Artist of the Week: Skelesys

Interview in English Below – Main photo by Cristina del Barco at Ombra Festival 2022

El último «Artist of the Week» de este año es Skelesys, productor de origen argentino con base en Berlín que acaba de publicar su primer álbum, «Fading Echoes» (Pinkman). Damián, nombre de pila de uno de los músicos que mayor y mejor impacto causó en el Ombra Festival de 2022, donde muchos pudimos conocer su trabajo, nos habla con sinceridad de su disco debut y de su trabajo. Agradecemos al artista su confianza y amabilidad, así como al equipo de Spina (Alessandro y Yoshi – éste último uno de los capos de Libertine Records – ), por habernos cedido el local para poder llevar a cabo allí esta conversación. El equipo de Mots Music os desea muy feliz año y nos despedimos con esta charla que esperamos disfrutéis.

https://pinkman.bandcamp.com/album/fading-echoes-lp

The last «Artist of the Week» of this year is Skelesys, an Argentine producer based in Berlin who has just released his debut album, Fading Echoes (Pinkman). Damián, the real name of one of the musicians who had the greatest and most positive impact at the Ombra Festival in 2022, where many of us had the chance to discover his work, speaks with honesty about his debut album and his craft. We are grateful to the artist for his trust and kindness, as well as to the Spina team (Alessandro and Yoshi – the latter being one of the key figures at Libertine Records), for allowing us to use their space to conduct this conversation. The Mots Music team wishes you all a very Happy New Year, and we bid farewell with this chat, which we hope you enjoy.

Ruth: Welcome to this podcast, in the form of an interview with which we close the year at Mots Music. A cold November afternoon in Berlin, I met Skelesys, a musician who captivated us at the Ombra Festival in 2022. We met in Spina, in the restaurant of Alessandro and Yoshi, the latter one of the leaders of Libertine Records. I would like to thank from here that they gave us their space to be able to talk, as well as Damian, his time, his sincerity and his closeness. I leave you with this conversation so that you get to know a little more about this Argentine producer based in the German capital. I hope you enjoy it.

Skelesys: I was going through a pretty dark time in my life, and I always wanted to make an album since I started. And the truth is that the attempts I had had before were, you know, when it’s not the time, it was like grabbing a song that I had, mixing it with another. I remember that, well, going through this moment, which was in September of last year. 

R: Yes, just before I did the interview with you. 

S: And suddenly, it was actually a catharsis. That saved me. 

R: Well, of course, that’s the music at the end, right?

S: It was like a way to let go of the shit that was inside. And suddenly I remember that I was doing the first song, and I don’t know, there was like a bass, and there was an information from above, and it was like, I’m doing the album. Don’t ask me how, but suddenly it was like, I’m doing the album, and I got in my head, I’m doing the album, and I did, I don’t know, 14 songs in a month. 

R: At full speed?

S: Yes. I mean, all of a sudden you got inspired. Yes, once I started there, I didn’t stop. Luckily, I had, I think it’s also related, I bought the guitar from my uncle, which is a guitar that I always used when I was two years old. And I almost played it, but I didn’t know how to play it. And he had it lying there, and I said, I want this guitar.

R: So that guitar is present in the album. 

S: Yes, yes. And the sound wouldn’t have been the same without that guitar.

R: Of course, it’s very particular, and all the emotional background that this has, because it’s also like your family footprint, in a way. For example, I understand you well, because I try, not all the clothes I wear, but a lot of the clothes I wear are from my aunt’s inheritance. Of course. And I love it, and especially for the stage, I love putting on her things, because it’s like I feel her very present. She passed away. 

S: Of course, I even have things from my grandfather and my grandmother. Like an animal print. Yes, yes, of course. From my grandmother.

R: Very good. I have things from my mother when she was single and everything. That’s very good, you know? It seems silly, but I believe a lot in energy, in a way. 

S: Yes, yes. So that instrument also gives the album another dimension. It’s like a circle that closes, because my uncle introduced me to everything I liked as a kid, like rock and all this. And suddenly, years later, I grabbed his guitar, which was the one I was going to play. I didn’t know how to play. Back it up a little. And suddenly I have it in my hand, and it’s more, in fact, several things, it was inspiration for which I am more of a guitar technician, right? But the long sound is very special to me. And several of the introductions of the songs and everything was to be trying things. Well, I have another one that is another style, but I had never had a Fender, a Stratocaster, which is with two worlds. Yes, yes. And it’s like playing the Stratocaster makes you want to do other things.

