Dutch indie folk group Snowapple to play in SLO

From their enchanting songs to their eclectic costumes, the all-female Dutch folk group Snowapple creates an atmosphere in concert that’s almost otherworldly.

The three women at the center of the Amsterdam-based band — Laurien, Una and Laura — layer luscious, interlocking harmonies with quirky instrumentals. (They asked that their last names not be used because they are not traveling under artists’ visas.) Snowapple performs March 31 at Steynberg Gallery in San Luis Obispo.

Laurien, who sings and plays guitar, banjo, clarinet and flute in Snowapple, said the group’s sound has been shaped by its members’ musical roots. While she moonlights as an opera singer, her bandmates have backgrounds in jazz, Latvian folk music and classical choral music.

“We all come from different backgrounds, but we all really love female folk music,” she explained.

Their influences include Joni Mitchell, Edith Piaf and Kurt Weill, as well as swing-era trio The Andrews Sisters and contemporary Canadian folk group The Be Good Tanyas.

“One of the strongest things about our sound is the vocal harmonies,” Laurien added, sung primarily in English. “Sometimes they sound really classical and sometimes they sound really jazzy.”

Enhancing the unearthly nature of the act are theatrical stage costumes created by Dutch fashion designer Mo Benchellal, who often travels with the group. He’s dressed the trio in stripes, sequins, sunglasses and oversized hats, draped them in kimonos and Celtic plaids and paired crisp, white button-up shirts with bright, billowing skirts.

“The (first) time we were in San Luis Obispo, he dressed us as if we were in Aspen,” Laurien said with a laugh. “In the mid-summer (weather), we wore ski outfits.”

That was in 2013, when Snowapple released its eponymous debut album. A second album, “Illusions,” followed in 2015.

The band’s latest release is the mini-album “Tracks,” which came out this month. As the title indicates, the six-song collection was inspired by trains.

“We really like the rhythm of the train, and traveling” by rail, explained Laurien, whose band is touring the West Coast before playing in Japan and the United Kingdom. This time around, the trio is traveling with two other female musicians — a bass player and a violin player — plus a nanny to care for Una’s infant son.

One song on “Tracks,” “Choo Choo Train,” was inspired by the birth of that boy, now 4 months old. “It was very exciting how our lives were going to change” in ways both thrilling and frightening, Laurien said.

The song “Rolling Away” also deals with new adventures, she said.

“Now that we’re all finished with our studies, we’re growing up. We’re leaving this innocent student life behind us,” she said, albeit somewhat reluctantly. “It’s about how the train is always going forward but you can’t go back.”

“Not all our songs are about love or loss. They’re about all of the kinds of things that can happen in life,” Laurien added.

“Businessmen,” for instance, was inspired by the sight of early morning commuters guzzling coffee while waiting for the train.

“You saw all these people like zombies all going to their work, not interacting and barely awake,” Laurien said. “(I realized) how this is the opposite of the romantic feeling you have about trains. Your whole family would go to the train station and be crying because you were going on this big journey.

“(Now) the romantic feeling is gone. It’s run, run, run.”

According to Laurien, Snowapple strives to tell stories with its songs.

“When I get inspired inspired by songs, or art in general, it’s often (because) it’s a story that’s a little bit off of normal, that has a little bit of a weird touch,” she said. “We find it interesting to tell the stories to our fans and see if they also get inspired.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Dutch indie folk group Snowapple to play in SLO."