SISU

The project of Dum Dum Girls drummer Sandra Vu, who played 90 percent of instruments on upcoming debut LP, out this fall via Mono Prism

Before Sandra Vu started keeping rhythm as Dum Dum Girls' drummer, she founded her own pet project called SISU. Now, four years after adopting the all-caps moniker (the name doubles as the Finnish word for "extreme perseverance," FYI), Vu is prepping for the fall release of SISU's as-yet-untitled debut album. "For the past three years, I've been pretty much booked up solid with touring in [Dum Dum Girls], and it was really, really difficult to release something," she says. "I'm really excited to finally do it."

As a primer for the upcoming full-length, SISU has unveiled a music video for "Two Thousand Hands," the washed-out opening track off the Light Eyes EP, a five-song sampler dropped earlier this year. The clip, directed and edited by touring bassist Dave South, translates the tune's dreamy, windswept romance to film with vivid clarity. Vu's hair blows wildly as flurries of confetti swirl around her and bits of found footage (volcanoes erupting, waterfalls rushing, glass breaking) cut up the live band's performance. Throughout the piece, the lighting shifts between stark stobe effects, lush pink tones, and m b v blues.

"It was shot in an old Chinese restaurant, so the floor was super greasy and sick and disgusting," Vu recalls. "The space was abandoned and there was a hole in the ceiling. The weather was perfect — it had rained in the morning — so the space had its own vibe already. It just came together better than we imagined." She added, "It's exactly what we wanted: An introduction to the band, what we look like, and how we perform live."

SISU fall 2013 tour dates:

September 4 - Montreal, QC @ Societe des Arts Technologiques #
September 5 - Boston, MA @ Church of Boston #
September 8 - Washington, D.C. - Rock & Roll Hotel #
September 9 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's #
September 11 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison #
September 12 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle #
September 13 - St. Louis, MO @ Firebird #
September 14 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In #
September 15 - Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree #
September 17 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk #
September 19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room #
September 20 - Los Angeles, CA @ Echo # %
September 21 - San Diego, CA @ The Void # %
September 22 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill # %
September 24 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios # %
September 25 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza # %
September 26 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret # %

# = with Dirty Beaches
% = with Chasms - SPIN Magazine

The project of Dum Dum Girls drummer Sandra Vu, who played 90 percent of instruments on upcoming debut LP, out this fall via Mono Prism

Before Sandra Vu started keeping rhythm as Dum Dum Girls' drummer, she founded her own pet project called SISU. Now, four years after adopting the all-caps moniker (the name doubles as the Finnish word for "extreme perseverance," FYI), Vu is prepping for the fall release of SISU's as-yet-untitled debut album. "For the past three years, I've been pretty much booked up solid with touring in [Dum Dum Girls], and it was really, really difficult to release something," she says. "I'm really excited to finally do it."

As a primer for the upcoming full-length, SISU has unveiled a music video for "Two Thousand Hands," the washed-out opening track off the Light Eyes EP, a five-song sampler dropped earlier this year. The clip, directed and edited by touring bassist Dave South, translates the tune's dreamy, windswept romance to film with vivid clarity. Vu's hair blows wildly as flurries of confetti swirl around her and bits of found footage (volcanoes erupting, waterfalls rushing, glass breaking) cut up the live band's performance. Throughout the piece, the lighting shifts between stark stobe effects, lush pink tones, and m b v blues.

"It was shot in an old Chinese restaurant, so the floor was super greasy and sick and disgusting," Vu recalls. "The space was abandoned and there was a hole in the ceiling. The weather was perfect — it had rained in the morning — so the space had its own vibe already. It just came together better than we imagined." She added, "It's exactly what we wanted: An introduction to the band, what we look like, and how we perform live."

SISU fall 2013 tour dates:

September 4 - Montreal, QC @ Societe des Arts Technologiques #
September 5 - Boston, MA @ Church of Boston #
September 8 - Washington, D.C. - Rock & Roll Hotel #
September 9 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's #
September 11 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison #
September 12 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle #
September 13 - St. Louis, MO @ Firebird #
September 14 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In #
September 15 - Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree #
September 17 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk #
September 19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room #
September 20 - Los Angeles, CA @ Echo # %
September 21 - San Diego, CA @ The Void # %
September 22 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill # %
September 24 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios # %
September 25 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza # %
September 26 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret # %

# = with Dirty Beaches
% = with Chasms - SPIN Magazine

Since you are so busy with Dum Dum Girls, do you find it difficult to balance both projects?