R: Well, tell me then, so you recorded the album in practically less than a month? 

S: Well, the demos were recorded in a month, two months. Then there were two songs, because I had others, which in the end were not on the album, because as you saw, obviously I do the demo, most of the songs came out almost in a day, that is, they were like a vomit, I don’t know if someone … Yes, totally. I was like, I can’t believe it, and while I was doing one, I came up with another one.

R: And you were there in Argentina?

S: Yes, I was in Argentina. So more than half of the albums, the demos, I started in Argentina, and then when I came back here, it was just winter, nothing came out perfect, while I was looking out the window, snowing, I was like polishing it, and there were three, well, Pictures in My Mind, for example, I did it here. I hadn’t said that in Argentina. And the last two of the album, I did them here too, the acoustic ones. 

R: But you did all the instrumentation?

S: Yes, everything. 

R: With analog instruments? 

S: Yes, I did the minilogue, the guitar, and the bass, I had Laura, New Romancer, play two songs. And I recorded the rest. 

R: And now it’s more like a band, right? 

S: Yes, I mean, the idea … At least for the live shows. Of course, I want to mix it up, I don’t want it to be just like a band, I want a mix, that’s why I like to play songs like, I don’t know, the ones from Oráculo and all that. 

R: Okay, because what you want is a bit more collaboration, right?

S: No, more variety, a little more movement. 

R: Ah, okay. Yes, because the album is very New Wave. I mean, for example, I recently bought the last one from The Cure, let’s see, talking about the distances, obviously not, but it’s a very New Wave album, and I consider it more to listen to than to dance, right? 

S: In the pandemic, it started as a transformation of mine, now I also make music for piste and everything, but in reality my essence is more like, it sounds a little more like a band. It comes out a little more natural. 

R: It’s a little more that sound that pulls you, right?

S: It doesn’t mean that I don’t like your music. Yes, but if you have to define yourself in some way, right? Yes, and a search started, which I actually have since … I mean, I didn’t delete the projects, I have several that I started in the middle of the pandemic, which were obviously all locked up. Yes, they were all locked up. And there I now detect, seeing what came out, that there was, the search for something a little more … As if it comes out naturally, it’s not like, oh, this is a very long descent, that whatever comes out, as soon as you start thinking a little, that doesn’t mean that I don’t think, but as soon as you start thinking, oh, this is out there, for me it’s a block. Yes, because maybe, of course, if it doesn’t flow naturally, if you don’t let the subject flow in a natural way … The subject asks you, and not what one wants to happen.

R: Of course, of course, and we often get caught up in that, in overthinking. Oh, this, why, and so on, I don’t know. And it’s often better to let it flow at a natural level.

S: Of course, let’s see, a comparison can be, I don’t know, when one says, I’m going to make a song because I want to release it on this label. Yes. And suddenly, it kind of blocks you.

R: And nothing comes out, of course.

S: Actually, let’s see, one is also assuming that the label … They like something that has already come out on their label. And generally, it has happened to me to send songs to labels, and the one I least thought I sent it to, because I say, I send this one, grabs the one that doesn’t appear on the label. 

R: Yes, because, well, also, in the end, the people on the labels are people, really, it’s not an entity, it’s a person, and many times they want to bet on something, a new sound, that they don’t already have on the label, logically. So, the collaboration with Pinkman, how did it come about? Like this, in this way, or was it more …

S: No, that was amazing, because I was going to play at the Grauson last year, and he wrote to me, hey, I didn’t know him, obviously I knew Pinkman, but in fact I hadn’t sent the album to anyone. This was a little thing that I had there, very personal, because there are a lot of people there, too many. 

R: Well, it’s okay, maybe you can think it’s a way of exposing me, but in the end the artists have to go.

S: It was what had to come out. Because if I don’t, if I start to see him, oh no, this is too much, and there I’m already blocking. And well, as soon as he writes to me, hey, I want to go see you, I’m going to play on one of the tracks, I said, okay, right away. And I put it on the list, I think, I don’t remember, and I went to see it, and in the end I stayed all night with him. And it came out, let’s see, without looking for it or anything, because I never related this album to Pinkman. 

