From Webster Hall to Amagansett: Karina Rykman’s Summer of Sound

To get fired up for Karina Rykman’s return to the Stephen Talkhouse this August, you should first stream “Plants” at full volume. It was that song that launched this bass-smacking sprite to prominence, spurring Trey Anastasio to co-produce her first album and leading to one opportunity after the next.

Since her last stint at the Talkhouse, Rykman has been on fire.

“Things have been pretty insane,” she said in an interview with The Express Magazine in June.

After a packed fall tour, Rykman did destination shows with Dave Matthews, Gov’t Mule and My Morning Jacket, and then sold out her biggest headlining show to date, at Webster Hall in her hometown of Manhattan. In addition to the deep satisfaction of selling out the storied venue, she also received a particularly rare honor.

“Zabar’s created the ‘BabKarina,’” she said proudly. “It’s a babka that’s tie-dyed!”

And summer, of course, is no time for a festival darling to slow down. With at least one and sometimes multiple festivals every weekend, Rykman loves to be introduced to crowds that don’t know her, to win them over and expand her community.

“I love festival season,” she said, “because you’re putting yourself out there in front of people who don’t know you and showing them who you are and what you do, and hopefully bringing them along for the long haul with you.”

It doesn’t sound like it leaves much space for creating new work, but Rykman has been working diligently on her next album. She’s inspired primarily by her core band, and the people she’s “in the trenches with.” But if she’s not playing, she’s watching, seeing as much live music as possible. “I am an insatiable music fanatic,” she said. “And I’m lucky to live in New York City, the greatest city in the world that allows for that. I get a ton of inspiration from watching other people perform.”

It’s all part of her creative process: seeing music, playing music, writing music. Rykman calls Gabe Monro, her friend since high school, “the fourth hidden member of the band.” They’ll often sit and flesh out a song together, then bring it to rehearsal.

“My band is super excited about new material,” she said, “trying to figure out the best way to serve the songs.” And she’s not afraid to debut songs that have never been recorded in a studio in front of a live audience.

“The songs aren’t real to me until I play them live,” she said. “At Webster Hall I was able to debut four originals. These festival gigs are a way to explore our new stuff live and see how they land.”

Rykman is part of a small subset of musicians: bass-playing frontwomen. It’s unusual enough to have bass playing frontmen, but you don’t have to look too far to find Paul McCartney or Sting. But women?

“I live to defy convention of all varieties,” Rykman said. “This is no different.”

But the role of the bassist in a band is very different from the rhythm guitarist or pianist, who more typically double as lead singers.

“Playing bass and singing is so hard,” she admits. “It’s like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. But it’s really fun. I like having that as my challenge, and it’s fun to live by no rules.”

That doesn’t mean she loses the bass player’s steady presence.

“I am very concerned with holding down a groove,” Rykman said, “but I also do so many fuzz solos and lead lines and am often playing bass from a more melodic perspective.”

Asking a musician about her genre can be a limiting boundary that isn’t quite true to the art. However, the bass as an instrument, while it’s a key element of almost any genre, has a particular power and identity in the realm of funk.

“Funk is foundational,” Rykman said. “When I saw Bootsy’s [Collins] funk formula as a kid, where you have to hit it on the one, it jostled my mind. At its core, everything is funk. Funk is feel, and feel is everything.”

When she comes to the Talkhouse, Karina Rykman will bring the feels from a full summer traversing the country and playing music.

“To have the Talkhouse as my end-of-summer bash couldn’t be more exciting,” she said.

“This is an amazing era for me, and I just want to soak it up with a straw and enjoy every second of it.”

Karina Rykman will play the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on Friday, August 29, at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at stephentalkhouse.com.