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Finom
Also known asOHMME, Homme
OriginChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Years active2014–present
LabelsJoyful Noise
Members
  • Sima Cunningham
  • Macie Stewart
Websitewww.finommusic.com

Finom (formerly known as OHMME, and Homme) is a rock band from Chicago formed by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist duo Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart in 2014.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Since 2016, Matt Carroll has been FINOM's drummer.[2][8]

Background

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Both Cunningham and Stewart attended Whitney Young Magnet High School on the city's near west side. While Macie Stewart was in high school, she played keyboards and sang in Kids These Days. Adding electric guitar, Stewart co-founded Marrow with Cunningham's brother, Liam Cunningham (a.k.a. Liam Kazar), in 2013 after Kids These Days disbanded.[9] Drummer Matt Carroll also played in Marrow.[9] As of 2020, Stewart also plays violin and keyboards, and sings, in Chicago's avant-garde jazz ("improvised music"/free improvisation) community, including as a member of Marker, led by Ken Vandermark.[10][11][12] Cunningham sang with the Chicago Children's Choir, and performed in the band The Audians while in high school. Since 2008, Cunningham has played and sung in bands, toured and recorded as a backup singer, worked on solo projects, and curated music festivals.[13][14][15]

Both Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart have released solo albums.[15][16] From 2017 through 2020, Cunningham and Stewart—often along with Ken Vandermark, Anton Hatwich [de], Isaiah Spencer [de], and Cunningham's brother Liam Kazar (Cunningham)—usually participated in the annual winter performances in Chicago of the Yes We Can Band led by Jeff Albert [de] and Steve Marquette [de], which covers New Orleans rhythm & blues/funk tunes, particularly those of Allen Toussaint and the Meters.[17][18] As of 2021–2022, Cunningham, her brother Liam Kazar (Cunningham), and others frequently join Andrew Sa's Cosmic Country Showcase band in Chicago and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[19][20]

History

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According to Cunningham, the band started because "we knew we could sing well together, and we wanted to make some noise with the guitar."[2] Both artists are trained as classical pianists and were familiar with the scope of sonic spaces keyboards had to offer but, according to Stewart, "since we were interested in experimenting and creating something different from what we had both done in the past, we chose guitar as our outlet for this band. We wanted to create parameters for ourselves that were both new and uncomfortable to force ourselves into a different creative space”.[2]

Finom have been touring both nationally and internationally since January 2016, including playing Pitchfork Music Festival in 2016.[4][21] They have toured with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Iron & Wine, The Joy Formidable, Tortoise, and The Ophelias.[citation needed] In 2016, Finom added drummer Matt Carroll, who also worked with Cunningham and Stewart in the band Marrow.[2][4] By late 2021, OHMME had expanded its touring band.[citation needed]

OHMME released their first single on November 13, 2015, a self-titled EP in 2017, and two full-length albums: Parts in 2018 and Fantasize Your Ghost in 2020. OHMME have vocal and instrumental credits on projects of other musicians, including Chance the Rapper,[4] Thor Harris,[22] Richard Thompson,[4] Twin Peaks, Ken Vandermark,[12] V.V. Lightbody (Vivian McConnell),[9] and Whitney.[citation needed]

Noisey dubbed OHMME "the band at the heart of Chicago's music community."[2][9] After OHMME played a Tiny Desk Concert spot for NPR, Bob Boilen (TDC curator and producer of All Songs Considered) remarked that it was among the best performances of the series.[23][24]

Fantasize Your Ghost, OHMME's second full-length album, was released on June 5, 2020 by Joyful Noise Recordings.[1][25][21][9] In October 2020, OHMME released a concert film of the Fantasize Your Ghost material, plus two songs from a new single, with additional musicians Nnamdï Ogbonnaya [de] (drums), Ruby Parker and Quinn Tsan (backing vocals), and V.V. Lightbody (backing vocals and flute), but without Matt Carroll; the film was recorded at and subsequently livestreamed (via YouTube) from Constellation in Chicago.[26][27]

In December 2021 in Chicago, Cunningham, Stewart, and Alex Grelle inaugurated "Full Bush", a theatrical tribute to Kate Bush, written by Grelle and Jesse Morgan Young.[28]

The duo announced in August 2022 that they had changed their name from OHMME to Finom, for legal reasons,[29] and that they would embark on a nine-date tour of the eastern United States the following month.[30]

As of 2024, Finom continue to tour and to perform locally in Chicago.[31] In 2021, 2023, and 2024 performances, the duo were accompanied by Spencer Tweedy on drums and V. V. Lightbody on guitar, flute, and bass, but without Matt Carroll.[32][33][better source needed] On October 16, 2023, Finom re-released their debut album, titled OHMME.

