MAY RIO (Poppies) Shares Video For "Reservations," Solo Debut 'Easy Bammer' Out Now on Dots Per Inch Music

Shares Video For “Reservations” Solo Debut Album Easy Bammer Out Now on Dots Per Inch Music

Credit: Grace Pendleton  Praise for May Rio: "gorgeous...with melting, glowing synths and a melody that skips into place when the beat kicks in. Rio sings about surreal-feeling things like long stretches of summer and wasting time away in front of the television, and her lyrics sound like adult nursery rhymes...” - NYLON "Rio leaned more into pop production, pulling in experimental sounds, funky pop loops and eclectic arcade game effects to compliment her whimsical voice." - Audiofemme "strikingly creative" - Alt Citizen May Rio - NYC’s May Rio Sembera (formerly of Poppies) - recently released her solo debut album Easy Bammer on Dots Per Inch Music, and today she is sharing the Michael Jensen-directed video for “Reservations.” Watch HERE. May says of the track, "Reservations" is one of the first songs I wrote for this album--it came when I was isolated, alone, at the beginning of lockdown. There was someone I was very fond of, who was sort of early on in the stages of a heroin recovery. You know, when you know something is kind of doomed but you flutter every time their name comes up on your phone anyway.” Director Michael Jenson on the video, “The “Reservations” video was rendered entirely on Mario Paint and edited entirely with VCRs. Much of the synchronicity fell into place as the medium’s properties were allowed to fizzle and warp freely. I wanted the imagery to foreground the melancholy of the song while also countering it.”

Easy Bammer reinterprets bedroom pop as a clever, dark, & humorous sound, colored by a world gone into lockdown. May turns months of isolation into a curious & hyperreal reflection on memory of a time in New York City before stay-at-home-orders and lukewarm take-out—reflections on a time when staying at home & thinking felt like an unreasonable request of the cosmos. Easy Bammer gives its listener a chance to experience the warmth & quiet laughter of reflection; it does so in a time otherwise reserved for most as an endless cycle of waiting for new headlines. Stream/purchase Easy Bammer HERE. The album is produced by Tony or Tony and mastered by Sarah Register (Ariana Grande, Yaeji, The Shins). The first taste of the incredible debut was with lead single “Butter” premiered by NYLON who called it, "gorgeous...with melting, glowing synths and a melody that skips into place when the beat kicks in. Rio sings about surreal-feeling things like long stretches of summer and wasting time away in front of the television, and her lyrics sound like adult nursery rhymes.” She then shared the glittering “I C,” with an incredible Eleanor Petry-directed video, and finally “Party Jail,” a hypnotic ode to the ironic circumstance of being exhausted by the non-stop social commitments of life on the DIY tour circuit, that came with a Brandon Tyson-directed video. Alt Citizen said of the latest track, "May Rio has a gorgeous voice and a soft, fey-like presence."

Easy Bammer Tracklisting:  Butter Everything Must Go! I C Reservations Gravy, Baby JoJo Party Jail Without SongForNeo Reasons

"Party Jail" dir. Brandon Tyson On a typical Thursday shopping at her local Food Bazaar, May Rio - aka May Sembera - met Tony 1, a songsmith and producer known locally for his work with avant-pop boy band, Tony or Tony. They hit it off, both a little buzzed on the low-hanging vapors of ambient car exhaust and pulverized ginger from the nearby juice counter. But it was not until a chance reunion in the back of a narrow Bed-Stuy dive that May suggested he produce her debut solo record, Easy Bammer, which May had recently begun work on. At the beginning of lockdown, May decided to sign up for a free three-month trial of the digital audio workstation Ableton, of which she says, “It was intimidating at first — I never have (and never will be) a computer person, but I was inspired by the music a number of friends had made with this program. I was pumping out demos, and at some point figured I may as well turn them into real records.” The blending of May’s beguiling ear-worm pop songs and Tony 1’s left-field production proved to be an initial success, enough so to plan more sessions.

"I C" dir. Eleanor Petry