Sunday,June interview
(Photo copyright: Mario Peiró Espí)
Earlier in March, I came across the project, Sunday,June by coincidence as I was looking for new bands to listen to and to keep track of. The debut album, Sun Glitter and Other Reflections, had already left a good impression on me during the first listen. It was however during the second listen that it really clicked when I gave the album my full attention during a train ride looking at the sun reflect on the Zurich Lake. During the interview, I would also go onto discover the importance of the sun’s influence on the music (and the band’s name).
Behind the fantastic album, there is also an inspiring story similar to the beginning of the origins of Dizzy Davis/Radiana Basso. With the encouragement and support, a few home studio demo recordings would lead to something greater: an album with three record release shows (including one in Paris), a lot of radio airplay and an m4m Demotape Clinic nomination.
I would like to thank Mario for his time and his in-depth replies about the project. I would also like to thank Aria Konishi, who mixed the album, for his contribution to the article too.
(Photo copyright: Sébastien Moritz)
Introduction
Tell us about about yourself and the project? What other bands/projects have you been involved in? How did the project begin?
This project is, in a way, the result of many unforeseen coincidences. I’ve been involved in bands and making music for a long time—recently playing guitar with Yalisco (Geneva), and before that, I was part of a psychedelic band back in Valencia, my hometown. Sunday,June started after a pretty intense period in my life, after which I realigned my priorities and decided I wanted to focus more on creating music. At first, the idea was just to record some DIY indie songs at home and release them without much fuss. But after some encouragement from friends and the solid support of NUDA (the label handling the digital distribution), I decided to take things a bit more seriously.
Where does the name Sunday,June come from?
The name came after trying out a bunch of options that had something to do with “Sun,” but I didn’t want anything too heavy or obvious. I also wanted to capture a bit of the nostalgia and hope that runs through the first album. “Sunday,June” eventually came to mind, and the comma gave it this unique touch—like a date written on a letter. It just clicked. (Though I later found out the comma is kind of a pain on some platforms :D)
Who else is in the band? What projects are they also in? How did you decide to choose who to add to the band? Had the members worked together before/knew each other?
After that, I started looking for band members and shared some homemade demos with musicians around Geneva. I was lucky enough to connect with Audrey Croisier (guitar and vocals, Rodeo Sunset), Antoine Chapel (keys and vocals, Toi Or), Thomas Abbet (drums, Romano Bianchi), and Vincent Breza (bass, Kacimi). Audrey and Antoine had already played together in Rodeo Sunset, and Thomas and Vincent also knew each other through other projects.
How were the first rehearsals as a band? What are your memories of the first rehearsals as a band?
The first rehearsals were very interesting. I think each of us probably experienced them a bit differently. For the band, it was maybe more of a “let’s see what this is about” kind of thing.
For me, since most of the first album was already written, it was more like, “let’s see how these songs feel in real life.” After a few months of playing together, it’s been amazing to see how we’ve brought the songs to life for our live shows—and the vibe within the band has been incredible too.
(photo copyrights: Antoine Chapel)
Writing and recording the album
How did you write the album/the demos for the album? What are your memories of writing the songs?
Recording the album was a whole journey, with lots of evolving phases along the way. At the very beginning, I was writing and recording the songs at home, planning to mix everything myself. Then I started playing with Audrey, and she suggested going for a more professional mix—which ended up being a great call.
The writing and recording stretched from summer 2023 to June 2024. That summer was especially inspiring—some of the key songs on the album came from that period, like Summer Without You and Motion Echoing. The latter is actually a collage made from different bits and pieces I had written over time. Nature has always played a big role in how I write music, and during that time, I was also recovering from a health issue—so there’s a strong sense of healing that runs through the album.
What influenced you musically (and non-musically) during the writing of the album?
Musically, there are clear influences from psychedelic and dreampop bands, but another huge influence was getting a Moog Grandmother. The moment I first played it at home, I knew it would end up on almost every track. In fact, the song Mother came to me within the first 15 minutes of messing around with it—it’s built entirely around an arpeggio I stumbled into. Some other tracks pull from different directions too. For example, Tunnel Vision sounds like an electronic music composition, that we adapted to fit a more classic rock band setup.
Did you have a theme in mind for the album?
