Moses Sumney
{{short description|American singer-songwriter (born 1992)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Moses Sumney
| label = {{hlist|Terrible|Jagjaguwar|Tuntum}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.mosessumney.com/}}
| landscape = yes
| genre = {{hlist|Indie rock|electro-soul|folk| art rock|baroque pop}}
| occupation = Singer, songwriter, musician, actor
| instruments = Vocals, guitar, piano
| associated_acts = James Blake, Solange Knowles, Sufjan Stevens, Thundercat
| birth_name =
| image = Moses Sumney.jpg
| caption = Sumney performing at Pitchfork Music Festival, 2018
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|May 19, 1992}}
}}
Moses Sumney (born May 19, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. His self-recorded EP, Mid-City Island, was released in 2014. He released another five-song EP in 2016, titled Lamentations. His first full-length album, Aromanticism, was released in September 2017. His second studio album, Græ, was released in 2020. Sumney has performed as an opening act for James Blake, Solange Knowles, and Sufjan Stevens.{{cite web|url=http://vman.com/article/out-of-the-woods-moses-sumney/|title=Out Of The Woods: Moses Sumney|work=VMAN|date=March 30, 2016|access-date=June 10, 2017|archive-date=August 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806145539/https://vman.com/article/out-of-the-woods-moses-sumney/|url-status=dead}} In 2023, he was featured on The Weeknd's HBO TV series The Idol.
Early life
Born in California, Sumney was raised by pastor parents, and moved with his family back to Ghana at the age of 10.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/08/moses-sumney-aromanticism-album-interview|title=Moses Sumney: 'I have an obsession with loneliness, singledom, isolation'|newspaper=The Observer|first=Kate|last=Hutchinson|date=October 8, 2017|access-date=September 3, 2021|archive-date=July 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714020622/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/08/moses-sumney-aromanticism-album-interview|url-status=live}} He described his childhood as "Americanized" by this age and had difficulty adjusting to the culture of Ghana, especially the rural nature of his new environment. There he grew up on a goat farm in Accra and commuted by public bus to school.{{cite web|url=http://issuemagazine.com/moses-sumney/#/|title=Moses Sumney|first=Taylor|last=Lough|work=Issue Magazine|access-date=October 15, 2017|archive-date=April 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422165735/http://issuemagazine.com/moses-sumney/#/|url-status=live}} His family returned to Southern California when Sumney was 16, settling in Riverside.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/|title=Moses Sumney Is Ready to Claim His Spotlight|first=Rawiya|last=Kameir|work=Pitchfork Media|date=February 20, 2020|access-date=March 28, 2020|archive-date=March 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320135509/https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/|url-status=live}}
He did not learn to play any instruments until he was older, writing a cappella music for years instead. Sumney did not perform his musical compositions publicly until he was 20.
After high school, he moved to Los Angeles in 2010 to attend the University of California, Los Angeles.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/20/arts/music/moses-sumney-aromanticism.html|title=Moses Sumney Does Not Sing Love Songs|last=Pareles|first=Jon|date=September 20, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 15, 2018|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406124438/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/20/arts/music/moses-sumney-aromanticism.html|url-status=live}} He majored in creative writing and studied poetry, which helped him improve his songwriting.{{cite web |title=Moses Sumney, A Choir of One |url=https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound-presents-studio-a/moses-sumney-a-choir-of-one |website=KCET |access-date=April 8, 2019 |archive-date=April 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408052103/https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound-presents-studio-a/moses-sumney-a-choir-of-one |url-status=live }}
Musical career
In 2014, Sumney broke into the Los Angeles music scene and caught the eye of many record labels. He said at the time it did not feel right because labels were trying to conform him into a certain image and he was still trying to discover the artist that he wanted to be. He decided to turn down these labels and move to Asheville, North Carolina.{{Cite web|title=Moses Sumney Puts The Industry Behind Him And Explores The In-Between On 'Grae'|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/05/19/858394957/moses-sumney-puts-the-industry-behind-him-and-explores-the-in-between-on-grae|access-date=2020-11-12|website=NPR.org|language=en|archive-date=March 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320135505/https://www.npr.org/2020/05/19/858394957/moses-sumney-puts-the-industry-behind-him-and-explores-the-in-between-on-grae|url-status=live}} His resistance to labels is reflected in his later album, Græ.
