Joshua Crumbly's latest single, "Steps," features acclaimed artist and activist Samora Pinderhughes, marking a long-awaited collaboration between the musical soulmates. Reflecting on their bond since meeting at Juilliard, Crumbly praises Pinderhughes' intuitive connection to the track's instrumental, highlighting the depth of their artistic synergy. Following his previous single, "Morning," Crumbly's synth-forward EP, P.S., embraces a youthful perspective, symbolizing a return to innocence amidst life's journey. Serendipitously conceived during a kickball game, P.S. showcases collaborations with Michael Rocketship, Little Dragon, and Pinderhughes, capturing a magical essence that transcends mere musicality. Crumbly's encounter with Little Dragon during a tour with Leon Bridges further enriches the EP, infusing it with an unexpected familial warmth. With each track, including "Steps," Crumbly and his collaborators craft a musical narrative steeped in intuition and shared camaraderie, ushering listeners into a captivating fountain of youth. (Pre-Save the new album) https://orcd.co/psps
How did the band form and what does the band name mean?
I began my solo project because there were a few things that I started to think about that I felt hadn’t quite been explored yet in all of my travels as a sideman / session bassist. These things I was pondering at the time were mostly in regards to the form of songs and how songs were presented. I thought that if the song structure was something new and unique for the band - the hope is that it’d invite the audience on a very different journey than normally accustomed to within the ‘jazz’ realm of things in which I was mostly touring in at the time . Couple that with me beginning to play rock music at an early age and getting into very ambient moments whilst playing bass as a kid in church . All of these musical moments leading to a point in life in which I was searching for a path and for clarity - came a desire to write and record because it helped soothe the wonder and the soul.
Previous musical projects? How'd you first get into music?
I’m an only child - so my Dad was my Dad and a big brother at the same time lol. He is a great saxophonist that led bands in the Los Angeles area. Since the age of 3 years old, I had followed him to pretty much all of his gigs. I had my coloring book and would watch the band pretty intently the whole night. Usually on the breaks I would go ask the bassist if I could play a couple notes on the bass. Usually they’d be pretty cool and let me. I knew I wanted to play bass from the get go but my Dad encouraged me to start on piano first. He told me that every great bassist he knew knew how to play piano. So I started classical piano lessons at 5 years old and eventually started electric bass at 9. My first gigs were with my Dad’s band at 10 and we recorded an album a couple years after that called ‘Like Father, Like Son.’
First concert that you ever went to?
First Concert that I ever attended was definitely one of my Dad’s shows. And the first international act show was either this artist named Banig that my Dad toured with back in the day or a Marcus Miller Concert at Catalina Jazz Club ( the original location) in Hollywood.
What's your writing process like?
My writing process is very meditative. I play the ideas over and over again and I often arrive in a more hopeful place. I hope to always pass this sentiment along - hopefulness, optimism, search for clarity.. with my music. It also is very visual too. I often see things as if the song is accompanying a film.
What other artists or songs inspire your music?
It’s always a tough thing to answer which artists are most influential to me. There are definitely many who were inspiring to hear on record & or live. My Dad had a huge tower of CDs from everything from Erykah Badu to Weather Report and I checked everything out. The playlist is a combination of some things that was just mind blowing upon the first time hearing it / songs that I always heard on a daily basis on the local radio station growing up. Influences are a funny conundrum for me. As my Dad just said to me a second ago — he said ‘You can listen to a folk song, get inspired and then write an electronic house type of song.’’
What's the live experience like and your philosophy on playing live? Do you think the music live should be identical to the recorded version or should it be its own thing?
I love sharing the music live. The more I do it I realize that the recorded music can really just be a starting point. It gets deeper and deeper to sort of let go. It’s also powerful to just play a song and the song only. But the song is always different every night too. I feel very fortunate to have 3 amazing configurations of the band - 1 in LA, NY & Sweden. I’m always blessed with so many beautiful surprises that my friends bring in the moments that we share the songs live. And as far as the live sentiments I have.. I hope to pass along some of the feelings I experienced whilst writing the music of optimism for a better tomorrow, the light that is to come etc.. It’s been interesting also to hear people's thoughts after the show. A lot of times the audience understands it more than I even do and that’s been really cool because that means that it’s not just mine it’s ours and I think that’s been really beautiful and really keeps me inspired to keep sharing.
Has the band toured? What has the touring experience been, best shows? Worst shows?
I’ve mostly presented my music in LA & NYC where I spend most of my time- but just did a few of my first shows overseas under my own name last October. I did two shows in Gothenburg, Sweden. I’m so grateful to my friend Erik Bodin (member of Little Dragon) for helping me set the gigs up. I felt a very deep level of appreciation and felt very encouraged after these shows.
What's up next for the band?
The next thing up for me is releasing a new EP entitled P.S. It features friends from different chapters of my life. I’m really excited to share this project. It’s a lot more upbeat in many ways than my previous albums so I’m also very excited to mix this in with the more meditative things live. I think it’s going to be a cool balance of things.