R: Me neither, it’s what I was going to tell you, because besides, of course, for me it has shocked me a lot. The first time I heard it, it shocked me a little less, because maybe I wasn’t so attentive either, right? But this morning, when I was listening to it a couple of times like this, while I was doing other things and such, I said, this sound doesn’t fit me at all in Pinkman. But it is also true that for them it is also a bit, I mean, because it is also a way to open up to another audience, right? 

S: With this, as we said before, let’s see, if I had to think about it, I wouldn’t send the song to Pinkman, but Patrick was looking for this. It’s like, well, then, we are here at Grauzone and the song comes out that he was making an album, but very high up. And I started to explain the story of the album, where it came from and everything, and he got curious and told me, send it to me. And nothing, I sent it to him, at that very moment I sent him, obviously it was the demos, right? And I remember that I was returning by train the next day, and he wrote to me and told me, “it would be an honor for Pinkman to release this album”, and I was like, well, I wouldn’t send it to anyone. And I said, well, that’s it. Luckily, he accepted, because I wanted to work with Javi, Javi Ferreira, who is the one who mixed and mastered it. And he was also involved in, he knew what he wanted to do, and he is very good with bands and everything, and he suggested several things, like, I don’t know, recording the guitar three times.

R: Javi is the one who mastered it?

S: Mastered and mixed, which is also what Epsilon did, the one from Oraculo, he mixed it too. And nothing, I think that made all this, because now you listen to the demo and the final version. And it has nothing to do with it, of course, but well. I have affection for demos.

R: But it’s always like that, I mean, for example, with the album I’m on now, which I’m also going to release on vinyl, which is Dark Folk with a little bit of pop, but well, a lot of Dark Folk and such, the first songs have nothing to do with how they sound now, you know? It’s another story. Of course. There’s always an evolution, right? 

S: Sure, but it happened to me that there were things that I did on the guitar, mainly on the guitar, which are the first take, and I wanted that take to stay, even though I could have recorded it again. But there was something, you saw that the guitar is the sound of the fingers, isn’t it? And I said, no, this is going to stay like this. And it stayed like this because I tried to record it. Spontaneously. And it has something, let’s see, this is me, right? As you can hear it, but it’s like there’s a way to do it that has to stay like this. And I like that too, to leave things that were like, not 100% perfect, perfect, perfect, I don’t know what, but it’s also good to give a little humanity. I always think that that takes away the freshness. Sure.

R: It takes away the freshness and emotion from the take, you know? I think the same, it happens to me too. Sometimes I record four or five takes of a voice and they always stay with the first one, because the first one is the most instantaneous, the most spontaneous, and then if you try to do it like this, you get tired. Yes, and in the end it’s like, they almost always prefer the first one because it’s more natural, like it came to me the moment I got there, to say, come on, let the inspiration come out and let it come out as it comes out, right? 

S: Sure, yes, of course. But nothing, for me, this was like a kind of step I wanted to take, which doesn’t mean that I stopped making other kind music. But in what would be the live, like the live version, I wanted to take this, because nothing, it was something that, I was going to make an album, and as I told you before, I feel that it was like the moment that enlightened me, not that it enlightened me, like I felt a message, a message that they told me, it’s now, that’s where I had it in my head, the album, I had already thought about what to write. Everything, everything?

R: So the lyrics also came to you in a super way? 

S: Some, yes, but for the lyrics, I had a little more time.

R: I mean, I… It’s hard to write in English, huh? Yes.

S: My way of writing lyrics, first, with the music. You see, there are people who start with the lyrics, I, there’s no way. I make the music, and then I make a blur of the cadence, of the voice. And then, within that blur, there I start, because I imagine what lyrics… It’s something I heard from several people, I didn’t know it was something that was like… But well, I record there, kind of like a blur, that sometimes there may be a word that comes to mind, which is the trigger of the rest, and that’s how it was, that’s how I do it. And some were almost similar, but in general, I was there, and I also wanted to be well… 

R: I mean, what you’re saying, they’re not written that you’ve done, like, because, for example, I write poetry too, and when I’ve had some mischief, art is always… Good things can come out of shit. And it’s when you start writing and it comes up a lot, right? Yes. Sure, that, for example, for me, to take it to a song, it’s difficult, you know? Because it’s meant to be poetry, it’s meant to be read, to be recited, not to be sung, you know? On the other hand, the lyrics I sing in songs, it’s meant to be sung, you know? They’re meant to be sung, so the lyrics, how did you say them? I mean, did they come up like that? 

