Words by Jasmine Bourgeois
Banner photo courtesy of Sneaks’ Facebook page
Sneaks is the lo-fi solo project of DC’s Eva Moolchan. Sounding somewhere between muzak and dark synth pop that’s made almost exclusively on a drum machine and bass, Sneaks is a project rooted in minimalism. Moolchan’s vocals are cool and impassive; her lyrics charmingly simplistic. Sprung from her roots in the DC punk scene, Sneaks “[derails] from the rock agenda and [goes] into an unknown corner of many possibilities with fewer variations.” Intentionally simplistic, Sneaks’ music feels genuinely fun.
Tom Tom talked to Eva about music, punk scenes, and songwriting.
TTM: You’ve talked about “making minimal music that takes up space” — can you tell me more about what that means for you?
Minimal music is fun to me. It’s all in the simplicity. It’s kind of derailing from the rock agenda and going into an unknown corner of many possibilities with fewer variations.
TTM: You’ve spent a lot of time in DC’s DIY punk scene — I’d love to hear your thoughts on the benefits and limitations of performing as an artist in the DIY scene.
I love DC punk. Nothing like Fugazi , Minor Threat, and Bad Brains. These bands kinda started me off on my punk journey. Not to mention L7, Bikini Kill, and Slant 6. The DC punk is scene is lit as fuck. I’m happy to be apart of it even though I’m not based there anymore. It’s ever changing and continuously inspiring to see bands grow and tour other parts of the US. For example Gauche, Priests, Six Fix, Coke Bust, and Mary Christ.
TTM: What’s your songwriting process like? Are there sounds, ideas, or styles you feel more drawn to?
Yeah, I really enjoy people [around me who] make music. I was just telling my [former] bandmate Toyo how cool it is that he put out an album with my name on one of the songs.
It’s called ‘Do You Wanna Ride‘. It basically pushed me to start recording Highway Hypnosis.
Follow Sneaks: Bandcamp//Facebook
This interview was originally published in Issue 35. To read the full interview, get a copy at the shop!