-
- April 1, 2022
There is truly nothing that compares to a hometown performance by an artist because there is something so special about that hometown energy and the culmination of hard work that brings an artist to performing on a stage they may have always dreamed about. Catching a set from sfam is always a treat, but to catch a NOLA set from them…that was something else. Even though the sun was beating down in the middle of the day at BUKU Music + Art Project, the duo was clearly having fun on stage and that excitement, mixed with the wonky and trappy bass tunes, energized the crowd into foresaking the heat in search of bass faces.
sfam (Jacob Hoerner, Michael Pearson) has positioned themselves as one of the most innovative up-and-coming acts in bass music. Taking inspirations from their love for heavy bass and minimal trap beats, sfam has formulated a dark, distinct sound of unique, amorphous, original beats that have gotten then support from industry tastemakers such as UZ, Liquid Stranger, CRAZE, great dane, Dirt Monkey, and more. With releases on labels such as Quality Goods Records, Wakaan, Drama Club, ADBC, Bassrush, and more, sfam proves they are here to stay as their sound continues to evolve with every release.
Read on for our interview with the duo following their Saturday afternoon set at BUKU.
We’re here with sfam today. Thanks for joining us! Can you quickly introduce yourselves and tell us the origin story behind sfam?
Hello! We’re Michael Pearson and Jacob Hoerner and sfam started back in 2014. The idea first started when we were teammates on our college soccer team then we took it much more serious as time went on.
I know you all played BUKU in 2019, which of course also happened to be the last one prior to this, and I believe that was your first time playing here. As NOLA residents, what did it feel like getting that experience?
We actually have played BUKU a few times! The first time was from winning a competition (we had no clue what we were doing back then). The 2019 play was very special to us as we got to play in Float Den which was a goal since we started going to BUKU way back in the day.
So now how does it feel to be back at BUKU and especially for the 10 year anniversary??
Being back at BUKU is always amazing. Getting to play our home festival while hanging with all of our day one homies is something we’ll never take for granted.
You all just released a new album, below sea level, last week. It’s a weird and wonky showcase of bass that’s been in the works for the past two years. How does it finally feel to have that album out for people to enjoy in its entirety?
It’s such a relief to finally have the album out. We put so much into it and changed little things about it so many times. Being that this is our first full-length album and biggest single body of work to date, it’s very special to us and we’re so happy people seem to love it.
What would you say were some of the challenges that came with trying to work on an album while there was so much uncertainty going on in the world around the pandemic?
We were definitely in a weird place mentally (as everyone else was) so having the album to focus on helped us tune out the craziness in the world. Not knowing when we would play shows again, we put all of our energy into each tune.
You all have been through a number of different cities already this year as part of Subdocta’s Strictly Business Tour. What’s been a favorite memory so far?
Subdocta has been one of our close homies for years now so finally getting to tour together has been fantastic. Before one show, we all hit this family-owned Mexican restaurant. The bartender put so much love into these margaritas, by the time we were done with dinner we were having a grand ole time. The show afterward ended up being one of the rowdiest of the tour so all in all, it was an amazing night.
You’ve had the opportunity to support and collaborate with a bunch of artists across the scene. If you had to take 3 people into an Escape Room, who would you choose and why?
Love this question lmao. I think we’d have to say Abelation (nicest person ever and very smart), Harry from Smoakland (he can just break through everything if we can’t figure it out), and G-Space for the comedic relief.
If you had to choose any single animal to be your DJ mascot (think Katy Perry’s performance with left shark), what would it be?
Crawfish or alligator as we’re from the South.
What are your top 3 restaurant recommendations for NOLA?
Parkway Bakery and Tavern, Jamila’s, and Katie’s.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us today?
We have a ton of music in the works: solo tunes, collabs, and EPs all coming eventually. For now, enjoy the album 🙂
Follow sfam: Facebook | Instagram | Soundcloud | Spotify | Twitter
