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Sunset World

by Sun Kin

supported by
Brandon McKie
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    Pre-order of Sunset World. You get 4 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
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    releases April 19, 2024

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1.
Big Window
2.
I'm in the Band 02:55
lyrics
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The bouncer asks you What you’re doing there Hands full of gear on the loading dock Filled up with beer and intrusive thoughts “Oh, sorry, I’m in the band” In my defense It’s so easy to feel as if No one can see you But I’ll pretend That you can still see me Cuz that makes it easy On you And me too Or just you We don’t need a crowd to cheer Or boo You show up early Or maybe late Nobody’s in the green room or on the stage Someone’s in the bathroom You walk through the door and say “Oh, sorry, I’m in the band” In my defense It’s so easy to feel as if No one can see you But I’ll pretend That you can still see me Cuz that makes it easy In my defense It’s so easy to feel as if No one can see you But I’ll pretend That you can still see me Cuz that makes it easy On you And me too Or just you We don’t need a crowd to cheer
3.
Just Double Checking 03:12
lyrics
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When we’re sleeping I get up to check the lock When we’re leaving Back inside a dozen times You’re trying to be patient But I see you roll your eyes Good can happen I can be there when it does Like when I’m singing to you I know what’s in my hands I’ve got a cat in my lap The sun is streaming down Like when I’m singing to you And strum away intrusive thoughts We could all be dead in an earthquake But we could also not Interrupting the romance— Could you repeat what you just said? Birds were chirping in my brain I’m trying to keep records of the time That we spend But my phone is out of space Momentary grace Like when I’m singing to you I know what’s in my hands I’ve got a dog in my lap The sun is streaming down Like when I’m singing to you The center of gravity in my room I’m giving in like the tide to the moon Trying to be in control every moment Is not as effective as you would think I’m letting myself go Embracing what comes in the absence I’m gonna ride it like a wave So I can get back to you I know what’s in my hands I’ve got a cat in my lap The sun is streaming down Like when I’m singing to you And strum away intrusive thoughts I wonder what will be left I think I’ll like it a lot
4.
Fave Please 02:13
lyrics
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Where you come to know I have to know He's got to go But, uh Leave me in the beat as he did And I'm telling you that I have got to know Meet me in the beat as he did
5.
Til I'm Whole
6.
All the WeWorks Are Dead! 03:12
lyrics
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All the WeWorks are dead We play now Drinking lemonade In the ruins of downtown I’m not hip, but I have been retrofitted Word is out it’s not a competition I’m not hip, but I have been retrofitted Rip it up, there’s cracks in the foundation All the WeWorks are dead We play now Presenting our big routine To the trees in the crowd I’m not hip but I have been retrofitted Word is out it’s not a competition I’m not hip but I have been retrofitted Rip it up, there’s cracks in the foundation Digging it down like a dog Claiming and marking the land Testing the strength of its jaws Biting the head off a grown man Suit up and get in the van We’re going to family camp Panning and mining a void Looking for coins in the sand Ripple effect Destabilizing the place Happily, lifting the weights Turning the people in wheels Tails have to be chased I must have gotten it wrong Cuz I thought all of the WeWorks were gone I’m not hip but I have been retrofitted Word is out, it’s not a competition I’m not hip but I have been retrofitted Rip it up, there’s cracks in the foundation (You’re not ready for that conversation) Call me when the world is like that… All the WeWorks are dead All the WeWorks are dead
7.
Small Gestures (ft. Maya Abee)
8.
Doom Scroll
9.
Sunset World
10.
Water Turns Black at Night
11.
I Wanna Believe

about

Los Angeles always seems on the precipice of being annihilated by a solar flare or some other apocalyptic event—the sun shines a little too brightly, the winds bring discontent, the ocean seems ready to rise up and swallow the desert. Sun Kin’s Sunset World fits into the great tradition of apocalyptic LA pop albums from Steely Dan’s Gaucho to Frank Ocean’s Blonde, opening with a front-row seat to Armageddon that a big window only makes more cinematic.

