Our recurring new music feature Origins offers musicians a platform to give insights into their newest release you won’t find anywhere else. Today, Kam Franklin of The Suffers breaks down the band’s new single, “Don’t Bother Me.”
The Suffers have announced their third studio album It Starts with Love, out June 3rd via Missing Piece Records. As a preview, the Houston-based band have shared the opening track, “Don’t Bother Me,” and its accompanying music video.
It Starts with Love was written during a tumultuous time for The Suffers, during which the eight-piece Gulf Coast soul collective reinvented themselves personally and professionally. Balancing topics like racism and misogyny with self-acceptance and growth, the record was mixed by Grammy-winner Adrian Quesada, who transferred all the sessions to analog tape.
The defiant “Don’t Bother Me” was created with Swedish writer/producer and longtime friend Johan Karlberg, who originally sent the demo to frontwoman Kam Franklin in 2015. After chipping away at it for four years, the band finally knocked out the infectious song in two-and-a-half days at a North Texas studio.
Directly inspired by Miami Sound Machine, HBCU marching bands, and the music of Cheryl Lynn, “Don’t Bother Me” is sure to bring listeners to their feet while embodying the freedom that comes with embracing the concept of living life on your own terms. “Baby, I’m reckless/ Young and free!” Franklin sings on the chorus. “Can’t you see I’m living?/ Don’t bother me!”
“Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine ran so that bands like ours could walk,” Franklin tells Consequence. “The unapologetic rhythm section, power of the horns, and overall badassery of Gloria influenced the energy we approached this song with. The main goal was to make a song that kept building in dynamics while still maintaining that same groove for the listener and folks on the dance floor.”
Check out The Suffers’ “Don’t Bother Me” video below, followed by Franklin’s full Origins of the track.
“Don’t Bother Me” follows the lead single “How Do We Heal.” The Suffers’ last album was 2018’s Everything Here. In support of It Starts with Love, the group is headed out on a spring tour beginning later this month. Check out the full itinerary below, and pick up your tickets now via Ticketmaster.