Yeah, it's really difficult actually. With Dum Dum Girls, we have a lot of stuff going on, but it's still hard to kind of perceive what we're going to be doing next year, for instance, and with a band you kind of have to know when you're going to be free way in advance--like six to nine months--and that's kind of why I have to do more DIY stuff, because then I can just do it when I have time and don't have to plan with a company or anything.

While listening to Sisu it sounds much different than Dum Dum Girls--sparse, dark, more synth. What would you say are the largest differences between the bands?

Probably the biggest difference is that we use a lot of synth and keyboards, where Dum Dum Girls is more straightforward rock 'n' roll. Dee Dee [Penny] and I have similar tastes in music, but it comes out different. She mainly writes songs with guitar and her voice, where Sisu could be inspired by a keyboard part or drum part, or guitar too, but I think you can tell it comes out differently. It's not a straightforward rock band. -[OC Weekly]

Cat Power has had some pretty eclectic openers for her shows of late: Xray Eyeballs have opened for the singer in NYC and Europe, and Angel Haze will do so at Terminal 5 on Tuesday (1/29). For a couple of her other East Coast shows -- tonight (1/28) in Richmond, VA and Wednesday (1/30) in Philly -- Chan Marshall has tapped dream pop combo SISU, the band fronted by Dum Dum Girls drummer Sandra Vu.
UPDATE: SISU now also playing the Terminal 5 show as well. Updated dates below.

While on the East Coast, SISU will play NYC as well, hitting Glasslands on Thursday (1/31) for a pretty sweet line-up that includes an "electric duo" version of Crocodiles as headliners, plus Punks of Mars and a Cassie Ramone solo set. Advance tickets are on sale.

SISU will be releasing new music soon via NYC label Mono Prism but in the meantime you can stream Demon Tapes Vol. 2 below. - Brooklyn Vegan

Since you are so busy with Dum Dum Girls, do you find it difficult to balance both projects?

Yeah, it's really difficult actually. With Dum Dum Girls, we have a lot of stuff going on, but it's still hard to kind of perceive what we're going to be doing next year, for instance, and with a band you kind of have to know when you're going to be free way in advance--like six to nine months--and that's kind of why I have to do more DIY stuff, because then I can just do it when I have time and don't have to plan with a company or anything.

While listening to Sisu it sounds much different than Dum Dum Girls--sparse, dark, more synth. What would you say are the largest differences between the bands?

Probably the biggest difference is that we use a lot of synth and keyboards, where Dum Dum Girls is more straightforward rock 'n' roll. Dee Dee [Penny] and I have similar tastes in music, but it comes out different. She mainly writes songs with guitar and her voice, where Sisu could be inspired by a keyboard part or drum part, or guitar too, but I think you can tell it comes out differently. It's not a straightforward rock band. -[OC Weekly]

Cat Power has had some pretty eclectic openers for her shows of late: Xray Eyeballs have opened for the singer in NYC and Europe, and Angel Haze will do so at Terminal 5 on Tuesday (1/29). For a couple of her other East Coast shows -- tonight (1/28) in Richmond, VA and Wednesday (1/30) in Philly -- Chan Marshall has tapped dream pop combo SISU, the band fronted by Dum Dum Girls drummer Sandra Vu.
UPDATE: SISU now also playing the Terminal 5 show as well. Updated dates below.

While on the East Coast, SISU will play NYC as well, hitting Glasslands on Thursday (1/31) for a pretty sweet line-up that includes an "electric duo" version of Crocodiles as headliners, plus Punks of Mars and a Cassie Ramone solo set. Advance tickets are on sale.

