The Wave of OHMME

Chicago based feminist band is blowing up worldwide.

OHMME is a powerhouse band, whose music bends the norm of instruments in an energetic merge of genres leaving you hooked. I spoke to Sima Cunningham, 1/2 of OHMME, while she was dozing in the back of a car on her way to Ohio to open for folk singer, Iron and Wine. In between her naps, Sima was happy to FaceTime me — an eager writing student, humble as ever — as she patiently waited for a decent internet connection to kick in. Sima and her music partner Macie Stewart formed OHMME in 2014. Two years later, their friend Matt Caroll joined the band after playing at Pitchfork Music Festival. Since then, OHMME has become a staple of the Chicago music scene, collaborating with other artists such as: Chance the Rapper, Jeff Tweedy, Whitney, and Twin Peaks. OHMME was about to tour around Europe for their second headlining tour when I spoke with Cunningham. She told me about her musical upbringing and how she always knew she was destined to create sound.

Growing Up

Cunningham's multi-instrumental singer-songwriter talent showed early. “My parents always said that I could sing a hundred songs by the time I was five,” she said, curled up in the backseat. “I used to spend hours by myself, often with a video camera, doing performance pieces or singing; I was in my own head making music.” Cunningham’s family influenced her from a young age; her father, musician Peter Cunningham, passed his musical talent to Sima. By the age of six she was playing the piano and violin. By 12, she played guitar and began songwriting. Later on, she formed her first band in high school, called The Audians. Sitting next to me in my college dorm room during our video call was Sima’s cousin, Kerry Cunningham. Kerry grew up admiring Sima and watching her perform. “I knew that she would be successful," Kerry said. "Since I was little, I’ve been going to her shows. She had bands in high school, and they were really good bands, so we’d go and see her shows. I knew from then that my cousin was a musician."

Forming OHMME

Sima and Macie knew each other well before they formed OHMME — Macie had previously been in a band with Sima’s brother Liam. Sima and Macie admired each other’s musical talent, and when the chance came to make music together, they both jumped in head first.

“It feels really exciting," Cunningham said. "It started as a project with Macie and me, where we just wanted to experiment and enjoy ourselves with guitars, and we knew we loved singing together. A lot of it has felt like we had a lot of wind at our backs with people who were really rooting for us. We knew we really enjoyed what we were making, but to get all of this support and friends pushing us to play more shows and put out records and help us build it was great.”

Both Sima and Macie are classically trained musicians who bonded over the desire to experiment with music in a way that felt playful and unique. As well as recording their own music, Sima also helps produce other artists' works in her at-home recording studio, Foxhall Studio. “That’s where we recorded our records, and more and more friends are coming in and doing parts of their records there or all of their records. It’s really fun! We’re glad we have that to share with people. It’s a good quality space, and we make it really cozy and I think people have really fallen in love with it — with spending time there, like we did, too.”

Chicago’s Influence

Chicago is known for incredible music with talented artists that are exploding all around the world. Musicians start making a lot of noise at a young age. “There were a lot of people writing music — making music at a really high level, too. Kids were really, really, dedicated. They started at 14-15 years-old, so there were a lot of teenage bands that were really high quality.” The supportive atmosphere for musicians in Chicago has produced some incredible artists, such as: Chance the Rapper, Noname, Kanye West, and Wilco, who each have incredible influence — both in music and society. OHMME are no exception to this. During the 2018 midterm elections, OHMME posted content on social media encouraging their audience to vote, explaining why it is necessary to use your right to vote.

OHMME encouraging Instagram followers to vote, during the 2018 midterms. Image taken from OHMME's instagram account.

Lyrical Power

OHMME put out their self-titled EP in 2017 and released their debut album, Parts, in 2018 on Joyful Noise Recordings. The content of OHMME’s music screams empowerment. Songs like Peach, which is about wrestling with the desires that women bottle up, such as hunger, aggression, and sexual needs. Parts is about periods — singing about being in a hyper sensitive state where touch and inconveniences can ruin your day. OHMME’s music has a fiery purpose; their lyrics punch social and feminine messages into the speakers of those listening.

OHMME have had a crazy few months. Sima said she still has days where it’s hard to hear the good things about their music. “Of course, it’s super exciting, but it’s also embarrassing because people say such nice things about our music and we don’t really know how to handle ourselves all the time. But we’re really grateful and thankful for the response that we’ve been getting. We were hoping that people would really fall in love with the songs and the record and that it wouldn’t be just a cool record to listen to — but that it would be one that people actually fell in love with and one that people would want to keep listening to on repeat. We put a lot of heart and strong emotions into the record."

Sima performing with OHMME at Postock. Image taken by Kerry Cunningham, 2018

Sima is an extremely humble, established musician who is carving her own way though the challenges of the industry. For Sima, her love is music. “I get pretty swept up in it. I close my eyes a lot when I’m on stage because I get very inside the music when I’m performing OHMME music. I get kinda lost in it, and everything feels like a big emotional expression. I’m definitely emotionally and mentally tired after playing. I mean, it’s invigorating when you’re on stage; you build up all this energy and you expend it and share it, and then afterwards you’re wary and vacant, but also excited."

I saw OHMME perform in Burlington, Vermont and was instantly enchanted and drawn in. The love OHMME has for their music and audience is infectious. The music through the speakers pounds into your chest and keeps your attention. Talking to Sima felt easy. I found it refreshing to speak to a musician who generously gave her time to a budding journalist. It goes to show that kindness can take you to high and successful places.

Find Sima and OHMME:

Sima Cunningham: https://www.instagram.com/simaamis/?hl=en

OHMME: https://www.instagram.com/ohmmemusic/?hl=en Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1lGRK7KK1IuflIyNSE9R3M?si=7X7iIbBDT62hE2fdaGupmg