Sun Kin is the project of LA musician Kabir Kumar, also of GUPPY, whose taste for velveteen production and lush baroque-pop arrangements contrasts mischievously with their streak of gallows humor and social consciousness, at times recalling the fanciful yet principled music (and binary-agnostic, post-genre spirit) of Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier. Kumar creates a world of undeniable beauty shot through with apocalyptic anxiety. There’s always a mushroom cloud on the horizon, an evil wind bringing smoke and disease, a pollutant miasma disguised as a sunset.

Kumar wrote many of these songs in collaboration with their partner, writer and climate activist Nicole Levin, and indeed Sunset World is one of Sun Kin’s most collaborative works, featuring artists from across the DIY ecosystem including Kumar's bandmates in GUPPY. Julian Fader of Ava Luna, Dawson Timpany of Plum, and Mark “Echo” Edwards of fellow indie-pop social critics Cheekface perform drums, rooting Kumar’s richly hued symphonies in a strong rhythmic basis in disco, funk, hip-hop and Prince-ly pop: genres Kumar has explored in depth in the past, notably on 2021’s dancefloor epic After the House.

Sunset World plays with the dichotomy between the beauty and terror of the natural world and the convenience of the virtual one, most hilariously on “Water Turns Black At Night,” inspired by the DJ Khaled lost-on-a-jetski viral video that brought together the crushing horror of the universe’s vastness and the ridiculousness of celebrity culture in one perfectly absurd moment. “One of my first fears was a fear of the dark,” says Kumar. “I think that song is encouraging myself to step into the darkness to sit with the part of myself that’s scared and comfort them instead of telling them it’s not okay.”

Sunset World might sound like a bitter pill to swallow, but its lighter moments conjure a utopian future that exists in stark contrast to capitalist hell—imagine drinking lemonade in the ruins of a WeWork, loitering happily with no obligation to spend money. “This album is very interested in a world that might not exist outside our minds but that we might be able to conjure into existence,” says Kumar. “It feels to me like the natural progression of a project that’s always been about not choosing between two things—dichotomies don’t exist, genres are fake, and everything connects to everything.” - Daniel Bromfield

credits

releases April 19, 2024

(music written between November 2020-February 2023)

All songs written by Kabir Kumar
Except "I'm in the Band" music written with Miguel Gallego & lyrics written with J Lebow
"Just Double Checking" "Til I'm Whole" and "Doom Scroll" lyrics co-written with Nicole Levin

All tracks produced by Kabir Kumar and mixed by Geoff Saba
Except "I'm in the Band" produced and mixed by Sarah Tudzin
Mastered by Dan Thorn at Pink Noise Studios
Additional engineering by Greg Cortez on 3, 7
Additional engineering by Geoff Saba on 1, 3, 10, 11
Additional engineering by Julian Fader on 1, 4, 7, 11

Cover photo taken by Rachel Ben-Menachem

THE PLAYERS:

Kabir Kumar - vocals, guitars, bass guitar, synths, samples, drum programming
Geoff Saba - piano, acoustic guitars, alto & tenor saxophone, drums (on 1, 3, 10 & 11)
Miguel Gallego - guitars, fretless bass, organ (on 1, 7, 9 & 11)
Julian Fader - drums, percussion (on 1, 4, 6 & 11)
J Lebow - vocals (on 1 & 2)
Marc Babcock - bass guitar, vocals (on 2 & 7)
Bryan Lovett - bass guitar (on 5 & 6)
Ian Cohen - drums, vocals (on 2)
Sarah Tudzin - vocals (on 2)
Juliana Chahayed - vocals (on 3)
Dawson Timpany - drums (on 3)
Tyler English - pedal steel (on 3)
Mo Troper - acoustic guitar (on 4)
Natrina Gandana - vocals (on 5)
John Steiner - guitars (on 6)
Mark ‘Echo’ Edwards - drums (on 7)
Maya Abee - vocals (on 7)
Maxime Stinnett - clarinet (on 8)
Jesse Turits - banjo (on 8)
Leah Stone - clarinet (on 9)
Phil Di Leo - Casio (on 9)
Cam Johnson - tambourine, shaker (on 11)

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Sun Kin Los Angeles, California

Sun Kin is
Kabir Kumar,
born in Bombay, broadcasting
tunes from Los Angeles
with friends.

Please send thoughts: goodfeels.feelsgood@gmail.com

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