In an instance of quarantine-inspired student creativity, last week brought to life a new musical development for Emma Spivack ’21 and her Los Angeles-based band, Pashy. Pashy released the second of their original singles, “From Here,” on Feb. 19.
Conceived in the earliest stages of the pandemic, Pashy has since amassed a following of over 700 monthly Spotify listeners, all contributing to the band’s several thousand streams on the music-sharing platform. Other platforms like YouTube and Apple Music have also drawn in listeners.
The band is composed of vocalists and production assistants Spivack and Kenyon alumnus Jason Cerf ’15. They received songwriting and production direction from Jono Wachter and are managed by Becca Wachter. They released their first song as a group, “The Coast,” on Oct. 20, 2020. Met with an abundance of support from fans across the country, the recent release of “From Here” comes as a welcome addition to Pashy’s discography.
Spivack describes Pashy’s stylistic tendencies as “breezy, mellow, airy and nostalgic.” Regarding inspiration, she shares, “Our influences vary from song to song. For ‘The Coast,’ we mainly took inspiration from Billie Marten and Ethan Gruska. We were obsessed with Billie’s airy, delicate sound and Ethan’s woodsy, crunchy guitar, which both ended up being pretty palpable elements of our song.” She also noted the group’s goal to sustain consistency with their music, striving to “maintain that breezy, mellow sound” in “From Here.”
The cohesiveness of the musical group has been valuable for them. Spivack credits their synergy as in part due to a friendship developed before the music began. “We all have similar taste and influences so our visions are generally pretty aligned,” she said. “We’re also all close with one another and have a foundation of friendship outside of the group, which makes the recording process a lot more fun and casual.”
Though the four bandmates have spent time working alongside one another in Los Angeles, the group has faced the difficulties of distanced teamwork. As a result of alternating between various college and work locations, Spivack admits that one of Pashy’s major challenges has been collaborating across different states and time zones. However, she also feels grateful for the time they’ve spent apart. “Distance has also made for a really unique and fulfilling experience,” she said. “It’s really special knowing you can make art (and art that you’re proud of) while not even being in the same room as your other bandmates.”
Spivack eagerly anticipates the completion of another track on Pashy’s journey to produce an EP. “We’re working on a song right now that’ll require me recording a lot of my vocals here at Kenyon, and I’m excited to listen to the finished product knowing parts of it were recorded in my [North Campus Apartment] and others in Jono’s home studio in LA,” she said.
As their work towards EP production drives on, Spivack hopes that Pashy will be able to deliver their music live in some capacity in the coming months. Their songs are available on all streaming platforms and the group invites interested listeners to follow them on Instagram @pashymusic.