San Fermin is an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

collective, led by

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

-based composer and songwriter

Ellis Ludwig-Leone Ellis Joseph Ludwig-Leone (born 1989) is an American composer and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. Since 2012, he has led the chamber pop group San Fermin with whom he has released four studio albums, most recently 2020's '' The Cormorant ...

. Known for combining indie rock, pop, and classical influences into lush compositions, they released their debut album ''San Fermin'' on

Downtown Records Downtown Records is an American record label based in New York City with offices in Los Angeles. Owned and operated by Josh Deutsch and Terence Lam, the label is distributed by Interscope Capitol Labels Group (formerly Geffen Records, Interscope ...

in 2013. This was followed by the records ''Jackrabbit'' and ''Belong'' in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Their fourth album, a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

titled '' The Cormorant I & II'', was released in full in March 2020. Their fifth studio album, ''Arms'', was released in February 2024 and features a stripped-back sound and more personal lyrics. San Fermin generally perform as an eight-piece group, pairing traditional rock instrumentation (electric guitar, keyboards, drums) with

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

, and violin. The group has alternating lead vocalists, including co-founder

Allen Tate John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Among his best known works are the poems " Ode to th ...

and Claire Wellin.

History

Origins

San Fermin took shape after Ludwig-Leone's graduation from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he studied composition. While still in college, he assisted composer

Nico Muhly Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestra ...

, known for his work with

Anohni and the Johnsons Anohni and the Johnsons (previously known as Antony and the Johnsons) is a music ensemble originally based in New York City that presents the work of English singer-songwriter Anohni and her collaborators. The band released its self-titled de ...

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...

, and

Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

, on several film scores and operas. Despite being in several bands in high school and even some during college, Ludwig-Leone did not decide to focus on making pop music until the end of his college career: "I put on a concert with some new pieces I had written for female singers, and then we ended the night with some pop tunes from the band, for which I made these totally over-the-top arrangements. It was then I realized that I could bring these things together." San Fermin-32

''San Fermin''

After his graduation from Yale in 2011, Ludwig-Leone retreated to Canada's secluded

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta, Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the Performing arts, performing and fine arts, as well as leadership trai ...

, where he wrote what would eventually become ''San Fermin.'' He subsequently returned to New York and began recording what he intended to be a standalone project, completing the recording sessions during July 2012. It features performances by 22 musicians, including vocals from Ludwig-Leone's longtime collaborator

, as well as Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of

Lucius Lucius is a masculine given name derived from Lucius (Latin ; ), abbreviated L., one of the small group of common Latin forenames () found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius probably derives from Latin word ( gen. ), meaning "light" (<

. San Fermin released their lead single "Sonsick" on December 4, 2012, which ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' gave a positive review, declaring the song "deliriously infectious." After debuting the record live in December, Ludwig-Leone received a record deal offer from

that made him reconsider the scope of the ''San Fermin'' project. The full record was intended to be self-released in February 2013, but, after signing to Downtown Records, the release was pushed back first to June then to the September of that year. San Fermin released their first album ''San Fermin'' on September 17, 2013, to positive reviews.

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

called the record "one of the year's most surprising, ambitious, evocative and moving records," praising Ludwig-Leone for his ability to write a collection of songs "as easy to love as they are to admire." ''Pitchfork'' also gave the album a positive review. The album reached #18 on the ''Billboard''

Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

album chart. Ellis Ludwig-Leone San Fermin-64

Establishing the collective

The first live performance of San Fermin was on December 19, 2012, at Piano's in New York City; the performance featured sixteen musicians including Ludwig-Leone. In the months following, the line-up and size of the band shifted; by Fall 2013, the collective settled as an eight-member touring group made up of both musicians who helped record ''San Fermin'', including Tate, trumpeter John Brandon, and saxophonist Stephen Chen, as well as newly recruited members, namely vocalist Rae Cassidy, guitarist Tyler McDiarmid, percussionist Michael Hanf, and violinist Rebekah Durham. Eliza Bagg also toured as a violinist for the group during 2013. While Cassidy's voice and style was a departure from those of the women of Lucius on the record, her interpretations of the songs have been praised by numerous critics, including

Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman ( ; born February 28, 1953) is an American New Keynesian economics, New Keynesian economist who is the Distinguished Professor of Economics at the CUNY Graduate Center, Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' recognized the musicianship of the entire eight-piece live ensemble, noting their ability to "deliver epic and emotion-laden rock, with glorious and operatic vocals, electronic break beats, horns, strings, and other flourishes." On November 13, 2013, the eight-piece released a live EP ''Live At The Advent Lutheran Church NYC'' as a stripped-back companion to their debut album. In April 2014, Cassidy left the band to focus on her solo career and was replaced by

Charlene Kaye Charlene Kaye (born September 12, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, comedian and actor, most widely known for her solo work under the name KAYE, for her one-woman comedy show ''Tiger Daughter: Or, How I Brought My Immigrant Mother Ultimate ...