SISU will be releasing new music soon via NYC label Mono Prism but in the meantime you can stream Demon Tapes Vol. 2 below. - Brooklyn Vegan

SISU opened with a bit of a Blonde Redhead vibe, probably because two handsome men playing bass and guitar flanked vocalist Sandra Vu (who also drums for Dum Dum Girls). The five-piece (whose closest related artist on Spotify is, incidentally and weirdly enough for an aside, 1930s electronic pioneer Vladimir Ussachevsky) beguiled with cleanly executed guitar jabs in the direction of New Order with asides to viscous interpretations of Smiths-ian shoegaze. Which is to say, they sounded properly schooled in who they were trying to sound like, and overall they came out on just the right side of derivative. "They Die," for prime example, is suffused with the golden light of La Folie-era the Stranglers that's been lightly burned around the edges. - The Village Voice

SISU opened with a bit of a Blonde Redhead vibe, probably because two handsome men playing bass and guitar flanked vocalist Sandra Vu (who also drums for Dum Dum Girls). The five-piece (whose closest related artist on Spotify is, incidentally and weirdly enough for an aside, 1930s electronic pioneer Vladimir Ussachevsky) beguiled with cleanly executed guitar jabs in the direction of New Order with asides to viscous interpretations of Smiths-ian shoegaze. Which is to say, they sounded properly schooled in who they were trying to sound like, and overall they came out on just the right side of derivative. "They Die," for prime example, is suffused with the golden light of La Folie-era the Stranglers that's been lightly burned around the edges. - The Village Voice

Sisu: With Dum Dum Girls drummer Sandra Vu at the helm of this Angeleno quartet, it’s safe to say SISU represents the darker side of the dream-pop realm: creepy keyboard hooks, haunting guitar tones, and slow, swelling compositions recall St. Vincent one moment and a nightmarish Beach House the next. With two EPs under their belt, including this year’s Demon Tapes, Vol 2, SISU remains an absolute DIY entity, right down to the recording, mixing, production, and design of their releases. Their Saturday afternoon set following So Many Wizards will mark their first performance back in California after stops in New York City and the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX. If their newest release is any indicator of what’s to come, SISU are bound to set a high standard of weirdness that may be tough to compete with. New Noise Block Party, State and Mason sts., Sat., Nov. 10, 1:30pm. - Santa Barbara Independent

Sisu: With Dum Dum Girls drummer Sandra Vu at the helm of this Angeleno quartet, it’s safe to say SISU represents the darker side of the dream-pop realm: creepy keyboard hooks, haunting guitar tones, and slow, swelling compositions recall St. Vincent one moment and a nightmarish Beach House the next. With two EPs under their belt, including this year’s Demon Tapes, Vol 2, SISU remains an absolute DIY entity, right down to the recording, mixing, production, and design of their releases. Their Saturday afternoon set following So Many Wizards will mark their first performance back in California after stops in New York City and the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX. If their newest release is any indicator of what’s to come, SISU are bound to set a high standard of weirdness that may be tough to compete with. New Noise Block Party, State and Mason sts., Sat., Nov. 10, 1:30pm. - Santa Barbara Independent

SISU

Over at the Beauty Bar it was SISU aka Dum Dum Girls drummer Sandy Vu's band. They were minus their drummer, who missed his flight or something, but Dum Dum Girls guitarist Jules sat on the drumstool and sang harmonies. Still sounded great in amputated form: glide guitar, ethereal vocals, volume. - Brooklyn Vegan

SISU

Over at the Beauty Bar it was SISU aka Dum Dum Girls drummer Sandy Vu's band. They were minus their drummer, who missed his flight or something, but Dum Dum Girls guitarist Jules sat on the drumstool and sang harmonies. Still sounded great in amputated form: glide guitar, ethereal vocals, volume. - Brooklyn Vegan

Some of you may want to go just to see openers SISU which is Dum Dum Girls drummer Sandra Vu's band who make gothy postpunk/shoegaze a la Lush or Slowdive (with a slinky dash of Siouxsie perhaps). I caught them at SXSW this year and thought they were pretty good, despite their drummer being MIA. SISU's debut album is due out any minute, but in the meantime you can stream their Demon Tapes, Vol 2 EP below (and download it for free from Bandcamp). No other SISU tour dates at the moment but seems like a long trip from L.A. just for one show and CMJ just a week later. - Brooklyn Vegan

Some of you may want to go just to see openers SISU which is Dum Dum Girls drummer Sandra Vu's band who make gothy postpunk/shoegaze a la Lush or Slowdive (with a slinky dash of Siouxsie perhaps). I caught them at SXSW this year and thought they were pretty good, despite their drummer being MIA. SISU's debut album is due out any minute, but in the meantime you can stream their Demon Tapes, Vol 2 EP below (and download it for free from Bandcamp). No other SISU tour dates at the moment but seems like a long trip from L.A. just for one show and CMJ just a week later. - Brooklyn Vegan

If you've ever caught Dum Dum Girls live, you've likely asked yourself, “who is that babe with the flying black hair who's slaying on drums?” That's Sandra “Sandy Beaches” Vu, the quartet's drummer, who also fronts her own music project, SISU (pronounced “see-soo”). Her band mixes minimal electro beats and synth with guitar, bass, and flute, all surrounded by Vu's ethereal voice, a far cry from Dum Dum Girls' chainsaw surf guitar and singer Dee Dee's vibrato.

