touring While Writing New Songs
By Deborah Sexton
One of the biggest challenges any new band faces in today’s music scene is how to be heard. And yet, when the magic is there, somehow the word gets out. This has been the story of Topographies, one of the best new bands to emerge from the San Francisco Bay area scene in recent history.
Self-described as “a band that meshes guitars and hushed vocals of ’90s shoegaze with the urgency and mechanical rhythms of post-punk,” this quartet consists of Gray Tolhurst, lead vocals, guitar; Jeremie Ruest, guitar; Justin Oronos, bass; and Lauren Grubb, drums. They immediately captured the hearts of DKFM listeners from the moment they were featured on New Tracks Weekend in March 2018.
Their first single “Pink Thoughts,” ended up as one of the top 20 shoegaze and dream pop tracks for the station that month, a ranking solely determined by listeners who vote using the DKFM App.
Formed in 2017, their first record came out in May 2018 as a self-titled, two-song EP featuring “Pink Thoughts,” and “Roman Figures.” It was self-released as a 7-inch vinyl disc and a digital download on Bandcamp.
In January of this year, Topographies was invited to do a Part Time Punks live session where they recorded two My Bloody Valentine covers, “SueIsFine” and “I Only Said”, and two original songs, “Open Up” and “Cherry Blossom”. These were released on cassette, available only at live shows, and as a digital download on Bandcamp.
“We did the live session to correspond with a My Bloody Valentine Night Part that Time Punks did at the Echoplex,” says Tolhurst, lead vocals, guitar. “The mixing was done by Josiah Mazzaschi, who owns The Cave Studio in LA. He’s also in Bizou, with whom we played a couple of shows during SXSW.”
Part Time Punks is a weekly Sunday-night event at The Echoplex, a club in Los Angeles. Since its launch in May 2005 by founder, booker and DJ Michael Stock, some nights are dancing with Stock spinning dark wave, shoegaze, cold wave, Goth, post-punk and more. Other nights feature live music from currently relevant artists.
The next recognition of this band’s potential and greatness came when it was selected to be an official showcase performer for SXSW, despite having only a total of six published songs in its catalog.
Once a part of the SXSW lineup, San Francisco Bay area independent music blog and podcast, The Bay Bridged was quick to declare Topographies as one of the SXSW bands they were most excited to see. And they were not disappointed, including the band in a post-SXSW review you can read here.
Having returned from their tour in March, which in addition to five SXSW shows also included stops in Los Angeles, San Diego, El Paso, Texas; Marfa, Texas; Denton, Texas; Taos, N.M. and Tucson, Ariz., the band hopes to make it out to the East Coast for some shows before the end of the year. In the meantime, the priority is to work on recording at least four new songs, which may be released as an EP.
“We’ve been working on new music for the past few months,” says Tolhurst. “We are recording with Monte Vallier. He owns Ruminator Audio, based in San Francisco, and has worked with bands like Weekend, Houses of Heaven, Glass Idols, and Soft Moon. Those are all great bands that are in the general wheelhouse of what we do.”
Other artists band members draw inspiration from include Be Forest, Belong, Flying Saucer Attack, Soft Kill, Women, Great Ytene, Deafcult, Wray, Beliefs, Nothing, The Chameleons, Chain of Flowers, Death Bells, Slowdive, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Low, Pale Saints, Chapterhouse, The Silent Party, Boy Harsher, and The Cure.
With all four members having full-time jobs, it isn’t easy trying to write and record music, tour, and do all the other necessary tasks a band must do to survive. But according to Tolhurst, the sacrifices they have to make are more than worth it. “We rehearse at night, and we put our extra money into making music. Yes, it is a challenge, but what else might we spend our money on? We have a really good time, and we meet a lot of interesting people. We get to see a lot of other bands. It’s something you have to do. It’s a sacrifice we have to make as artists,” he says.
As a part of a thriving local music scene, Topographies was easily able to name a variety of local bands they love including Houses of Heaven, San Francisco; Fearing, Oakland; Cruel Summer, San Francisco; Marbled Eye, Oakland; Near Dark, Oakland; and Balms, San Francisco.
According to Ruest, unfortunately, small to medium clubs are getting “wiped out” in the San Francisco area, and it’s getting harder as a lesser-known band to even find a place to play. However, Bottom of The Hill, Thee Parkside, and The Knockout are some places to check out if you are in town. In Oakland, the Elbo Room: Jack London, The Uptown Nightclub, and The Golden Bull are favorite places for live indie music.
One of the best ways to support the artists you love, says Tolhurst, is to get out and see live shows. “It’s wonderful to be interested in music, but it can’t persist without people supporting it. Every individual is really important.”
The lead singer also loves the quantity and diversity of music being produced. “Music has become so fragmented. It’s everything at once. You can like anything. You can see a hip hop band one night and a shoegaze band the next, and it’s all wonderful. Just go out and listen to live music.”
Ruest appreciates the support Topographies has received so far. “We’re a fairly new band, and we have just a few fans, but they have been really supportive,” he says. “We appreciate Michael Stock from Part Time Punks and DKFM. You are such a great help to a starting band. Without you, we are nobody.”
Follow Topographies via their social channels: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, and Spotify.
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