Sumney's 2014 debut project, Mid-City Island, is a five-song EP that was self-recorded onto a four-track recorder given to him by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio. The self-released EP was described by Pitchfork as "primarily composed of first-takes and improvisation; the music is stirring but purposefully incomplete".{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/rising/9657-moses-sumney-lost-and-found-in-la/|title=Moses Sumney: Lost and Found in L.A.|website=Pitchfork|first=Ian|last=Cohen|date=June 4, 2015|access-date=October 15, 2018|archive-date=October 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017001808/https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/9657-moses-sumney-lost-and-found-in-la/|url-status=live}} Sumney joined Terrible Records after the release.{{cite web|url=http://www.thefader.com/2015/08/19/moses-sumney-gen-f-interview|title=Moses Sumney Pipes Up|website=The Fader|access-date=June 10, 2017|archive-date=May 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527183120/http://www.thefader.com/2015/08/19/moses-sumney-gen-f-interview|url-status=live}} He considers his songs to be performance based, and that many of his recorded compositions derive from fleshing the songs out through live performance.{{cite web|url=http://www.flaunt.com/content/music/moses-sumney|title=Moses Sumney|first=E. Ryan|last=Ellis|work=Flaunt Magazine|access-date=10 June 2017|archive-date=May 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509081209/http://www.flaunt.com/content/music/moses-sumney|url-status=live}}
He has performed at venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and alongside artists such as Dirty Projectors, Junip, St. Vincent, and Local Natives. Sumney sang on the opening track of Beck's album Song Reader. On September 30, 2016, Sumney released Lamentations, an EP which featured a guest appearance from Thundercat.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22429-lamentations/|title=Moses Sumney: Lamentations Album Review|first=Marcus J.|last=Moore|date=October 7, 2016|website=Pitchfork|access-date=September 14, 2020|archive-date=March 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320135742/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22429-lamentations/|url-status=live}}
Sumney's first full-length album, Aromanticism, was released on September 22, 2017 by Jagjaguwar. It received acclaim from Rolling Stone,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/moses-sumney-on-defying-genres-romantic-myths-on-debut-lp-w513012|title=Moses Sumney Talks Defying Genres, Romantic Myths on Audacious Debut LP|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=October 15, 2018}} The Guardian,{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/24/moses-sumney-aromanticism-review|title=Moses Sumney: Aromanticism review – a single-minded star|last=Empire|first=Kitty|date=September 24, 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-12-06|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=July 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714020622/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/24/moses-sumney-aromanticism-review|url-status=live}} and The New York Times, which also named it one of the best albums of 2017.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/arts/music/best-albums-2017.html|title=The Best Albums of 2017|last1=Pareles|first1=Jon|date=December 6, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 15, 2018|last2=Caramanica|first2=Jon|issn=0362-4331|last3=Russonello|first3=Giovanni|archive-date=December 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206203918/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/arts/music/best-albums-2017.html|url-status=live}} He stumbled across the term "aromantic" when he began writing it back in 2014 and found the term resonated with him.{{Cite journal|url=https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/kzj4xz/moses-sumney-on-aromanticsm-the-lack-of-romantic-attraction-to-others|title=moses sumney on aromanticsm: the lack of romantic attraction to others|journal=I-D|first=Shannon|last=Mahanty|date=8 November 2018|access-date=28 January 2021|archive-date=March 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320141007/https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/kzj4xz/moses-sumney-on-aromanticsm-the-lack-of-romantic-attraction-to-others|url-status=live}} Several songs from the album have been featured in the soundtracks of various television shows. His 2017 single "Doomed" appeared in the Season 6 finale of Netflix's Orange is the New Black, and appeared again in Westworld, Season 3, Episode 3, "The Absence of Field". His 2017 single "Quarrel" appeared in Netflix’s Dear White People. His 2017 song "Plastic" and his 2020 song "Keeps Me Alive" both appeared in HBO's Insecure. The songs "Quarrel", "Doomed", and "Swan Song" all appeared in the 2021 film Swan Song.
Sumney played himself in Season 1 episode 4 of HBO's Random Acts of Flyness.{{cite web |title=Random Acts of Flyness |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7942806/ |website=IMDb |access-date=8 April 2019 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320135505/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7942806/ |url-status=live }} He also appeared in the movie Creed and worked on the soundtrack alongside Ludwig Görannson and Tessa Thompson.