S: No, the lyrics came up, like, I mean, it was the music, and suddenly, as I said before, I started with the lyrics, I started with a jumble, some things weren’t jumbles, I already had my head, they came up to me, I was in a very… type of moment like, when they come to you, like, thinking about melodies all day, which sometimes happens to me, and when it happens to me, I take advantage of it. Well, I already learned, because before, at the beginning, when it didn’t happen to me, I said, I’ll never be able to do a song again, and then I learned that they’re moments. There are moments you have to take advantage of. But, well, the thing is, I had a lot of parts of the song in my head at the time, and then, for example, traveling on a subway, I don’t know what, since I already had the song in my head, I kept writing it there, and it’s like, on my phone, I started getting ideas, like, to close it, right? But, obviously, the lyrics, at least for me, took me a little longer. They didn’t come out so spontaneous. Let’s see, there are things that do, but I feel like the lyrics also have to be, it’s not a message that gives, and being sure that everything is fine, besides the language. 

R: Exactly, that’s what I was going to say, because it’s not the same, right? Expressing yourself in Spanish, than expressing yourself in English.

S: Sure, but you know, there’s something very curious about this, that I could never have recorded this album with these lyrics in Spanish, because the fact of doing it in English creates a layer of distance for me. Do you understand? It’s like, let’s see, obviously it’s me, but the fact that it’s in another language, I see it a little more in third person. 

R: Yes. You don’t see it as you suffering from that traumatic moment, or whatever, but like, well, yes, this is me, but…

S: No, it’s like, you create a little distance. Because if I had to be in front of people on stage singing in Spanish, I’d die, like that. With those lyrics. I’d like to do a song in Spanish anyway.

R: But well… You don’t have any, right? In Spanish…

S: I have some lyrics, that one time I came up with, like, directly the lyrics, with the melody, that the other way around, I was saying, what was this? I have it recorded there, well, written down, but I still don’t know how to execute it. 

R: How was the selection process of the 14 songs, right? 14 to 10, right?

S: There were like 14 or 13, but the selection was more mine, to discard, because, you see, at the beginning, it’s all good, and suddenly you realize, hey, wait, this one, no. Yeah. It’s like, as you go along, in the process, it gets more refined. It’s like, at the beginning it seems everything is fine, and suddenly you say, hey, wait, this one doesn’t go, or this one lacks a touch, and so on. Some I kept for a future album. And then, I sent Patrick, I think, 10, with an introduction, and a song that, in the end, I decided to release. And that’s when I did Glowing, which is the last song on the album, which I did out of nowhere, I mean, I went to buy a bottle of wine, and I was like, that’s the last song and it came out like this. And it’s recorded almost in the first take, everything. And I wanted it to be the last song on the album, and we eliminated the intro, which actually, we said, like, why not?

R: And then, okay, live, which now, now you play with this guy, with Mike. 

S: Yes, the idea is, little by little

R: I mean, do you consider forming a band, a band, with a drummer and everything?

S: Yes

R: Because what does he play exactly? 

S: The bass. But it’s something that I’m there, like, kneading. I’m always doing it by myself. It was  something I wanted to do, and I’m there seeing. 

R: It changes, I think. The live show I saw, yours, at Urban Express, when was it? In February? In February, so that day you were alone, and it was very good, equally, I mean, it was cool, it was very good. 

S: Yes, but it’s something that I’m thinking about expanding a little, because, let’s see, I’m going to see bands for a thousand years, and nothing, I realize when something can be better. I don’t want it to be bad, like, give it a little more dynamism. And also, the album, having real bass, organic, and everything, it’s kind of weird to launch it there as a track. So, obviously, I would love to have someone for the synths, to go to drums, or in ballad. I’m still there looking.

R: And have you thought about presenting it? Do you already have a presentation tour or something like that? 

S: I’m in that, next year. We’re going, next year the Wave Gothic Festival. 

