Yves Tumor

years_active = 2010–present instrument = label = current_member_of = website = https://yvestumor.info

Sean Lee Bowie, best known by the recording alias Yves Tumor, is an American musician and producer of experimental music, born in Miami, Florida.

To date, they have released five studio albums: When Man Fails You (2015), Serpent Music (2016), Safe in the Hands of Love (2018), Heaven to a Tortured Mind (2020), and Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) (2023).

Life and career Raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Tumor started making music at age 16 as an outlet away from "dull, conservative surroundings". Tumor is self-taught, and plays drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards. Describing their experience growing up in Tennessee as unpleasant, Yves moved at age 20 to San Diego, and then after college, to Los Angeles. They met Mykki Blanco in 2012, later touring for two and a half years throughout Europe and Asia.

2015–2017: Beginning of the Yves Tumor project In the early 2010s, Tumor recorded as T.E.A.M.S., and made music which AllMusic described as "post-chillwave". After retiring the moniker in 2014, they debuted the Yves Tumor project in 2015. That same year, they released their first album, When Man Fails You (which would later be re-released by Apothecary Compositions on April 29, 2016).

In September 2016, Tumor signed with PAN Records and released their label debut, Serpent Music. Yves had worked on the album for three years after moving to Leipzig, Germany. The album was recorded between Miami, Leipzig, Los Angeles and Berlin.

In September 2017, Tumor released a compilation album titled Experiencing the Deposit of Faith for free. Later that week, it was revealed through a tour announcement that Tumor had signed to Warp Records. Following the announcement, the artist embarked on a tour with a new audiovisual show.

2018–2023: Safe in the Hands of Love, Heaven to a Tortured Mind and Praise a Lord... In September 2018, Tumor released their Warp debut, Safe in the Hands of Love, with no prior announcement. It was preceded by the singles "Noid" on July 24, "Licking an Orchid" featuring James K on August 29, and "Lifetime" on September 3. The album received universal acclaim from music critics. Pitchforks Jayson Greene stated in the review that the album "dwarfs everything the artist has released by several orders of magnitude. The leap is so audacious it's disorienting."

Tumor's fourth album, Heaven to a Tortured Mind, was released on April 3, 2020, preceded on March 3 by the single "Kerosene" featuring Diana Gordon. Alexis Petridis, reviewing the album for The Guardian, awarded it Album of the Week, describing it as "extraordinary: experimental, capable of any genre, with an internal logic powering its shifts in mood.[…] There's real skill involved in coming up with something that sounds coherent while shifting through so many styles."

In October 2020, Tumor said in an interview with Michèle Lamy " I have another EP and a whole album basically not finished, but ready to start finishing. I've been very busy during the quarantine." In December 2020, Tumor released the single "let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out" in collaboration with Kelsey Lu, featuring Kelly Moran and Moses Boyd. In July 2021, they released the EP The Asymptotical World, recorded in collaboration with their bandmates, Chris Greatti and Yves Rothman. Tumor went on an international tour throughout 2022, supported by October and the Eyes, Timkoh, and Doss.

In February 2023, Tumor was interviewed by Courtney Love for Interview, in which they briefly hinted at an upcoming album. Shortly after, in March 2023, Tumor released their fifth album, Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds), critically acclaimed as an ambitious, "ecstatic fusion of alt-rock and R&B", "spellbinding art rock", and a "Romantic, corporeal, gothy" offering that disrupts "hierarchies of gender, race, desire...and performance" via its "intense magnification and worship of life, death and spirituality." Tumor was part of the Coachella 2023 lineup.

2024–present: American Idol project and collaborations In 2024, Yves Tumor released a mixtape on their Soundcloud called American Idol – The Greatest Notes Chapter 1.

In 2025, Yves Tumor collaborated with Nina on the track "We Don't Count", with further collaborations teased. They also collaborated with Rosalía and Björk on the former's track "Berghain" for her album Lux.

