Who Is Yves Tumor? The Experimental Artist on Everyone's Radar

Yves Tumor can't be defined. Through three albums and several EPs, the Turin-based avant-garde artist born Sean Bowie has remained an ambiguous figure in the music world, evoking a genre-less sound by exploring some of the most extreme sides of music.

Tumor has become known for short, looped tracks and experimental sounds. Raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, he grew up listening to the likes of Nirvana and The Velvet Underground. He says his brother helped him get into the electronic stuff, and industrial music pioneers Throbbing Gristle became one of his biggest influences.

After college, Tumor moved to Los Angeles and met rapper Mykki Blanco in 2012. He joined the rapper's Dogfood Music Group and toured Europe and Asia with Blanco for the next two and a half years.

Afterward, he moved to Leipzig, Germany to work on his debut album Serpent Music, which evolved from his self-released EPs When Man Fails You and Experiencing The Deposit of Faith.

"I like setting moods," he said.

"I'm never consciously trying to make a harsh song, or a dreamy song or a noisy, disgusting song – it's more a mood I want to translate."

His 2016 debut was conceived as a soul record, but Tumor proved that he was the ambient Svengali. In songs like "The Feeling When You Walk Away," "Serpent I" and "I" and "Face Of A Demon," he switches up the mood by alternating between lush guitar hooks, hi-tech tones, percussion and spoken word.

Yves Tumor, Serpent Music (full album)

On 2018's Safe in the Hands of Love, Tumor continues his mission statement of setting the mood, but this time with more of an emotive purpose.

Throughout the album's 10 tracks, Tumor takes us through several genres of love, loss and pain. In "Noid," he grapples with the effects of police brutality from the perspective of someone who witnesses it firsthand. "I’m scared for my life," he screams. "They don’t trust us."

The indie pop sounding "Licking an Orchid" explores a masochistic look at love and lust, as Tumor sings "Some call it pain / Some call it torture / Baby I enjoy it."

Yves Tumor, "Noid"

His new album Heaven To A Tortured Mind is due April 3rd, and will feature singles "Gospel For A New Century" and "Kerosene."

Yves Tumor, "Gospel For A New Century"
Yves Tumor, "Kerosene!"

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists are canceling or postponing concerts and tours. Check out our list, which we're updating every day!

So far, Yves Tumor has only canceled two shows at the Fonda and Constellation Room in California. You can see those scheduled dates below, and keep up with Yves Tumor on Twitter or through his website for more info.

Yves Tumor World Tour dates:

04/04 — Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club *
04/05 — Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
04/07 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *
04/08 — Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *
04/10 — Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown *
04/11 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line *
04/12 — Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
04/13 — Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s *
04/14 — Detroit, MI @ El Club *
04/16 — Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club *
04/18 — Montreal, QC @ L’Astral *
04/19 — Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair *
04/20 — Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall *
04/22 — Raleigh, NC @ Kings *
04/23 — Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
04/25 — Mexico City, MX @ Ceremonia Festival
05/01 — Miami, FL @ iii Points Festival
05/03 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas *
05/05 — New York City, NY @ Webster Hall *
05/19 — Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s *
05/20 — London, UK @ Electric Brixton *
05/21 — Paris, FR @ Villette Sonique Festival
05/23 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord *
05/24 — Copenhagen, DK @ Vega *
05/26 — Berlin, DE @ Gretchen *
05/27 — Warsaw, PL @ Hydrozagadka *
05/30 — Gent, BE @ Balzaal Vooruit *
07/10 — Trenčín, SK @ Pohoda Festival
07/11 — Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live
07/17 — Dour, BE @ Dour Festival

* = w/ Ecco2k

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