INTERVIEWS
SSG: The Tempers Week Highlights
Premiere: The Tempers — "Turquoise Soul" (LIVE), "Is This Love" (In-Studio)
The Tempers: Portraits by Will Miller Photography
Premiere: The Tempers — "You Must Be Crazy"
The Tempers: Their Mythical Beginnings
The Tempers: Interview & "Peek Into My Closet"
SSG Music Presents: The Tempers
MUTE Magazine (Argentina): English or Spanish
When I went to see their concert I was knocked out by how from the first song I was dazzled and completely captivated by their sounds, rhythms and Corina's words. She has a stage presence that is probably like Robert Plant and Kate Bush combined in their best days! And then watching Chalia play the drums..she looks so very, very serious as if she is going to destroy her hi hat and snare with each hit. Steady as a train. And James, the keyboard player.. he is just so tall, and has an incredible amount to do onstage, controlling all those machines and still playing masterful keyboards with both hands on fire. He looks like he came down to Earth from a very heavenly planet. They make some kind of magical storytelling that on one hand is sweet and thoughtful, and then is also insanely crazy and wild, but you can always dance to it very well! Electronic sounds, chord changes from great songwriting structure, one powerful beat from a really beautiful drummer and then that singing/dancing Corina blasting our ears with 100 different voices that somehow come out of her. They are truly living art and music.
-Gordon Raphael (The Strokes, Regina Spektor, Sky Cries)
The Tempers are a trio of performance artists, applying equal attention to their music-dark and twisted minimalist electro-pop-as to their wigged-out performances.
Oh, so you love forest nymphs, spooky ghosts, horror-electro-glam music,...The Tempers, Seattle's darling Bakker family band that has made a name for themselves with a live set that transports the audience to an engrossing and enchanted forest that just so happens to be haunted...
SSG Music
SSG Music Presents: The Tempers
The Tempers are a band that is hard not to sensationalize. They are three mythical, amazonian siblings who make funky goth-electronica. Starting from a foundation of 70s psychedelia, they inform their style with addictive pop sensibilities and turn everything upside down with dark, effected, monster vocals. They create a space where the listener can celebrate their inner-weirdness while at the same time providing groovy, accessible, unforgettable music.
Seattle Peach has to tip her hat to this band because the Tempers were doing the glam-goth thing years before its recent fashionable resurgence. Front woman Corina Bakker's dramatic rock 'n' roll style is certainly trendsetting-her look draws attention on and off the stage. Known for their totally crazy live shows, Corina does the most when she's got a mic in her hand, and the group always looks amazing. Careful attention has been paid to the visual side of the performance. It's sparkly and spooky, it's dazzling and disquieting, it's dead disco.
REVIEWS/ WRITE UPS
And it's an easy monster to love—the beast with a heart of gold, you know, Frankenstein and the flower—provided you've got a taste for the stage-lit macabre. Everything about Vol. 1 is eerily emphatic: the gypsy trance of "Nile Style" and "Speaking in Tongues" circus organ, a hulking near-Italo bass on "Alone Again". And Corina Bakker's voice, that swirling, trilling, growling ghoul of a thing, projecting to the back row even in a whisper; hers is a voice that shatters rooms, sends villagers running. But it's all so warm and embraceable, those disco lilts and slinky guitars, that you're utterly compelled to go down the rabbit hole with them. To dance and move and hulk right alongside that gilt-hearted monster, because The Tempers, they may be eating pop music alive—but they're spitting it back at you with an other-world sheen. Ungodly good stuff.
Vice Magazine
I've got no clue how well this weirdo triangle music is going to go down in the New Year, or what it's going to be called, but I can't help but think that greasy-bearded art-student types will appreciate it for their disquieting loft-bed mating sessions every bit as much as I will appreciate it for editing my Castlevania speed runs on YouTube.
This band, undeniably, has talent, and plenty of it. The melodies from the keyboard are interesting and have enough variety from song to song to keep you entertained; the drums hold a steady, consistent beat that force your head up and down in an eerie kind of daze; the guitar and bass spice things up enough to liven the mood without becoming too overbearing; the bizarre interstellar noises in the background send your head spinning...
A family band hailing from Seattle, this band is generating lots noise with its very unique sound. Corina, Chalia, and James bring new sounds to the table that will definitely inspire a new generation of musical talent. With the release of its full-length album, "Vol. 1", The Tempers are on a continuous journey to electro-rock stardom. Corina with her unique vocals and melodies, Chalia with her thick drum beats, and James with his 60's style keyboard skills made the crowd get off its feet and dance to the unique brand of music. If I wasn't lugging around my camera equipment I would have been dancing too.
-Kyle Helstein
"The voice box delivered from singer/howler Corina Bakker was not expected. Her wickedness transcended through her vocals and her expressive dance moves, if anyone was a witch this Halloween, it was surely her, as we were all moved by her spellbinding showmanship. The Tempers have got an edge in the blurry mix of psychedelic acts right now, and we're lucky to have them as local artists."
-Bebe Besch, SSG Music
"Whenever someone says "family band," I picture the Young Family Band from Guthrie, Oklahoma. It's a mom, a dad, and their five kids. They all dress alike and play a mix of bluegrass and Christian gospel. The Tempers are also a family band. They're only a three-piece, though, 'cause they leave mom and pops at home. Seattle's Corina Bakker, Chalia Bakker, and James Bakker don't play gospel, but singer Corina does sometimes scream and seemingly speak in tongues over her siblings' drum and keyboard– a sound that's oft compared to Glass Candy and/or Kate Bush. Grab your own brother or sister and go prepared to dance."
-Kelly O, The Stranger
"Capitol Hill was alive on Friday night, per usual, but the heat from The Comet's seductive show could not be ignored by passerbys and audience members alike. The spell we were experiencing was the product of The Tempers release party for their Together We Are the Love Vortex EP. The arousing sibling trio making up The Tempers are masters at combining both dark and light in song and appearance, and they enforce this ability along each of the five new offerings found on their Together We Are the Love Vortex EP.
-Bebe Besch, SSG Music
"The two sisters and one brother who make up Seattle family band the Tempers seem like they went straight from playing dress-up in gramma's attic to playing rock'n'roll in the basement, and the result is a glammy, campy good time. There are dance beats, vamping keyboards, and outsized theatrical vocals--plus, there's the slightly inscrutable weirdness of watching three siblings speaking their secret language and rocking out in their own little world."
-Flavor Pill
"While Mad Rad sold out the show and gave an impressive performance, local rockers The Tempers stole the show. With a unique groove oriented sound, The Tempers utilize casio textures while retaining their rock n' roll integrity. "
-Mad Cap Records
"Far livelier is promising young Seattle band the Tempers, a high-drama family rock act whose front woman's arty weirdness (read: mad, stomping, costumed stage presence) and vocal reach recall the likes of Kate Bush or Siouxsie Sioux."
-Eric Grandy, The Stranger
Seattle Globalist: Pussy Riot, Putin and Romney: Seattle musicians rally for Russian punk band
SSG Live Reviews
Live Review: The Tempers, Ononos, The Fame Riot at The Comet
"While creating quality music is a priority for The Tempers, their trump card is their live performance. The Tempers live to entertain, and prove so with their quirky dance moves and enthusiastic musical deliveries."
-Bebe Besch, SSG Music
The Tempers, Ononos, and Arrington de Dionyso at The Comet Tavern
"The Bakkers were 'born and raised in Seattle,' doing hell knows what to produce this kind of music together."
-Daniel Ahrendt