Who are we?

Donovan Hem (he/him, drums) - LunaJenn (they/them - vocals) - Michael Kim-Eubanks (he/him, vocals, keys, guitar) - Matthew Litrus (he/him, bass) - Yulan Lin (they/them, piano, vocals)

Where did we come from?

The Underlay was started by Michael Kim-Eubanks (guitar, vocals) after a songwriting session in late 2021 with Donovan Hem (drums) and other members of Smalltown Society, a SF Bay Area artist collective. Very soon after came LunaJenn (vocals), Yulan Lin (keys, vocals) and Matthew Litrus (bass). By 2022, the band was imagining a bold experiment: their first album as a fully live experience. By the end of the year, it was done. Their first release, The 2022 Residency, is a live recording of the final show in a year-long residency produced by Paul Keim and Smalltown Society. Combining elements of R&B, negro spirituals, and rock, the project seeks to tell Michael’s story of trying to navigate the internal and external tensions of racial, spiritual, and ancestral identity.

What does "The Underlay" even mean?

"The Underlay" refers to all the dirt, the hay, and the dust that feeds, constitutes, and supports each one of us. The project is an expression of our desire to write songs and curate spaces in a way that can give folks the opportunity to be nourished, provoked, seen, and loved.