Equipment

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In interviews, Cunningham and Stewart have described some of the musical equipment that they use, especially Stratocaster guitars and various pedals. As of 2019, Stewart often uses an Electro-Harmonix Octave Multiplexer pedal to substitute for a bass guitar.[34][35]

Band members

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  • Sima Cunningham – vocals, guitar
  • Macie Stewart – vocals, guitar, violin, bass

Live-performance musicians

  • Matt Carroll – drums (2016–2020)
  • Spencer Tweedy – drums (2021–present)
  • V.V. Lightbody (Vivian McConnell) - bass, guitar, vocals (2020–present)

Discography

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Albums

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EPs

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Singles

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  • "Furniture" (2015)
  • "Wheel" (Overcoat Recordings, 2017); also self-released on split single with Poliça: Crate Diggers in Chicago (2017)
  • "Fingerprints" (2017)
  • "Woman" (2017)
  • "Icon" (2018)
  • "At Night" b/w "Gimme Back My Man" (Joyful Noise Recordings, 2019)[1]
  • "Mine" b/w "Miasma" (Sub Pop, 2020)[37]
  • "Girl Loves Me" (written by David Bowie) b/w "Some Kind of Calm" (Kahiem Rivera remix) (Joyful Noise Recordings via bandcamp, digital only, 2021)

Multiple-artist compilations

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  • "Homicidal Hamsters" on Safe In Sound (Home Recordings From Quarantine) (Joyful Noise Recordings, 2020)[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "OHMME". Joyful Noise Recordings. 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Ohmme Is the Band at the Heart of Chicago's Music Community". Noisey. 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  3. ^ "Discovery: OHMME - Interview Magazine". Interview Magazine. 2017-07-11. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  4. ^ a b c d e Kot, Greg (August 18, 2016). "Homme the latest experiment for 2 multifaceted musicians". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  5. ^ Kot, Greg (August 9, 2018). "Ohmme blows up boundaries". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  6. ^ Wilt, Chloe. "Experimental duo Ohmme returns to Columbia". Vox Magazine. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  7. ^ "OHMME - OHMME (Fox Hall Records, 2017) | Review | Earbuddy". Earbuddy. 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  8. ^ "5 Questions: Musician Matt Carroll". Esthetic Lens. 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  9. ^ a b c d e Roti, Jessi (June 10, 2020). "A room of Ohmme's own: On Fantasize Your Ghost,..." Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  10. ^ Wall, Patrick (February 1, 2018). "With Marker, Ken Vandermark Synthesizes Sounds to Manipulate Memory". Free Times (Columbia, South Carolina). Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  11. ^ Margasak, Peter (February 1, 2018). "Veteran Chicago reedist adapts a mentor role in his visceral new Chicago quintet Marker". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  12. ^ a b Brown, Hilary (March 26, 2019). "Macie Stewart's Equilibrium". Downbeat Magazine. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  13. ^ Terry, Josh (2017-06-29). "Ohmme Is the Band at the Heart of Chicago's Music Community". Vice. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  14. ^ ""Do You Speak Music?": Sima Cunningham at TEDxYerevan". TEDxYerevan. 2012. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  15. ^ a b "Sima Cunningham". Reggies. 2015. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  16. ^ Julious, Britt (August 27, 2021). "Ohmme's Macie Stewart steps into spotlight with spectacular solo album 'Mouth Full of Glass'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  17. ^ Long, Zach (20 September 2017). "What to see at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  18. ^ "Sat. February 22 2020: Yes We Can! The Songs of New Orleans". Hungry Brain. January 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  19. ^ Nelson, J.R.; Galil, Leor (June 8, 2021). "Cosmic Country star Andrew Sa drops a high lonesome covers collection". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  20. ^ "Cosmic Country Showcase – Hosted By Andrew Sa feat. Sabine McCalla • Elizabeth Moen • Wyatt Waddell • Dylan Bragassa • Skyler Higgley". Cactus Club Milwaukee. 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  21. ^ a b Knopper, Steve (March 12, 2020). "You might think OHMME is a mantra, but it's in fact the place to be to hear remarkable music from a Chicago band in rare form". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  22. ^ "Thor Harris: 2019 Artist in Residence". Joyful Noise Recordings. 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  23. ^ Davis, Melissa (2021-11-08). "Experimental Rock Duo, OHMME Play WFYI's Small Studio". WFYI Public Media. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  24. ^ Ohmme: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, retrieved 2021-11-11
  25. ^ "Ohmme - "3 2 4 3"". Stereogum. 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  26. ^ "OHMME Presents: Fantasize Your Ghost". Constellation Chicago. October 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  27. ^ "OHMME Presents: Fantasize Your Ghost". Constellation Chicago, YouTube. October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  28. ^ Julious, Britt (December 2, 2021). "Music of Kate Bush becomes theater with Ohmme at Constellation this weekend". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  29. ^ Mendoza, Marie; Schwabe, Ethan (September 6, 2022). "Introducing 'FINOM'". WBEZ. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  30. ^ Pearis, Bill (22 August 2022). "Tour news: Coldplay, David Cross, Alex G, Todd Barry, Bewitcher / Wormwitch, more". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  31. ^ Pearis, Bill (March 6, 2024). "Finom (fka OHMME) announce Jeff Tweedy-produced album & tour, share "Haircut"". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  32. ^ "Ohmme - Live at Double Wide Bar, Deep Ellum, Dallas TX 10/2/2021". Kirby, Daniel. October 14, 2021. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  33. ^ "JUL 24 2023: Finom Setlist". setlist.fm. July 2023. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  34. ^ "Labor of Love: OHMME". Chicago Music Exchange. 2019.
  35. ^ Maine, Sammy (November 11, 2019). "How Chicago duo OHMME harness their classical training for textural experimentation". Guitar.com. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  36. ^ Strauss, Matthew (March 7, 2024). "Finom (fka Ohmme) Announce New Album Not God, Share Video for New Song "Haircut": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  37. ^ "OHMME". Sub Pop. October 12, 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
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