The theme of the Sun was still very present in my mind, and since some of the songs carry a lot of emotional weight, I wanted to include little instrumental passages without lyrics—just moments where the listener can breathe. I started calling those pieces “reflections.” That idea ended up inspiring the album title: Sun Glitter and Other Reflections.
(photo copyrights: Antoine Chapel)
How much of the album had you written before you put together the band? Were the songs developed even further with the band? How much of a difference is there between the demos and the recordings?
Most of the album was already written and recorded as demos before the band got involved, but during the last few months of recording, the others jumped in on some of the tracks and helped shape the arrangements. A great example is Summer Without You—that bell-synth line at the beginning was actually Antoine’s idea, and it completely changed the arrangement of the first half of the song. Vincent also came up with the bassline in the second part, which added a whole new dimension to the song. Also, as a fun fact, my partner recorded at home a good part of the backing vocals, hers is the feminine voice that sounds in many of the tracks!
How did you choose who to mix and to master the album?
Once everything was recorded, we had it mixed by Aria Konishi—Audrey had worked with him before on Rodeo Sunset’s first EP. Honestly, it was the best decision we could’ve made. Aria gave the album a really unique sound. We’re super proud of how it turned out—probably thanks to that blend of DIY home recordings and pro-level mixing and mastering. Aria also suggested mastering the album at Crystal Mastering in Australia (they’ve worked with bands like POND and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard), which was such a cool idea and fit the sound perfectly.
[Aria Konishi’s words about the project:
What blossomed from that connection was a great experience with a very talented composer. Mario has fresh ideas and a clear vision for his music. He was also genuinely interested in what I could bring to the table creatively—through sound design and more—which gave me the freedom to explore. As it turns out, my mixing style worked very well with his music. I was able to quickly understand his world, and since we shared common references, the collaboration was very smooth!
I’m looking forward to seeing the development of this promising project!]
Tell us about the artwork of the album
The cover photo is one I took myself—up on top of the Salève, looking out toward the Alps. The sunlight that evening was just magic. I took it right around the time I started to really heal, so it felt like it captured the beginning of the whole journey. I asked my friend Álvaro Góngora to work with it and come up with a cover concept. He nailed it—connecting the image to the title and overall theme of the album in a beautiful way.
(photo copyrights: Sébastien Moritz)
Releasing the album (and the future)
How did it feel to release the album?
Releasing the album felt like such a relief, honestly. We went with a waterfall release strategy, dropping three singles between September and February, and it really paid off. By the time the full album came out, there was already a bit of buzz and an audience ready and excited to hear it.
Tell us about the record release concerts? How were they? What are your memories of them?
Then came the release shows, which we’d all been waiting for—the moment to finally bring the songs to life on stage! And those concerts were unforgettable. We’re still a bit in shock at the support we’ve received; it’s been incredibly motivating. We played three release gigs: Geneva (Bongo Joe), Lausanne (Prémices Festival), and Paris (Supersonic). All three were sold out, and the energy from the crowd was just next level. We’ve been kind of floating ever since.
How does it feel to have gained some recognition for the album already with the airplay and the m4m Demotape Clinic nomination?
Recognition-wise, having Summer Without You selected as a finalist for the m4music Demotape Clinic 2025 felt like a big moment. It was a sign that our music has the potential to go far—and that people are ready to connect with it. Even before that, we got amazing support from the radio scene—especially Radio Vostok and Couleur3, they have been playing our songs from the very beginning, later followed by GRRIF and 3FACH. Honestly, we never expected this kind of reception. Maybe we’ve landed in a space in the Swiss music scene that hadn’t really been filled yet. Maybe as François Küffer from Couleur3 said when he was on the Demotape Clinic jury in Zurich, our sound brings something refreshing and new to the rock scene here.
What can we expect in the near future? More concerts? And if it’s not too far in the future - how do you see the next songs being written? Solo? Collectively?
Looking ahead, we’ve got plenty more gigs coming up throughout 2025. Keep an eye on our socials—we’ll be posting new dates regularly. We’ll be playing some venues before summer, and we’re also lined up for a few festivals (more on that soon!). And looking a bit further ahead, we’re already thinking about the next album—possibly recording in the UK in 2026.
This time around, we’re writing it all together as a band, and we’ve already started working on new material.
Links:
(photo copyright: Antoine Chapel)