By Kristi Alexandra
@kristialexandra

Amanda Sum has a thing for trios. 

It can be seen in her debut music video for “Groupthink”–a dreamy indie-pop tune about her misgivings about societal norms–in which three Asian women (Sum included) don traditional cheongsam dresses in choreographed movement.

It’s also seen in the band she’s hired to play on her upcoming album. 

“I just think how bad ass would that be: to have a little trio of Asian girls just rockin it out?!” she exclaims, talking about finding the right musicians for her upcoming collection of songs.

So, it follows that Sum herself is a triple threat: songwriter, singer, performer.

“I think that’s the fun thing for me: it’s bouncing between and mixing them up,” Sum explains.

“Growing up, I played classical piano, and my mom is a singer and I would see her band sing jazz ballads all the time. I was in the chamber choir and the wind ensemble, so I had a lot of different things feeding me.”

The Vancouverite is a talented thespian and musician, whose name can be seen in the credits of several local productions, from rice & beans theatre’s Chicken Girl to the East Van Panto’s Pinnochio, but soon she’ll be known for her gorgeously arranged songs and honey-smooth voice. 

Thus far, you can hear it on “Groupthink” and “Mary Shelley,” Sum’s debut musical singles, the former which was released in late 2020 alongside a music video directed by filmmaker Mayumi Yoshida.  

“I love trios,” the singer repeats. “I had this image of three dancing Asian girls, I said ‘I don’t know how we can make that work.’ I gave [Mayumi] some images and feelings and we talked about it a lot, but she steered it in the direction that I loved.”

In front of and behind the camera, and in the recording room, there was one thing that was important to Sum: an all-female team.

“It’s an all-female team from writing to mastering–everyone. All the players and musicians on these two tracks and the ones I have ready are all Asian female musicians, which was my dream come true. It gets me giddy.”

Making space for those players was integral to Sum’s journey after she secured a demo grant from Creative BC for underrepresented artists to create “Groupthink.”

“If the whole grant was for underrepresented artists, and I got it, then I took that as a responsibility to say ‘If I’m gifted this opportunity, then I need to share it with the people who have been waiting, and not just… work with people who work all the time.’ I wanted squeeze as much as I could out of that, and say ‘Okay, if you give it to me, you’re going to give it to all these other people cause I’m gonna share that with people who rarely see themselves reflected in all kinds of media.’ I felt that all kind of throughout me starting to focus on music and theatre. It’s not a super common thing to see myself reflected onstage or on the radio.”

Following receiving the grant from Creative BC, Sum worked with her mentor to find her very own dream team.

“We were talking about instrumentation, and at that time, I had only written for me and a piano part or a guitar part,” she recalls, “but if we were going to shoot for my dream, I wanted an all-Asian female band.”

“I talk about it openly because it’s that behind-the-scenes thing that I want to be known,” she says. “With ‘Groupthink’, I couldn’t stomach singing about succumbing to societal norms while in the process hiring my white dude drummer friends–whom I know and love–but then the process and the product wouldn’t line up and that wouldn’t feel right.”

Right now, Sum is arranging a collection of new songs with her new ensemble, with the dream to create a full album with them.

“I just sent a bunch of demos to my producer to have a listen,” Sum confirms. “I have all the songs and I’ve arranged all the songs, but when that can come to be is still a question.”

While her fanbase awaits Sum’s debut album, she can be seen performing Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata from February 5 – 7 via The Cultch, or New Age Attitudes: Live in Concert at PushOFF from February 2 – 6.

Kristi Alexandra is an unabashed wino and wannabe musician. Her talents include drinking an entire bottle of cabernet sauvignon, singing in the bathtub, and falling asleep.