CINCINNATI – With a layered and deeply texture sound, San Fermin stands out in the current indie pop scene with its eight-member ensemble that utilizes trumpet and saxophone and violin and guitar and trombones and synth.
The project is the brainchild of composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone, who writes and arranges all of San Fermin’s music.
The Brooklyn-native formed San Fermin in 2011 and the band made its self-titled album debut in 2013, followed by "Jackrabbit" in 2015. The band's third recording, "Belong," came out on April 7 of this year.
New Yorker magazine music reviewer Jia Tolentinowrote San Fermin's new album "often sounds like a wall of flowers blooming at once. It feels lovely, just now, to be swallowed up by a baroque arrangement, in a rush of sweetness and sincerity."
Ludwig-Leone said on the band's bio page that his songwriting has evolved from stories about fictional characters into explorations of themes and issues personal to him.
“As I’ve become more confident as a songwriter, I decided that I could drop some of the artifice and write something more direct," he said. “Anxiety is something I’ve dealt with since I was a kid, but on this album I talked about it more explicitly than I ever had before."
You can watch Ludwig-Leone and the rest of San Fermin perform WCPO Lounge Acts above. They take the stage at 8:30 p.m. tonight at the Woodward Theater in Over-the-Rhine.
If You Go:
San Fermin with Pavo Pavo
8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29
Woodward Theater(1404 Main St. Cincinnati, Ohio)
Tickets: $15 advance, $17 day of show
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