Musical style Tumor's earlier work was compared to that of Dean Blunt and James Ferraro, the latter of whom they have collaborated with; however, their more recent music, such as Heaven to a Tortured Mind, has been likened to Prince and David Bowie.

Tumor has cited Throbbing Gristle as an influence, saying: "Sonically, Throbbing Gristle (were very inspirational). There's something about their music, like the hypnotic trance vibes, that really influenced me. When I moved to Los Angeles after college, a good friend of mine would always play Chris & Cosey records when we were hanging out. I slowly became obsessed with them and started reading about Genesis P-Orridge and that whole movement."

Personal life In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tumor designed furniture and furthered their interest in upholstery: "I just got really into my other hobbies, which include architecture and interior architecture, and urban architecture, but I'm not that good at math, so I wanted to scale everything down. I just decided to just start constructing chairs and couches and stools, but I think I'm going to begin welding as opposed to actual construction." Soon after, multiple other women posted their own accounts of harassment and assault on X, including musician Angel Money sharing a video of Tumor allegedly groping her, and former collaborator Kidä sharing her negative experiences as part of his touring band, describing it as "one of the most disrespectful professional experiences of [her] career." On 23 August 2026, Tumor responded in a deleted Instagram story, describing the allegations as "100% untrue and also completely heartbreaking", and stated they would take "extreme legal action".

Backing band In the studio and during live performances, Tumor is joined by:

Yves Rothman – keyboards, synthesizers, rhythm guitar, sampler, electronics, backing vocals, musical director (2019–present) Rhys Hastings – drums (2019–present) Maro Chon – lead guitar (2024–present)

Former members of Tumor's ensemble are:

Chris Greatti – lead guitar (2019–2024) Gina Ramirez – bass guitar (2019–2024)

Discography Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions Title Details Peak chart positions BEL(FL) SCO UKDL UKIndie When Man Fails You Released: July 2, 2015 Label: Self-released (Re-released by Apothecary Compositions on April 29, 2016, on cassette and digital download.) Label: PAN Format: LP, digital download – – – – Safe in the Hands of Love Released: September 5, 2018 Label: Warp Format: LP, CD, digital download – – – – Heaven to a Tortured Mind Released: April 3, 2020 Label: Warp Format: LP, CD, digital download 170 38 29 8 Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) Released: March 17, 2023 Label: Warp Format: LP, CD, digital download – – 34 –

Compilation albums + List of compilation albums, with selected details Title Details Experiencing the Deposit of Faith Released: September 13, 2017 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download

Extended plays + List of extended plays, with selected details Title Details The Asymptotical World Released: July 15, 2021 Label: Warp Format: LP, digital download

Singles + List of singles Title Year Album "Noid" 2018 Safe in the Hands of Love "Licking an Orchid" "Lifetime" "Applaud" 2019 "Gospel for a New Century" 2020 Heaven to a Tortured Mind "Kerosene!" "Romanticist" / "Dream Palette" "Jackie" 2021 The Asymptotical World"God Is a Circle"2022Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)"Echolalia"2023"Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood""Parody""We Don't Count" 2025

Guest appearances + List of guest appearances Title Year Artist Album "Histrionic I" 2015 Mykki Blanco Mykki Blanco Presents C-ORE "Childish" "Histrionic II" "Histrionic III / Skunk of the Earth" "Limerence" 2017 Mono No Aware "Reanimator" 2020 Joji Nectar "Let All the Poisons That Lurk in the Mud Seep Out" Kelsey Lu, Kelly Moran, Moses Boyd Let All the Poisons That Lurk in the Mud Seep Out "Perfectly Not Close to Me" 2022 Willow Coping Mechanism "Berghain" 2025 Rosalía, Björk Lux

Remixes + List of remixes Title Year Artist Album "Zure" 2017 Ryuichi Sakamoto Async – Remodels "The Altar" 2018 Alice Glass Alice Glass (Remixes) "Smoke" Blood Orange, Yves Tumor, Ian Isiah Smoke (Remix)

Awards and nominations