Rich with a myriad of sounds and influences, local Davis band Summer Peaks will be releasing their first LP, Your Days, this November.
This new band was formed two years ago by friends Daniel Mandrychenko, Melina Duterte and Zachary Elsasser after many years of performing together in their high school jazz band.
Bassist Melina Duterte describes the conception of the band and how effortless it was to blend their individual influences.
“It wasn’t difficult getting into the groove, I mean, for example, if there were three guitars in a room we would pick them up and sing in harmony or something. It was just very natural. When we first started out it was definitely a jamming sort of thing to test the waters. Now we’re starting to find our sound since our tastes aren’t far out from each other,” Duterte said.
Summer Peaks have released two EPs over the past year. Their first eponymous release is a conglomeration of sounds that takes the listener through a cobweb of differing musical genres, from punk, to blues, to indie pop. The band describes their second EP, Some Are Songs, as a more cohesive effort than their first EP Summer Peaks.
Guitarist Daniel Mandrychenko comments on Summer Peaks’ ability to effectively collaborate together to produce songs that are not limited to any standard or genre.
“It’s different than other stuff that I’ve been a part of in that we don’t really set any stylistic parameters on the music. We just go song by song and whatever works best for the song being played, that is what we try to emulate,” Mandrychenko said.
Summer Peaks’ drummer, first-year music major Zachary Elsasser, describes the recording process of the new Summer Peaks LP and how it is different from that of their previous recording attempts.
“The first one was recorded by my brother but we didn’t have a mixer, which made our songs have a raw, unfinished edge to them. I didn’t mind it but I felt like we could have produced something different, something that sounded more cohesive. Our second LP was recorded at our guitarist’s house by our bassist. Basically we have been recording at our houses, but our new LP will be mixed and I think that our sound will definitely have some character, something that wasn’t there on our previous stuff,” Elsasser said.
With higher quality production, the new Summer Peaks LP yields a mature sound that speaks to their musical development over just two years. This young, rising talent among the Davis music scene will be furthering its musical endeavors this fall with the release of their first full length record.
To find out more about Summer Peaks and to stream their music, visit facebook.com/summerpeaksmusic.