''Jackrabbit''

Ludwig-Leone began writing his follow-up record in January and February 2013, prior to the release of the San Fermin debut record. On December 7, 2014, the band teased their new single "Parasites" via

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. The next day, ''

'' premiered the track and announced the release of the band's second album. ''Jackrabbit'' was released on April 21, 2015, via Downtown Records and debuted at #8 on the ''Billboard'' Heatseekers Chart, and was met with critical praise from ''NPR'' and ''Rolling Stone''. San Fermin made their national television debut on ''

CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987 to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012 to September 6, 2021. On November 1, 1999, the original incarnation was repla ...

'' on May 2, 2015, and made their late night debut on ''

Last Call With Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with '' ...

'' on June 2, 2015. John Brandon San Fermin-43

''Belong'' and ''Live at the Fillmore''

Throughout the fall of 2016, San Fermin posted pictures and short videos on their

revealing that they were recording a third album, referred to as simply #LP3. On December 8, 2016, the band announced that they had finished recording and mixing LP3 and on January 5, 2017, uploaded a single called "Open" to their

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel. The same day, ''

'' reported that their new album would be called ''Belong;'' a week later ''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' debuted a second single, "Bride", and announced an album release date of April 7. In January 2017, musician Claire Wellin joined the band, replacing Rebekah Durham as violinist and vocalist."Kaufman Music Center presents Ecstatic Music Festival San Fermin & NOW Ensemble". Kaufman Music Center, 2017. As a band, San Fermin has performed original works by composer Mark Dancigers in collaboration with NOW Ensemble. On April 12, 2019, it was announced via San Fermin's Instagram page that vocalist Charlene Kaye was leaving the band later that month to pursue other musical opportunities. Two weeks later, the band released their live album ''Live at the Fillmore'', promoting the record with a special concert event which included the premiere of their "life on the road" documentary film ''No Promises''. The record was released as a part of 2019's

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

''The Cormorant I & II''

San Fermin's next studio project is ''The Cormorant''. ''The Cormorant'' consists of two full-length releases which meditate on the themes of childhood, growing up, and the loss of innocence. This project, and its respective singles, are the first works of the group to be released through Ludwig-Leone's

Sony Masterworks Sony Music Masterworks (also known simply as Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known ...

imprint Better Company. On June 26, 2019, San Fermin released the single "The Hunger" featuring vocalist Samia and announced a North American tour for Fall 2019 to support a then untitled fourth LP. The band also indicated the addition of both new band member vocalist Karlie Bruce and guitarist and longtime touring member Aki Ishiguro to the band's official line-up. On August 14, the band announced that their fourth studio album would be called ''The Cormorant I''. Ludwig-Leone wrote most of the record in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. Especially reminiscent of their first album, the record weaves a story between a male and female character. As on records before, vocalist Allen Tate takes on the male role, while a rotating cast of women including San Fermin's Claire Wellin and Karlie Bruce, as well as Samia and Sarah Pedinotti of Lip Talk, take on the female role. The record also features harpist

Lavinia Meijer Lavinia Meijer (born February 12, 1983) is a South Korean-born Dutch harpist.Lavinia Meijer
official site ...

and the Attacca Quartet. With the announcement, the group also released the second of three singles, "The Living". The group released the album, ''The Cormorant I'', on October 4, 2019. Their third single, "Saints," and its accompanying music video were released the same day. San Fermin released the first single for second half of ''The Cormorant'' double album, ''The Cormorant II'', on February 27, 2020. Titled "Little Star," the single was accompanied by the announcement that the new record would be available to stream on March 27, 2020, as part of the sixteen-track ''The Cormorant I & II''. In December 2021, San Fermin released the collaborative EP ''In This House'', which features Attacca Quartet,

, Lisel (Eliza Bagg, a former touring member),

Sorcha Richardson Sorcha Richardson (born 22 September 1990) is an Irish singer-songwriter from Dublin. Early life Sorcha Richardson grew up in Dalkey. She formed her first band aged 10 with schoolfriends. She went to Brooklyn to study creative writing. Career ...

, Thao,

Wye Oak The Wye Oak was the largest Quercus alba, white oak tree in the United States and the State Tree of Maryland from 1941 until its demise in 2002. Wye Oak State Park preserves the site where the revered tree stood for more than 400 years in the ...

