SUMAC share documentary by Damien Neva; new album The Healer, out Jun. 21st

Ahead of the release of SUMAC’s expansive new album The Healer and upcoming North American tour dates, Roadburn Festival have premiered a new documentary directed by Damien Neva. Filmed at the trio’s recent show in Boston, Neva’s 15min documentary is an intimate look at one of world’s most respected experimental bands. The film not only captures the full cathartic force of the band’s live performance, but also the liminal moments that make up touring life: sound checks and SUMAC’s careful calibration of their sound to the dimensions of the performance space, conversations with the artists, even grabbing food or prepping to go on stage. It is an unpretentious, honest and highly illuminating portrait of some of improvised/avant/heavy music’s most forward thinkers.

On The Healer, the new full-length from Northwest-based trio SUMAC consisting of guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, bassist Brian Cook, and drummer Nick Yacyshyn, the group deepens its multi-faceted exploration into the parallel experiences of creation and destruction. Over the course of 4 tracks in 76 minutes, SUMAC presents a sequence of shifting movements which undergo a constant process of expansion, contraction, corruption and regrowth.

This musical methodology reflects the thematic nature of the record – narratives of experiential wounding as gateways to empowerment and evolution, both individual and collective. The group’s interpolation of melody, drone, improvisation, and complex riffing becomes a transmogrifying act embodying the depth of human experience. In its highest aspiration it mirrors our ability to endure mortal and spiritual challenges, through which we may emerge with an increased capacity for understanding, empathy, love of self and others. Dismal though the subterranean pits of The Healer may at first appear, from them can be felt the unwavering determination to embrace life, acknowledge interdependence, and honour the gift of existence.