Uncle Chris: 'Dove on the Ocean'

The Sunday Music Drop is a weekly radio series hosted by the KQED weekend news team. In each segment, we feature a song from a local musician or band with an upcoming show and hear about what inspires their music.

The band, Uncle Chris, started in 2018 when three members met on their first day at the University of San Francisco.

“We realized that we all played instruments, so we decided to have a little jam session,” said Sue-Ling Kaiser, who plays keys and does vocals. “We’ve been going ever since.”

Alex Wolfert, who plays bass, said they started as an instrumental, jazz-inspired band. Now they’re more on the indie side, and Kaiser added they also pull from acid jazz, indie pop, and alternative. Each band member has their own musical influences, but Kaiser said their first project was very jazz-influenced.

Their song, “Dove on the Ocean,” was a true collaboration. It’s about accepting the feeling, after a breakup, that you’re going to see that person “everywhere and in everything and just riding that wave,” Kaiser said. She wanted people to interpret it for themselves, but it can also be understood as “getting over anything.”

As for starting their band in San Francisco, “There is just no other place like this city,” Wolfert said. “In terms of the music that’s happening here … and how one lives their life in this city, I feel like we’re just surrounded by constant beauty.”

He said there’s a “different kind of energy within the people here that feels much more open and inspiring.” This openness has impacted the band’s sound.

The band members include Sue-Ling Kaiser, Alex Wolfert, Patrick Madden, Seref Ha’Qol, Liam Craddock, and Ely Klem. “Dove on the Ocean” also features Gabriel True on the drums.

Follow Uncle Chris on Instagram. They’re working on a four-song EP that will be released later this year and are planning a California tour at the end of September.

Uncle Chris will be performing at Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco on May 17.