From the Desk of KTEC:
Laundry: Washed & Folded, but still Funky
Laundry is more than just a weekend chore, to the people of Eugene, Oregon, Laundry is one of the up and coming bands in the independent music scene.
Photo by Jonathan Roensch
KTEC was able to interview them, in light of their upcoming album release and was given exclusive access to the album before its release and even before their single dropped on April 2! Their album is titled Affirmation and drops on April 20th 2019.
Laundry is comprised of Riley Somers on Guitar/Vocals, Kiki Paroissien-Arce on Guitar/Vocals, Nik Barber on Drums, Cal Fenner on Bass/Vocals who all come from the PNW. They manage to juggle a band with weekly live gigs and classes at the University of Oregon with majors ranging from Physics to Music. Laundry was also featured at the 2018 Oregon Tech Music Garden Festival and allowed Riley to visit his hometown of Klamath Falls. We’re happy to support them going forward and are patiently waiting to feature their new music on air!
The beginnings of Laundry are humble, “We met in the Spiller Residence Hall for Musicians at the University of Oregon in the Fall of 2017. We all met playing music in the dorm rooms. . .That same night, we migrated to the laundry room and played until 2:00 am. The four of us were the last people hanging out. We never thought of a better band name than Laundry, so we stuck with it” (Laundry 2019). However, their sound is anything but humble.
Their first EP, The Quandary (2018), was “. . .a very rushed process. We wanted to get something out there so that we could start getting shows. The way we cut it (8 tracks in 6 hours) made it less refined than Affirmation, which took us upwards of three days in the studio. Everytime we write a song we feel like it’s better than the last. Kiki had a lot more input this time around, and that helped us develop as a band” (Laundry, 2019). The Quandary has what they call a punk-funk feel, with lots of heavy guitar.
Affirmation takes a different approach, coming more into the dream-pop genre with Kiki on a lot of the vocals. Listening to this album, you can feel the excitement about each song that comes up. It keeps your interest the whole time and you don’t want it to end because there was just something so unique about each song. Their single Junkyard Robot really exemplifies that.
Overall, Laundry is deserving of high praise. They have such strong potential as a band and this album has the power to get them there. Keep up with them on various social media platforms below, read the full interview, and keep an eye out for their album release on April 20th!