R: Yes, the Treffen. Yes, yes, yes, very good, very good. The truth is, it’s a festival. Have they told you where you play? the stage and everything? You’re going to go crazy because, let’s see, for me, it’s one of the best festivals I’ve been to, and I’ve been there for many years now. But it’s really cool because there are many different stages in the city, right? So, you can play in a chapel, you can play in an amphitheater, you can play, I mean, it changes a lot, doesn’t it? And there are four days of festivals, I mean, or four or five, I mean, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I mean, it’s coming strong, it’s coming strong. There are a lot of bands, it’s too much. There are a lot of people, there are a lot of bands, but in the end, it’s true that people who go go for the music.

S: it’s like people who know, like Ombra, Ombra is a festival. 

R: there are a lot of people and you’re going to realize, I mean, it’s immense, I mean, there are 50,000 people, I mean, I’m talking about a lot of people, you know, who go to the festival, but since there aren’t, let’s say, there are big stages, but the big stages are for, look, last year, for example, the Editors played in the biggest stage they have, you know, it’s like 3,000 people. 

S: I’ve been listening to it a lot, that festival, and playing there is going to be good.

R: It’s very good, I’ll go, I always go, it’s very good. The Treffen is a window, you know? It’s a way of…

S: Yes, yes, yes. Yes, that’s why, I think it’s in June. 

R: Ok, let’s go deeper a little bit in the album, because, as such, the album has three singles.

S: The first one was Pictures in My Mind, that Luca has, at Corset. Then, the other one was Golden Eyes, and the last one was Little Self. Golden Eyes is pretty Yes, it’s like, there’s a kind of joy and nostalgia. Yes, it’s like a beautiful mixture of joy and nostalgia in the writing. And then, Little Self is like a kind of letter to myself. I came up with that idea, right? Like, instead of, I don’t know, it’s like, I write a letter to myself. 

R: Well, that’s a very good exercise, for example, when you have, you want to go somewhere, Or do something, Or you say, let’s see, how do I want to see myself? That’s an exercise that I do, a lot of visualization and projection, and it’s writing to yourself. 

S: Yes. Writing to yourself as if you were thinking about your future self, well, you’ve already done this, you’ve already done that, I don’t know what else. There’s a book it’s called The Artist’s Way, I don’t know if you know it, it’s by Cameron, I don’t remember the name, The Artist’s Way. But it’s a course that says to write every morning, and I’ve been doing it for a long time. Yes, me too, the first thing I do when I get up, is to ask you to write three lines, even if you don’t want to write anything, you write, I don’t want to write anything, I don’t want to write anything, like that. And it guides you, like, it’s more than anything to unlock, to unlock, it doesn’t mean that you’re not stuck, you can read it at any time, but it’s like a method to unlock inspiration. Creativity, I don’t know, to take some time for yourself, it doesn’t mean that you have to go to a museum, but it’s like going for a run, or to meditate, I don’t know, for me, going for a run is like meditating. And it’s good, it’s very good. 

R: And now, with the winter, how are you doing with running?

S: It’s more complicated, I’m going to the gym. It’s worse. Luckily, I have it nearby, but running in the Tiergarten is priceless.I have all the thermals. 

R: Well, it’s also the connection with nature, you know, it really invites creativity and inspiration, and when you’re a bit stuck, it’s that, right? They recommend taking off your shoes and putting your feet on the grass, on the grass, you know, and feel Mother Earth. 

S: And nothing, apart from that, one thing is running for half an hour looking at the trees, another thing is looking at the view. When you’re there, how much time is left, it goes by slowly, you know? There’s no color. But no, when I go to the park, it goes by quickly. 

R: And you, how would you recommend people to listen to your audience, to listen to your album? In what moments?

S: And well, right now it’s the perfect moment. Well, there must be people who listen to it at another time of the year, but…

R: I mean, winter, you think it’s a winter album. 

S: Yes, it’s a winter album. In fact, we had said it with Patrick, that it should come out now in November, it was perfect, because, let’s say, it doesn’t hit a lot that you listen to it, obviously, it’s good, if you listen to it now, yes, but, on a sunny, light day, it’s more…

R: It’s more for introspection.

S: For a cloudy day. Yes, for introspection. Yes, and I think it’s a song to listen to at home, or walking… 

R: Or traveling, maybe, too, right?

