TREASVRE is a band of five San Francisco Bay Area natives that blends elements of post-rock and shoegaze with rich synth textures, heavy guitar riffs, and electronic rhythms. Vocalists Samantha Peña and Sabrina Simonton create wistful harmonies that underscore the themes of nostalgia, melancholy, and hopefulness found in their lyrics. The drama and depth conveyed by the music creates a distinctly cinematic quality —one that captures the complex range of human emotion in beautiful and inspiring ways and begs to be experienced live.
Their latest track”Devils” is included on their Devils/Echoes EP which wrestles with heavy themes that are especially pertinent during these times of social isolation. Through poignant and haunting imagery, these two songs examine how loneliness and self-doubt can take control, as well as the struggle to break free without losing oneself. TREASVRE’s thoughtful take on these complex emotions are backed up by driving guitars, saturated synths, and groovy rhythms, creating a mood and energy that is hard to overlook.
Tell us about the genesis of your project. How did you get to where you are now?
TREASVRE began as a side project of our guitarists Julian and Jason. They were playing in a different band together at the time; Jason was the drummer for that project, but he wanted an opportunity to spend more time playing and writing for guitar. Julian also wanted an outlet for ideas that wouldn’t fit in their current band, and so they started songwriting together. After they amassed some original material, they invited Evan to join the project on drums. They worked together as a trio for a while before Evan reached out to Sabrina to ask if she’d be interested in providing some synth textures and vocals to the mix. The last piece of the puzzle was Sam, who completed the picture when she joined on bass and vocals. It took some time for it all to come together, but finally TREASVRE took form.
Is there a specific aspect of your art making that you love more than others?
Performing live for an audience is always the best part of being in a band for us. We love feeling the energy in the room, seeing the reactions to our music in real time, and meeting new people. Nothing really compares to the feeling of being up on stage, after weeks or sometimes months of preparation for that moment. It’s a cathartic experience to put so much work into our music and then get up in front of a crowd and see all our efforts pay off. We love to witness the impact our music has on people, and playing shows enables us to connect with other musicians and different communities. It truly is a wonderful experience, and we can’t wait to get back to it.
How do you work together towards a song or creative idea?
We write music democratically in the sense that we have no primary songwriter in the band. We are all creative and very opinionated people, so that can present challenges when trying to reach a consensus on the direction or feel for a song. Lately, we’ve been purposefully writing new music with more thought and intention, taking time to really ponder and discuss questions like, what is this song about? How do we want people to feel when they hear it? What is the message we are trying to convey? When we take the time to outline the meaning and purpose of the song at the beginning of the writing process, we’ve found that the little details are easier to agree on. It helps to all be on the same page and working towards the same goal.
What inspires your lyrics?
The majority of our lyrics are written by vocalists Sam and Sabrina, although Julian is also a talented lyricist who has lately been contributing more to that aspect of our songwriting. Most of our lyrics are direct reflections of our own personal experiences navigating life, love, and discovering who we are as individuals. We tend to write about internal conflict, self-doubt, and self-actualization in the face of outside pressures to conform to a certain way of doing things. Sam often writes about the complexities of interpersonal relationships, finding connection and fulfillment in love, and living life without compromise. Sabrina likes to find inspiration in her own personal struggles with herself and her efforts to find happiness and balance in an otherwise chaotic world. We pull from a lot of different aspects of being human, but ultimately we find the most inspiration in seeking out light in the darkness, and highlighting the beauty of the painful challenges we face in life.
What are some sources of inspiration for you?
We have a bit of an affinity for the moodier, darker aspects of the creative world. We are all fans of horror movies, surreal art, and stories that explore difficult existential questions. Filmmakers like David Lynch, Darren Aronofsky, Clive Barker, and Dario Argento do an amazing job of capturing and conveying intense emotions. Painters like Salvador Dali, Hieronymus Bosch, and Stephen Gammel (who illustrated the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book series) also do a great job of creating the dark but beautiful aesthetic we love. Authors like HP Lovecraft, Sylvia Plath, and William Faulkner have crafted so many complex emotional stories and often grapple with the darker side of being human. We draw inspiration from so many others as well, but those are just a few who stand out.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about
Our most recent release is our single “Scarlet Mark” which just came out on April 30th. After knocking out four double-singles over the course of the pandemic, we wanted to experiment a little before diving into writing a full-length EP. “Scarlet Mark” is a slight deviation from our previous body of work; it’s a bit more rock-n-roll, with fewer shoegaze influences and more emphasis on creating a diversity of sounds in just one song. It’s out now on all streaming platforms, so check it out and let us know what you think!
Do you have any peculiar pre or post show rituals as a band?
Post-show, we will typically get together over dinner to discuss how the night went and opportunities for improvement. We are constantly looking to level-up our live performance, so often we’ll watch videos or listen to recordings of our set to identify aspects we want to tweak or change completely. We’ve found it incredibly useful to have these moments of decompression and constructive criticism, because when we’re in the moment on stage, we typically don’t notice the little details and nuances of our performance. Looking and listening back gives us a ton of valuable information that enables us to give direct feedback to each other, with the aim of creating the best live show experience we can possibly deliver.
Who inspires your moody and mysterious aesthetics?
In line with our dark and moody aesthetic, we are inspired by people like Souxsie Sioux, Chelsea Wolfe, Johnny Cash, and heavy Japanese bands like Boris, MONO, and X Japan. We love their goth-but-classy style which has a quiet intensity about it. Even when they go over-the-top, they do it in a measured way that seems well thought-out and consistent with the quality of their music. There’s something so impactful in the cohesiveness of their music and image, and we admire the way they are able to tap into a specific theme or emotion and see it through both musically and visually.
What is the achievement or moment in your career you are the most proud of and why?
We recently released our first music video, which was an amazing project we couldn’t be happier to be a part of. We worked with local independent filmmaker Michael Beltrán, who assembled an incredible team to execute his vision for the film. It’s a 70s art-house inspired video that follows the journey of a faceless motorcyclist as she chases down her demons. We handed over complete creative control to Michael and our production team, which was a difficult thing to do, but ultimately we are so thrilled with what we were able to create together. It’s available right now to stream on YouTube, so go check it out…you won’t be disappointed.
What is your advice for young bands?
Make goals, make a plan, and stick to it. Being a working musician doesn’t happen overnight–it takes a lot of effort and repeated failure to get there. Don’t be afraid to write bad music–just get it out of your system and move on, and don’t get discouraged when you don’t live up to your own expectations. Also, look at the people who are doing what you want to do and find out what they did to achieve that. Practice your instrument, collaborate with others, and always listen to feedback. Take risks, try new things, and, most importantly, be reliable and consistent. Be accountable to your bandmates, show up to gigs on time, and do the things you say you’re going to do. Once you begin to treat your music more like a profession and less like a hobby, you will see all kinds of doors begin to open up for you. Don’t be shy about walking through them.