Sumney released his second studio album, Græ, in two parts in 2020. The first part was released on February 21, 2020,{{cite web |last1=Hussey |first1=Allison |title=Moses Sumney Shares Part One of New Album græ: Listen |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/moses-sumney-shares-part-one-of-new-album-grae-listen/ |website=Pitchfork |date=21 February 2020 |access-date=21 February 2020 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320135508/https://pitchfork.com/news/moses-sumney-shares-part-one-of-new-album-grae-listen/ |url-status=live }} and the second part was released on May 15, 2020, accompanied by a physical release of the double album.{{cite web |last1=Monroe |first1=Jazz |title=Moses Sumney Announces New Double Album græ, Shares New Song "Virile" |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/moses-sumney-announces-new-double-album-grae-shares-new-song-virile/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=November 14, 2019 |date=November 14, 2019 |archive-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307032441/https://pitchfork.com/news/moses-sumney-announces-new-double-album-grae-shares-new-song-virile/ |url-status=live }} In March 2020, he released the self-directed music video "Cut Me".{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-moses-sumney-excellent-new-cut-me-video/ |title=Watch Moses Sumney's Excellent New "Cut Me" Video |website=Pitchfork.com |date=2020-03-31 |access-date=2020-05-20 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320135505/https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-moses-sumney-excellent-new-cut-me-video/ |url-status=live }} In May 2020, Sumney released "Bless Me" as a single from the second part of his album, Græ.{{cite web| title=Moses Sumney shares dreamy new track 'Bless Me'| url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/moses-sumney-shares-dreamy-new-track-bless-me-2667064| website=NME| date=12 May 2020| access-date=7 February 2021| archive-date=March 20, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320135743/https://www.nme.com/news/music/moses-sumney-shares-dreamy-new-track-bless-me-2667064| url-status=live}}
In December 2020, Sumney's single "Me in 20 Years" was featured in a special episode of the HBO drama Euphoria.{{Cite web|url=https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34875684/euphoria-special-episode-part-1-2-soundtrack-songs/|title=The Complete Soundtrack to HBO's Special 'Euphoria' Episodes|date=25 January 2021|access-date=December 11, 2020|archive-date=February 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222161327/https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34875684/euphoria-special-episode-part-1-2-soundtrack-songs/|url-status=live}} Sumney contributed a cover of the Metallica song "The Unforgiven" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021.{{Cite web|last=He|first=Richard S.|date=2021-09-10|title=Every Metallica Blacklist cover ranked from worst to best|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/every-metallica-blacklist-cover-ranked-from-worst-to-best|access-date=2021-10-22|website=loudersound|language=en|archive-date=October 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026061243/https://www.loudersound.com/features/every-metallica-blacklist-cover-ranked-from-worst-to-best|url-status=live}} On December 8, 2021, Sumney released a full-length concert film, Blackalachia, recorded over two days in the Blue Ridge Mountains. An accompanying live album, Live from Blackalachia, was released on December 10.
Awards and honors
In 2018, Moses Sumney's self-directed music video "Quarrel" won a SXSW Film Festival Special Jury Award, and was nominated for a Camerimage award and UKMVA. In 2020, his self-directed video for "Cut Me" was nominated for a UKMVA for Best Alternative Video - International. Both of his albums have topped the year-end lists of Pitchfork, NPR, New York Times, Stereogum, and more.
Discography
{{Infobox artist discography
| Artist = Moses Sumney
| Studio = 2
| Live = 1
| EP = 5
| Singles = 18
}}
=Studio albums=
=Live albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of live albums, with selected information ! scope="col" style="width:12em;"| Title ! scope="col" style="width:16em;"| Details |
| scope="row"|Live from Blackalachia
|
|
|---|
=Extended plays=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of extended plays, with selected information ! scope="col" style="width:12em;"| Title ! scope="col" style="width:16em;"| Details |
| scope="row"|Mid-City Island
| |
|---|
| scope="row"|Lamentations
|
|
| scope="row"|Make Out in My Car: Chameleon Suite
|
|
| scope="row"|Black in Deep Red, 2014
|
|
| scope="row"|Bryce Dessner: Tenebre {{small|(with Ensemble Resonanz)}}
|
|
| scope="row"|Sophcore
|
|
=Singles=
==As lead artist==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col" style="width:15em;"| Title
! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Year ! scope="col" style="width:10em;"| Album |
|---|
| scope="row"| "Man on the Moon"
| rowspan="2"|2014 | Mid-City Island |
| scope="row"| "Scratch the Surface" / "Forlorn Fantasy"
| rowspan="3" {{n/a|Non-album singles}} |
| scope="row"| "Seeds" / "Pleas"
| 2015 |
