Los Angeles based 4-piece Suns of Cali paints a mesmerizing picture with their recent music video for their hit, "Canvas."
Led by frontmen Allen Miranda and Chris "Howie" Cruz, Suns of Cali are continually making an effort to support the arts in all its forms.
With a blend of Latin and Hawaiian cultures, the laidback 4-piece shines a bright light on street art with their recent music video, while strumming their way into our hearts with "Canvas." With a lively performance and many detailed effects, Suns of Cali captures a dazzling music video that features the pristine street art encapsulating the city and culture of Los Angeles.
Not to mention the overall song "Canvas," Suns of Cali provide a sweet downtempo tune with bright ukulele melodies, groovy percussion patterns, stimulating acoustic and electric guitar, and powerful vocals.
Singing about taking your time with art and putting heart into your creative endeavors, Suns of Cali back up this meaning with their brilliantly shot music video. With scenes of artists working on their street art, the amalgamation of the song and music video portrays such a deep passion for creativity, while reminding artists that their pieces never go unnoticed or unappreciated.
Suns of Cali have effortlessly brightened our day with their music video for "Canvas," and inspired us to keep our creativity flowing.
What inspired you to create a song and music video highlighting street art, and art in general?
Thanks for having us! The main inspiration behind the song was definitely the immense cultural diversity in LA. It’s no surprise that LA is as diverse as it gets, and with this diversity comes a lot of talented artists who get to express their singularities and differences through this platform. Art is truly the language of the universe and we as artists and musicians use it to shine a light on all sorts of things. It’s so crazy how ever-changing and fast murals are painted over in the city. They’re there one day and gone the next which is why getting it on film and immortalizing it through song and video is our way of giving tribute to the artists who work hard every day to spread peace and love through their art.
Seeing as your song "Canvas" is all about keeping creative passions ignited, how did Suns of Cali create the music video to reflect this free feeling of artistic creation?
We definitely wanted the art to speak for itself. The song itself is very simple. It’s a mix of easy to follow lyrics followed by a sort of call and response. We definitely weren’t looking to compose anything too complex for this particular song: The original vision was to capture artists at work in their studios painting original art pieces on the spot and compiling them all together to create this sort of artistic montage complimented by 5 minutes worth of b-roll. Have you ever tried to seek out all the art murals in LA? Turns out there’s a lot! We had several artists participate in the actual music video and the end result was fantastic. The assortment of both color and sound in unison really brought out the essence of what we were going for.
We've heard that Suns of Cali mixes Latin and Hawaiian cultural elements within your music. How do you go about representing these cultures, and how has this route helped define your sound?
We’re a diverse bunch. Allen is Hawaiian and the rest of us are second-generation Latinos. We pulled from our roots and the result is what you hear. Hawaiian reggae and Latin rock have influenced us quite a bit in creating our sound and we continue to instill elements of those genres in our music. Vocal harmonies and unique percussion shape the direction our music is heading and you can expect more of that in our second EP currently in the works.
Suns of Cali is said to be a 4-piece that continually advocates for art in any way, shape, or form. What else would you like to share with our readers about your brand, and what Suns of Cali brings to the table?
SOC was born out of love for music. Everyone in the band worships music and art collectively and we wanted the opportunity to share that love with the world. Anyone that loves music can practically attest to the feeling they get when they discover a new band or artist for the first time. From attending a live show or buying a T-shirt at the merch table and wearing it until the colors fade, we are no different. We are die-hard music and art lovers/goers/doers and sharing the stage with so many musicians and artists with the same mentality of providing something new and pleasant is the world to us. So many artists are looking to be the next best thing but we just wanna make music cause it feels good!
What has been keeping you inspired throughout 2020?
It’s hard to lose sight of what matters in this day and age. We’re trying our best to not let the current events and world affairs enter us from our music. Everyone needs something to fall back on and for us, that’s jamming out in the garage with a pack of beer and some good friends (also intoxicated) to tell us how good we sound!
Stream "Canvas" on Spotify here.