This is the time of year around Boston when most people come to us, and the news is littered with stories about Allston Christmas and U-Hauls getting caught in the Storrow Drive overpass. But a decent amount of people annually leave our city just before Labor Day, and perhaps the music community’s most notable ghosting this year is Emerson College grad Samira E. Winter exchanging coasts for a life (and job) in Los Angeles.
The relocation casts some shadows on her echo-hearted dream-pop project Winter — there’s certainly always been a hazy shade of it in SoCal — which began as a collaboration last year with Infinity Girl’s Nolan Eley. Since then, they’ve gained a reputation as a young band to watch on the strength of the lush warmth of the Daydreaming EP and a live show that now features Kyle Oppenheimer, also of shoegazers Infinity Girl, and Ana Karina DaCosta of psych veterans 28 Degrees Taurus.
Winter’s last two Boston shows — for a while, anyway — arrive this week in Cambridge: tonight at the Lizard Lounge with Audrey Ryan and Michelle Lewis, and Thursday at T.T. The Bear’s Place with Soft Metals and Calgary James.
We tossed a few questions at the Brazilian native, asking her about the imminent move west, the future prospects of her band, and her personal highlights of living in Boston. Fire up some tunes and dig in after the Bandcamp jump…
Michael Marotta: So word is you’re moving to Los Angeles. While we’re grateful you’re ignoring New York, what exactly awaits on the West Coast?
Sunshine and flowers! Besides those, a music programming job!
Do you realize LA doesn’t have winters?
Haha I’m a Winter! So it will at least have one Winter.
What does this mean for the future of the band?
Well we’re planning on releasing “Alligator,” our summer single, very soon, and a song for The Le Sigh compilation. Nolan and I are planning on releasing new Winter material in early 2014. We’ll keep making music from coast to coast. What’s mainly going to change is playing shows together.
Can you continue, as assembled, as a bi-coastal band?
Whenever, I come to the East Coast, we’ll definitely play, and vice versa. We have a lot of chemistry and a whole lifetime, so this is not the end by any means.
What will you miss the most about the Boston music scene?
The community. There are many different scenes however you still see a lot of the same people at shows, which makes for a homey and friendly environment. I think I’ll miss house shows the most out of everything. They provide such an intimate yet thrilling experience.
What will you miss the least?
Police shutting down house shows.
And lastly, what was your favorite show you played while living in Boston?
The Allston Pudding Mixtape show at Great Scott. There was something about the Christmas lights and Kid Mountain’s jungle swing. It was special because it was one of our first shows and the crowd for a Monday night was amazing!