Wild Pink Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildlife, an undomesticated organism * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild ...

, and The Districts. San Fermin-05

''Your Ghost'' EP and ''Arms''

In September 2022, San Fermin released an EP entitled ''Your Ghost'', featuring the songs "Tired of Loving You", "Someone You Call Baby", and "Your Ghost". Less orchestral than the band's earlier efforts, Ludwig-Leone described the EP as "an experiment with a new kind of writing style". This experiment would be continued on the band's next studio album. On September 14, 2023, San Fermin released a new single entitled "Arms" and on October 26 they announced that their fifth studio album, ''Arms'', would be released on February 16, 2024, with a supporting tour to follow. They also revealed the album tracklist and debuted another single from the album, "Didn't Want You To". Additional singles "My Love is a Loneliness" and "Weird Environment" would follow in December and January. ''Arms'' has a more intimate, direct sound than much of San Fermin's previous work, which Ludwig-Leone ascribed to a decision to begin with the lyrics and to write the music on the piano. The lyrics were inspired by a pair of break-ups in Ludwig-Leone's personal life, and he described the album as "the most autobiographical thing I’ve done." A "Strings Version" of ''Arms'' featuring ADAM Quartet was released in October 2024. The band announced a 10th anniversary tour of their album ''Jackrabbit'' via social media on November 19, 2024.

Members

Current *

– bandleader, composer, piano, keys, percussion *

– vocals, guitar * Stephen Chen – saxophone * John Brandon – trumpet * Tyler McDiarmid – guitar, bass guitar, engineer * Claire Wellin – violin, vocals * Aki Ishiguro – guitar Former * Michael Hanf – drums, percussion, glockenspiel, vibraphone * Eliza Bagg – violin, vocals * Rae Cassidy – vocals * Rebekah Durham – violin, vocals, mandolin *

– vocals, guitar * Karlie Bruce – vocals

Timeline

Other Contributors As the record ''San Fermin'' was recorded prior to establishing the band, nineteen musicians are credited as making up the ensemble, only four of whom would remain with the group. The remaining musicians included singers

Holly Laessig Lucius is an American four-piece indie pop band. The group was founded in 2007 by lead vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, joined by drummer Dan Molad, guitarist Peter Lalish, and, formerly, multi-instrumentalist Andrew Burri. Originating in ...

and

Jess Wolfe Jessica Wolfe is an American singer, songwriter, bass synth player and actress from Los Angeles, California. She is a founding member along with Holly Laessig of the indie pop musical group Lucius. Life and early career Jessica Wolfe was raised ...

, cellist Clarice Jensen, violinists

Rob Moose Rob Moose (born 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, conductor, and orchestrator. He primarily plays the violin, viola, and guitar. Early life and education Moose was born in 1982. He was raised in Windsor, Connec ...

and

Caroline Shaw Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer of contemporary classical music, violinist, and singer. She won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her a cappella piece '' Partita for 8 Voices''. Shaw received the 2022 G ...

, and violist

Nadia Sirota Nadia Sirota (born in New York City, New York) is an American viola player. Her father is Robert Sirota, a composer and Conducting, conductor. Life and career Sirota is best known for her singular sound and expressive execution, coaxing solo ...

, among others. Other musicians who performed with San Fermin in their early shows include percussionist Molly Yeh, now host of the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

show '' Girl Meets Farm,'' and Icelandic composer Halldór Smárason. On their records, San Fermin has utilized the talents of prominent contemporary classical musicians. These include, but are not limited to members of the ensemble

yMusic yMusic is an American sextet chamber ensemble from New York City. Consisting of a trumpet, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, and cello, the group was formed in Brooklyn by trumpeter CJ Camerieri and violinist Rob Moose in 2008. Career The ensem ...

, Roomful of Teeth contributors Estelí Gomez,

, and Eliza Bagg, classical flutist Isabel Gleicher, trombonist Alan Ferber, and harpist

Lavinia Meijer Lavinia Meijer (born February 12, 1983) is a South Korean-born Dutch harpist.Lavinia Meijer
official site ...

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Live albums *''Live From the Advent Lutheran Church NYC'' (2013) – Downtown Records *''Live At The Fillmore'' (2019) – Votiv/ San Fermin LLC Other albums * ''Sonsick Remixes EP'' (2013) – Downtown Records *'' San Fermin (Commentary)'' (2013) – Downtown Records *''Arms (Strings Version)'' (2024) - Better Company Records

Singles

Documentary films

* ''No Promises'' (201

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Official website
American pop music groups Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from Brooklyn Downtown Records artists