Today we’d like to introduce you to Few&FarBetween Few&FarBetween.
Hi Few&FarBetween, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
First off before anything I wanted to say Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan, and free Tigray. Few&FarBetween Is a band formed in Memphis Tennessee specifically in UofM. There are 7 members: Oliver Buckley, Kurtis Gray, Julian Severs, Kamron Christen, Nathaniel Taylor, Gem Alafia, And Asamoah Oppong. A quote from Asamoah stating how Few&FarBetween started “In late 2024 I was at a Rock concert with fellow member Kam, and I believe that God let us realize that we wanted to carve out a space for people like us that leaned more into genres like Jazz and R&B but also wanted to capture the same energy and passion as Rock. After that show, we decided to start Few&FarBetween.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Obstacles that we have faced is realizing that there are not many other groups like us around our age range in Memphis. So with that we have to build our own road in a sense.
Gem: “One major challenge I faced through life and especially being an artist is in the idea of the Self. I’m someone who consistently sheds skin; I am always learning or ready to learn, and happily will forever be a student no matter what. Because of that, there’s almost always a silent grief that I carry because as I grow and develop, it’s both sad and absolutely beautiful to see parts and aspects of myself transform and evolve in front of my own eyes. Learning to accept, hold, but not firmly limit myself as just one thing has been a great gift that I’ve only recently begun to realize.”
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I also wanted to add some experiences of the Band Members.
Kam: “When it comes to this group I was interested when Asamoah brought the idea to me because Neo Soul and R&B are pretty much the foundation and love letter to all music. It’s the reason you can add Soul, Funk, Groove, Rock, and Jazz lines to it and not clash with that foundation. It’s sort of a And it’s the reason why people anybody even the most bigoted person living under a rock has at least one song that’s R&B that appeals to them, even if they won’t recognize it as such. So I was really excited to make the music that I wanted to with people that I knew understood who I could visually see in class know exactly what they’re coming to do and it was really impressive and it’s just been really fun. Because I’m not usually the first person to sign up for teams but I actually like being on this team.”
Kurtis: “I like being in this band because there are so many musicians that have different backgrounds and it’s so freeing though it’s not like we’re locked into one genre. Being apart of this band is cool because we can do whatever and it will fit because everyone has some type of background that’s different that can come together and make a pretty decent sound. That’s why I like being in this band.”
Nate: As the newest member I haven’t spent that much time with the band but despite that, I already have relationships with the individual members. I don’t have to get used to them. You know sometimes when bands form it’ll be awkward and the members may know of each other but they don’t know each other personally. That process of bonding with new band mates can be be a tedious process, but I feel like I don’t have to go through that with them so that’s really cool.”
Gem: “To me, performing and singing is to connect and lead a people into whatever feeling you’ve been called to lead, and for me that niche lies in giving strength, showing how to work faith, reminding people to love everyone and through everything to remember your own divinity and selfhood.”
Julian: “This group has always stood out to me as something special. Other groups I’ve played with never had the passion and connection that we share. Having musicians from completely different backgrounds and experiences obviously will bring a diverse skill set and sound, but we have more than that, we have passion and joy when it comes to our music. We’re always trying to have fun when we play, even when practicing or rehearsing, and we never try to put each other down. All of us being so close makes our music and the process of making it so much more enjoyable, and I think that comes out when you hear it.”
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
A big mentor to us has been a professor and a fellow musician Jeff Cohran. He has helped us exponentially with getting us our first live showcase with the Blue Tom Records.
Another mentor of ours is Delara Hashemi. She has opened up her resources to us as well with giving us information on certain venues or certain people to get into contact with regarding merchandise or specific tasks.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/few_nfarbetween/reels/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@fewfarbetween?si=BmXaLfykwtBUPMO5
