Sun Cut Flat

Sun Cut Flat is a studio project, live band, and artist handle created by Nicholas Lattanzi, an independent musician and producer based in Brooklyn, NYC, USA. Sun Cut Flat’s growing catalog includes an eclectic mix of inspiring home recordings built on analog synths, vintage drum machines, and reverb drenched guitars. Nico also runs the Brooklyn-based independent record label Family Tapes out of a garage studio in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NYC. Balancing his passion for music with working full time in NYC public schools has allowed the artist to grow within a strong community where inspiration flourishes. During the pandemic, Lattanzi and friends recorded a series of classic soul covers called “Nico Covers, Vol. 1” to highlight their love of great songwriting and practice vintage recording techniques. Their version of Barbara Mason's "Yes, I'm Ready" has been embraced on national radio (debut on WLCR Sacramento) and is currently #3 on Hypeddit's soul chart as of Fall 2024.

Born in Brooklyn, NY (1989) to parents in the creative and public service fields, Nico was given the opportunity to explore and grow in the arts from a young age. A move to Cambridge, MA for the start of school further fostered Lattanzi’s upbringing within a community where progressive values and the arts were celebrated. As a high-schooler, Nico got his first performance experience playing cover songs on the small stage of Cambridge’s folk-famed Club Passim, where Lattanzi was an open-mic regular from 2006-2009. Around this time it was also common to see Lattanzi busking downtown at Boston Common and in Harvard Square, where he would run through a set Bob Dylan, Beatles, and Jeff Buckley covers, even playing some originals and pleasing passersby with intimate guitar and harmonica sets. In 2008, as an 18-year-old, Lattanzi won WUMB’s Boston Folk Festival songwriter competition with his entry “American Eyes”. Performing on the festival stage in front of hundreds of folk fans was a life-changing experience for the young artist who resolved to continue pursuing songwriting as a creative outlet.

Music runs in the family - older cousin Josh is currently on tour as bassist and background vocalist for Norah Jones’ band. It’s a continuation of Josh’s 25+ year career as a songwriter, session, and touring musician (see: The Candles, Albert Hammond Jr., The Lemonheads, Juliana Hafield, Ben Kweller, Howie Day).

Formed in Boston during 2009, Sun Cut Flat started as a college band formed by Nicholas Lattanzi with friends Erik Kramer, Christopher Pegram, Issac Haselkorn, Cary Liptak, and Devon Fischer. A move back to Brooklyn, NY in 2014 saw Sun Cut Flat release the full-length “Copy Machine Dream”, which garnered underground indie buzz, most notably with the track "Love In Spiritual" by way of IndieCurrent. Showcasing live at festivals such as MapleWoodstock in New Jersey, MusicFest in Pennsylvania, and local NYC venues like Rockwood Music Hall and The Bitter End, Sun Cut Flat earned a small but connected audience.

Sun Cut Flat has continued as a solo project since 2015, with Lattanzi now having been back in NYC for almost 10 years. 2022-2024 has seen Sun Cut Flat release several exciting singles on the Family Tapes label with a newly forming sound (“Promise”, “Tried to Harmonize” ”Purple Bullet“, “More Than Enough“, "Wildfire”, and "Reset My Life"). This new sound has received warm reception from both long-time and new fans. Sun Cut Flat has earned over 20k monthly listeners on Spotify and remains fully independent.

In 2021, Lattanzi started a side-project and label called Family Tapes to further collaboration with music friends in Brooklyn and beyond. This first single on the Family Tapes label was “My Neighbor's Truck”, a twangy "country" song written as a true story about a neighbor who goes suspiciously missing for two days on January 6th, 2021 - the day of the insurrection in Washington DC. The lyrics to Family Tapes’ slick summer-vibes jam Fast & Furious make their political views known clearly - “We should hit a protest every day / 'cause this shit just makes me nauseous / say their names / I can't breathe around these fascists no way / if you don't know what the facts is never go and blast this".

Sun Cut Flat & Family Tapes are entirely independent endeavors, with Lattanzi and the artists he works with self-owning the masters, publishing, and copy-write for all original music released. Recorded in a Brooklyn garage as a labor of love, Sun Cut Flat's continued growth shows that hard work and dedication to craft can create opportunities for connection and community through the power of music.

“Here I Am”, the newest single from Sun Cut Flat & Family Tapes released on September 6th, 2024.

Links: https://linktr.ee/suncutflat
Email: SunCutFlatMusic@gmail.com