The Suffers Announce New Album It Starts with Love, Share Origins of “Don’t Bother Me”: Exclusive
The post The Suffers Announce New Album It Starts with Love, Share Origins of “Don’t Bother Me”: Exclusive appeared first on Consequence.
Our recurring new music feature Origins offers musicians a platform to give insights into their newest release you won’t find anywhere else. Today, Kam Franklin of The Suffers breaks down the band’s new single, “Don’t Bother Me.”
The Suffers have announced their third studio album It Starts with Love, out June 3rd via Missing Piece Records. As a preview, the Houston-based band have shared the opening track, “Don’t Bother Me,” and its accompanying music video.
It Starts with Love was written during a tumultuous time for The Suffers, during which the eight-piece Gulf Coast soul collective reinvented themselves personally and professionally. Balancing topics like racism and misogyny with self-acceptance and growth, the record was mixed by Grammy-winner Adrian Quesada, who transferred all the sessions to analog tape.
The defiant “Don’t Bother Me” was created with Swedish writer/producer and longtime friend Johan Karlberg, who originally sent the demo to frontwoman Kam Franklin in 2015. After chipping away at it for four years, the band finally knocked out the infectious song in two-and-a-half days at a North Texas studio.
Directly inspired by Miami Sound Machine, HBCU marching bands, and the music of Cheryl Lynn, “Don’t Bother Me” is sure to bring listeners to their feet while embodying the freedom that comes with embracing the concept of living life on your own terms. “Baby, I’m reckless/ Young and free!” Franklin sings on the chorus. “Can’t you see I’m living?/ Don’t bother me!”
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“Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine ran so that bands like ours could walk,” Franklin tells Consequence. “The unapologetic rhythm section, power of the horns, and overall badassery of Gloria influenced the energy we approached this song with. The main goal was to make a song that kept building in dynamics while still maintaining that same groove for the listener and folks on the dance floor.”
Check out The Suffers’ “Don’t Bother Me” video below, followed by Franklin’s full Origins of the track.
“Don’t Bother Me” follows the lead single “How Do We Heal.” The Suffers’ last album was 2018’s Everything Here. In support of It Starts with Love, the group is headed out on a spring tour beginning later this month. Check out the full itinerary below, and pick up your tickets now via Ticketmaster.
“Conga” by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine:
Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine ran so that bands like ours could walk. The unapologetic rhythm section, power of the horns, and overall badassery of Gloria influenced the energy we approached this song with. The main goal was to make a song that kept building in dynamics while still maintaining that same groove for the listener and folks on the dance floor.
HBCU Marching Bands:
I went to Texas Southern University, a historically Black university in Third Ward, Houston, Texas. The marching band at TSU is called The Ocean of Soul, and their sound has been a part of my life since I was a child. I grew up attending the battles of the bands between them, Prairie View, Grambling, and so many other incredible HBCU bands with my family. The drama, performance, and arrangements these bands showcased are a big reason I have almost always been in bands with brass instruments in them. It brings something special to the music that can’t really be described.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Going Out with My Homegirls:
Photo by Kelsey Chance via Unsplash
There’s a lyric in the song that says, “Don’t talk to him/ You’re full of gin/ Here it begins.” This is a reference to the chaos my girlfriends and I used to get ourselves into in our early 20s. We have had some amazing adventures trying to navigate the world together, and this song is dedicated to the next generation of young people going out to the clubs while simply trying to find fun, relief, and someone to dance with.
Boundaries as a Form of Self-Care:
Photo by Jean-Karim Dangou via Unsplash
It took me a long time to get comfortable telling other people no. I still struggle sometimes, but I get better every day at establishing these boundaries. This song is a celebration of living my life on my own terms without worrying about what anyone else thinks of me. “Baby, I’m reckless/ Young and free!/ Can’t you see I’m living?/ Don’t bother me!” Every time I sing the chorus, I feel a sense of relief that wasn’t there before, and I’m grateful for that.
“Got to Be Real” by Cheryl Lynn:
In my opinion, this is and has always been a perfect song. From the horns and harmonies, to the funky bassline and key change that occurs later in the song, “Got to Be Real” is a song that has been teaching my bandmates and me about the possibilities of working with this much instrumentation our entire lives. The song is high energy and powerful while maintaining its smoothness the entire time. We definitely went in that same direction for the creation of “Don’t Bother Me,” and I hope it brings people the same joy listening to it that it brought us creating it.
It Starts with Love Artwork:
It Starts with Love Tracklist:
01. Don’t Bother Me
02. A Cha Cha (Heartfelt Truth)
03. Could This Be Love
04. Take Me to the Good Times
05. Busy (Interlude)
06. 808
07. Call Someone Else (feat. Sugar Joiko)
08. Yada Yada
09. Bitches Gotta Get Paid
010. Be You (feat. The Vapor Caves)
11. How Do We Heal (feat. Son Little and Bryce The Third)
12. I’m Not Afraid
13. Nunya
The Suffers 2022 Tour Dates:
04/23 – Tilmon, TX @ Old Settlers Music Festival
04/29 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitinas %
04/30 – Huntsville, AL @ Panoply Arts Festival
05/05 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Chelsea’s +
05/06 – New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre +
05/07 – New Orleans, LA @ Republic #
05/19 – Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress *
05/20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Last Exit Live *
05/21 – Inglewood, CA @ The Miracle *
05/22 – Costa Mesa, CA @ The Wayfarer *
05/24 – Santa Barbara, CA @ SoHo *
05/26 – Reno, NV @ The Cypress *
05/27 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club
05/28 – Napa, CA @ BottleRock
06/03 – San Antonio, TX @ Carver Community Cultural Center
06/04 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
06/10 – Chicago, IL @ Chop Shop
07/01 – Portland, OR @ Waterfront Blues Festival
07/03 – Victoria, BC @ TD Victoria International JazzFest
07/08 – Denver, CO @ Levitt Pavilion
08/23-28 – Athens, Greece @ Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean
09/17 – Huddleston, VA @ Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival
09/18 – Camden, NJ @ XPoNential Festival
% = w/ Galactic
+ = w/ Neal Francis
# = w/ Big Freedia
* = w/ Fat Tony
The Suffers Announce New Album It Starts with Love, Share Origins of “Don’t Bother Me”: Exclusive
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