With the term "indie" being tossed around these days like an oversized beach ball, it's simply hard to determine who is really an independent artist trying to push the envelope. That's why we dig native Los Angeles artist, Moses Sumney. Sumney,only 25, considers himself a late bloomer who didn't start performing or singing until he discovered his voice at 20. Five years later he has already created a buzz throughout the music industry and creating a fan base that includes Sufjan Stevens, Solange and St. Vincent. He has also graced the stage opening for Karen-O, Bon Iver and Grizzly Bear, all without a record label. Ask fellow artists, industry buffs and scene dwellers who have witnessed his quick ascent in Los Angeles over the past couple of years and they will all agree on one thing: a constant buzz of people begging for a piece of his time. Voices such as his don't come around too often. Sumney attributes his musical influences to the likes of Usher, Beyonce, Billy Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald-but the inputs are far different from the output. His vocals are heavily saturated with reverb and looped, delicate and haunting in the style of Bon Iver and Grizzly Bear but with that neo-soul eclectic vibe of Erykah Badu. Although he has created shockwaves through the music industry he believes he is still growing as a writer, artist and musician. Sumney plans on to continue on his journey "wherever that may leave me" he says, with no plans as of yet to sign a record contract. With two EP's under his belt, recorded in a friend's basement, he plans on recording a full-length album later this year. "True independence", he says, "is in the mind" and we surely admire that.