This tour, SISU joins Dum Dum Girls as the traveling opener for most nights including Mon/21 in San Jose (though not in San Francisco, Tues/22 – but hey, Sandy will still be there, pounding away with DDG). SISU's totally DIY (hence, highly limited) hand-numbered CD-Rs will be available on the West Coast tour.

I spoke with the tireless Vu during a quick van ride during their joint tour, in her Los Angeles hometown, discussing doing double duty in the lineup, feeling naked on stage, and beats that sound like a giant's stride.

SFBG Can you tell me about SISU's formation, when did it start, and how did the idea come together?

Sandra Vu I was in a band called Midnight Movies, we were signed to a small label and we were on track to "go big” but it never happened. I had put everything into it at that point, and had structured my life, day job, and so on to make playing music my life.

So when we split, I was pretty confused about what to do next. I had always written songs and generally messed around with recording multiple tracks of myself since I learned how to use a tape deck.

So I just decided to write songs for myself, and learn how to use the computer as a home studio. This was before Garageband so it was a little more esoteric back then to record on a laptop. My goal was always just to keep it going and play music with my friends if they would join me.

SFBG Who else is in the band now?

SV Ryan Wood also played in Midnight Movies. We had that special rhythm section bond and had become really good friends. He's a talented songwriter and guitar player in his own right. He's pretty much the other half of the SISU brain. More than playing guitar and keyboard, he's the band engineer.

We have done a lot of self-releases, so I've made him responsible for the sort of technical aspects of the band, which I think plays a big hand in the sound of the band. He is a synth nerd and fine tunes a lot of sounds that we end up using. Then there is Nathanael Keefer on drums, Rebecca Calinsky on keyboards, and Chris Stevens who joined us on this tour on bass guitar. They are the best!

SFBG When did you start drumming? And when did you pick up other instruments?

SV I started playing drums when I was 13. I taught myself guitar around the same time as well, if not before. My first instrument was the piano, I think around age 7. In second grade, I joined the school band and learned the flute.

I wanted to play drums for a long time, but picked up guitar and flute along the way because it's a bit inaccessible to get a drumkit. You know, it's expensive, takes up a lot of room, and super loud – basically, every parents' nightmare. I realize it sickens people to hear how easily it came to me, but it really didn't. I worked hard at it and spent many many hours playing and obsessing.

SFBG Has SISU opened for Dum Dum Girls before this tour? What's it like doing double-duty at shows so far?

SV No, this is the first time. We had talked about it before, but it hasn't happened until now! Now that I'm a few shows in, I can tell you that it's pretty stressful. I thought we had no time to hang out playing in one band, we absolutely have zero time to grab dinner after soundcheck with friends now because I have another soundcheck right after. Overall, it's more mentally tiring than physically. I don't think I could drum in two bands in one night though, that would just be too intense.


SFBG Do you see any similarities between the two bands?
SV They are very much separate. Dee Dee and I have overlapping taste in music, but the outcome of our bands are very different. For one, there are no synths in Dum Dum Girls, whereas SISU songs are often centered around synth sounds. In SISU, I play the guitar very sparingly and hardly ever use complete chords.

SFBG Any other musicians, songs, or albums influence SISU?

SV Some unexpected influences are Serge Gainsbourg, DJ Shadow, and Vashti Bunyan. There is one DJ Shadow song that I was sure inspired our bass sound, but I went back and listened to it, and it was much different than I remembered. It was strange that I was inspired by an inaccurate memory, and even stranger that what we came to could have been drawn from much more obvious band, like the Cure.

SFBG Anything non-music related influence SISU?

SV The song “Infinity Net” on our new EP was inspired by artist Yayoi Kusama and a conversation I had with a friend. Sometimes I will let a visual idea dictate sounds and rhythm in a song. It's ea - San Francisco Bay Guardian