The Brooklyn duo Cultfever creates cinematic music in Technicolor. Its sound comes through in 35mm and Dolby-surround, sweeping wide shots, urgent dissolves and auteuristic composition, reminiscent of the brooding, surreal worlds of Almodóvar, The Man Who Fell To Earth, and Tim Burton. You don’t just hear Cultfever; its music plays out before you like a moving picture, helmed by its dual directors, Tamara Jafar and Joe Durniak.

The experience is hyper-sensory, with Jafar and Durniak communicating ideas and motifs to one another using an image-based vocabulary, sharing references and visual cues that build towards grand, anthemic emotions. The result is an abstract visual landscape, a road map of how their songs are designed to make you feel.

The pair formed the band quickly after meeting in 2010, sensing an immediate chemistry, and released a self-titled full-length in 2011 as well as the Animals EP in 2013. Playing SXSW, CMJ, Northside, and other leading industry festivals, Cultfever earned praise for both its fiery live show (which includes Ignacio Rivas Bixio on drums and Jafar and Durniak on a combination of vocals, synths, and guitar) and the recordings, with singles “Knewyouwell” and “Collector” propelling the band into the CMJ Radio Top 200. Writing and recording together in their personal studio, Jafar and Durniak share an obvious bond, describing their relationship as “chosen family.”

Their creative process is malleable, a shared vision that ebbs and flows organically, weaving in each member’s ideas to create a cohesive aesthetic. Cultfever extends that reciprocal energy and focus to its live show, Jafar and Durniak’s unique connection undeniable and infectious.

Now, putting the finishing touches on the second album, the band is releasing the new single, “Gloria,” a riveting, beat-driven pop anthem that bursts with dark overtones and moments of blissful synthetic light. Listen, and you can see and feel just as much as you hear; colors swirl, nights fall, suns rise, the spotlight reveals, shadows pervade.

Tour Dates

11.04 – Brooklyn, NY – School Night @ Brooklyn Bowl
11.21 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Night Bazaar*
12.01 – Los Angeles, CA – School Night @ Bardot

*w/ X Ambassadors