| scope="row"| "Everlasting Sigh"
| rowspan="3" | 2016 |
| scope="row"| "Worth It"
| rowspan="2" | Lamentations |
| scope="row"| "Lonely World (Lamentations Version)" |
| scope="row"| "Doomed"
| rowspan="3" | 2017 | rowspan="3" | Aromanticism |
| scope="row"| "Quarrel" |
| scope="row"| "Indulge Me" |
| scope="row"| "Rank & File"
| 2018 | Black in Deep Red |
| scope="row" | "Virile"
| rowspan="2" | 2019 | rowspan="5" | Græ |
| scope="row"| "Polly" |
| scope="row"| "Me in 20 Years"
| rowspan="4"| 2020 |
| scope="row"| "Cut Me" |
| scope="row"|"Bless Me" |
| scope="row"|"The Other Lover" {{small|(with Little Dragon)}} | {{n/a|Non-album singles}} |
| scope="row"|"The Unforgiven"
| rowspan="2"|2021 |
| scope="row"|"Can't Believe It" {{small|(with Sam Gendel)}} | {{n/a|Non-album singles}} |
| scope="row"|"Get It B4"
| 2023 |
| scope="row"| "Vintage"
| rowspan="2"|2024 | rowspan="2"|Sophcore |
| scope="row"| "Gold Coast" |
==As featured artist==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Title
! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Year ! scope="col" style="width:10em;"| Album |
|---|
| scope="row"| "Show Me Love" {{small|(Skrillex remix) (Hundred Waters featuring Chance the Rapper, Moses Sumney, and Robin Hannibal)}} |2016 |{{n/a|Non-album single}} |
| scope="row"| "To Believe" {{small|(The Cinematic Orchestra featuring Moses Sumney)}} |2019 |
| scope="row"| "Cul de Sac" {{small|(Trayer Tryon, Jónsi, and Alex Somers featuring Moses Sumney, Nicole Miglis, and Julianna Barwick)}} |2020 |{{n/a|Non-album single}} |
==Other charted songs==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:4em;"| Details ! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Album |
| scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| US Dance {{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/moses-sumney/chart-history/dan/|title=Moses Sumney Chart History: Hot Dance/Electronic Songs|magazine=Billboard|access-date=February 15, 2022|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215132708/https://www.billboard.com/artist/moses-sumney/chart-history/dan/|url-status=live}} |
|---|
| scope="row"| "Tell Them" {{small|(James Blake featuring Metro Boomin and Moses Sumney)}} |2019 |23 |
=Guest appearances=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of guest appearances as featured artist, with the respective artists and albums |
| scope="col" style="width:14em;"| Title
! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Year ! scope="col" style="width:15em;"| Artist ! scope="col" | Album |
|---|
| scope="row"|"Title of This Song"
| 2014 | Beck | Beck Song Reader |
| scope="row"|"Shed You"
| 2015 |
| scope="row"|"Show Me Love"
| rowspan="4" |2016 | Hundred Waters, Chance the Rapper, Robin Hannibal, Skrillex | {{Non-album single}} |
| scope="row"|"Mad" |
| scope="row"|"Cassidy"
| Jenny Lewis & Friends |
| scope="row"|"Truth Lies Low" |
| scope="row"|"Weekend"
| 2017 | Flume |
| scope="row"|"Tell Them"
| rowspan="5"|2019 |
| scope="row"|"U (Man Like)"
| Bon Iver, Bruce Hornsby, Jenn Wasner | i,i |
| scope="row"|"To Believe" |
| scope="row"|"Standing on the Horizon"
| Woodkid | Woodkid for Nicolas Ghesquière - Louis Vuitton Works One |
| scope="row"|"Tenebre"
| Bryce Dessner, Ensemble Resonanz | Bryce Dessner: Tenebre |
| scope="row"|"Blood in Rain"
| 2020 | Ethan Gruska | En Garde |
| scope="row"|"The Unforgiven"
|2021 |
| scope="row"|"I'll Be Seeing You"
| 2023 | {{n/a}} |
| scope="row"|"Insecurities"
|rowspan="4"|2024 | Shabaka |
| scope="row"|"Around the World in a Day"
| RM |
| scope="row"|"Is It Cold in the Water?"
| Anohni | rowspan="2"|Transa |
| scope="row"|"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"
| Lyra Pramuk, Sam Smith |
Filmography
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes !{{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |
| 2023
|Izaak |Supporting role |
| 2024
|Leon Green |Supporting role | |
Awards and nominations
| class= " wikitable"
|+ !Year !Association !Category !Nominated Work !Result !Ref |
| rowspan="3"|2018
|rowspan="2"|AIM Independent Music Awards |Independent Video of the Year |"Doomed" |{{nom}} |
| International Breakthrough of the year
|Moses Sumney |{{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|Libera Awards
|Best Outlier Record |Aromanticism |{{won}} |
| 2019
|“Quarrel” |{{nom}} |
| 2020
|rowspan="2"|AIM Awards |Best Second Album |rowspan="3"|Græ |{{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|2021
|Best Independent Album |{{nom}} |
| Libera Award
|Best Outlier Record |{{nom}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.mosessumney.com/ Official website]
- [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/arts/music/tiny-concerts-at-coffee-tables-near-you-.html?_r=1 "Tiny Concerts at Coffee Tables Near You"]. The New York Times, October 20, 2014.
{{Moses Sumney}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumney, Moses}}
Category:African-American male singer-songwriters
Category:American male singer-songwriters
Category:American people of Ghanaian descent
Category:Musicians from San Bernardino, California
Category:Singers from Los Angeles
Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Category:21st-century African-American male singers