S: Yes, I don’t know, I think it invites several scenarios in your head, I think, you create your own… 

R: Like which ones?

S: Like which ones? Yes, for example, for me, it makes me think about, like, Tiergarten, in winter, snowy, las hojas cayendo, like, “Tim Burton’s” scene. 

R: Before, I put the same analogy of the album, of The Cure, but it’s true that, I mean, for example, I put, I put your album, for example, I put The Cure, and I say, it’s, it’s, it’s very dark, I mean, it’s very New Wave, it has a very romantic but, well, a bit of heartbreak, of…

S: Yes, I didn’t think like, I’m going to make a New Wave or Post Punk album, I mean, because I think that there are several things mixed there. I don’t like to say that this is such a thing. But, yes, there is, there is a mix, also my influence from when I was a kid, also kind of rock, and, they’re there. 

R: Yes, because I remember the other time we talked, like that, more quietly, I asked you, five artists that have influenced you a lot and you were like…If you had to choose, like, for example, I’m going to be on a radio show next week, and I’ve already been told that I have to choose three songs that have influenced me in my career. If you had to choose…

S: Me?

R: Yes, let’s hear a bit more. Five? Five artists, more than songs, because it’s difficult. One track alone is difficult, but five artists, or five groups, five…

S: For example, I’ve been listening a lot, lately, to the album Manic Street Pitcher. Every day, I’m obsessed with one of the albums, and I think there’s even… I realize, right? The influence of the voice with the melody, there are things that sound happy, but they’re not. But, yes, I could say Manic Street Pitcher. I’m going back to the time when I was making the album. 

R: But If yo have to go to a deserted island, what five albums would you bring?

S: One would be, yes or yes, classical music. One by Mozart. Because I feel it’s…I don’t know, that’s where it all came from. In fact, I think this was many years ago, hundreds of years ago, and the music from there was evolving for me. It’s like, I don’t know, I listen to classical music and it drugs you naturally. Yes, totally. It puts you in a… In a different state. It’s incredible. I don’t know, it’s… I don’t know, you listen to it and you get goosebumps, and besides, It’s like a razor that gets into you, depending on what it is, right? For example, when I listen to cello, it’s one of my favorite instruments, the cello. Listening to it and… In fact, I went to the Philharmonic here in Berlin, where there’s a… On Wednesdays there’s a free recital, I don’t know if you knew.

R: No. What new things are you learning today, my goodness.

S: There’s a program, depending on what it is, but I had just hooked up with one by Mozart, which was a cello, and I don’t remember what else. I was like, this is crazy. The Philharmonic is next to the Tiergarten, but on the other side. Close to what would be the Gate of Brandenburg, the Holocaust Monument, but even closer, even closer, around there. It’s a building that you realize, because the architecture of the place is beautiful. And on Wednesdays, at 1 p.m., I think, there’s a free concert, for an hour. You have to go early. To pick up… But yes, there’s a limit. I usually end up lying on the floor. Well, there’s a seat. But it’s worth it. Because, honestly, you stay there with your mouth open. It’s wonderful. I love classical music. It inspires me a lot.

R: Actually, for me, that’s where all the music comes from. Even the techno. If you realize, many constructions, how a techno theme is built, they gradually add more instrumentation, more sounds. That’s classical music. Classical music is like that.

S: For me, it’s something more elevated. It’s not out of the box. Something that reminds me a little, that I love, is Muse.

R: Muse, they’re very symphonic, of course.

S: It’s crazy. The first five albums, I’m a fan. There’s a change that I don’t like. But the first albums are crazy.

R: It’s true. Have you ever seen them at a concert?

S: Yes, yes. In fact, I saw them for the first time. They opened for U2. And I loved them. They were the ones that opened. And I went to see them. U2 started and I went to the second song. Because I went to see them. And then I went to see them at another festival in Argentina. They blew my mind. Because the guy plays the piano, he sings like hell. He plays the guitar like hell. It’s crazy. It reminds me a lot of Queen. I feel that Queen is a band that was out of the series. Do you like it or not? Yes. I always say, Queen is not that band that you’re in the stove and say, hey, play a Queen song. It’s impossible. Those chords. And then another band. Well, there I was throwing you bands… Radiohead.

R: I was thinking, why don’t you tell me Radiohead? But Radiohead is at a level. It’s stratospheric. