Humeysha, Ritual Talk, Fort Gorgeous

Written and conceived in India and Pakistan by Zain Alam, Humeysha channels diverse influences, echoing sounds from New York to New Delhi. The multilingual self-titled debut evokes a wayfarer???s meditative travels through heritage and homeland. From the Hindustani music of Bollywood to the post-punk of bands like Deerhunter, Humeysha is inspired by the experience of living between cultures and a sense of belonging found through music.

- ???A marvelously mellow kind of psych-pop, clean and sparkly like a diamond baguette, dappled with Bollywood-toned lilts.??? - Noisey
- ???Humeysha melts modal guitars and puja bells with a reverbed vocal that scans as post-Panda Bear, but with less Brian Wilson and more fodder for mantra." - Revolt


One of the first questions Ritual Talk gets is usually one of the hardest questions to answer: what do you sound like? In a world that favors boxes and binaries, they are dubbed ???psychedelic indie rock???. And there are certainly moments in the music that fit that bill to a tee, capturing both the headiness and the fervor of the genre. However, like a cold ice cream cone on a warm day, those moments don???t last forever. People walk away hearing influences from Grizzly Bear to Marvin Gaye to CSN&Y to Dirty Projectors, but ultimately, the Brooklyn outfit's lush instrumentation and exploratory vocal arrangements tinge each song with an unmistakable color, on and off the stage.

Then comes some variation of: what are your songs about? Where does your inspiration come from? What do you write about? Luckily, the answers to these are somewhat more straightforward. Alex DeSimine (vocals, guitar) is the primary songwriter in the band, and has been writing songs for as long as he can remember. He got a $30 bright blue acoustic guitar when he was thirteen and started putting music to words he???d written on long car rides to Grandma???s. The craftsmanship has grown, though the adolescent adoration for expression through music has not left. Writing a song is catharsis to him - the only way he can make sense of his own jumbled mind. These songs represent the ironing out of issues: social, emotional, philosophical - anything that needs sorting out, and some things that just need air. He still plays that guitar today.

The next question is usually an even harder one to answer: how long have you been playing together? By the time Alex and Alex Tremitiere (bass, vocals) moved in together, they had been playing together for almost ten years. Tom Criblez (drums, vocals) moved in at the same time, but only really got to know his new roommates on that first couch they shared. TJ Alcala (keys, vocals) started dating one Alex after meeting the other at college in the Bronx and playing guitar with the two of them. It wasn???t until he returned from two years back home in Texas that he took on a new role behind the keys. Dylan Gleit (guitar, percussion, vocals) had played with both Tom and Alex Tremitiere for a while in different projects before heading south for college. As soon as he moved back to New York, he climbed right back aboard and Ritual Talk was unofficially born.

However, it wasn???t until another year later that the name found its way to their music. Another big move to Bushwick, some new recordings, and a fresh live show featuring all five members singing garnered a new level of excitement - from both sides of the stage - and led to solidifying this energy under the name Ritual Talk. Expect their debut EP to trickle out this summer, and be sure to catch some of that energy on the road later this year.


In a world in constant motion, Fort Gorgeous is still and observant, questioning the relevance of the present and assigning purpose to what once was. It's architect, singer/guitarist Billy Libby, constructs atmospheric songs from intricate guitar melodies and complex arrangements, weaving a dense foundation on which he explores pensive lyrical themes: the weight of a single decision; the stark inevitability that simply won???t abandon us. The resulting sound is an ethereal reminder of what's coming and also what you never intended to forget.
Formed in Brooklyn, NY in 2016 by way of Portland, ME, Fort Gorgeous will release their debut EP in collaboration with Gary Atturio, Saul Simon, MacWilliams and other writers and musicians in both NYC and LA.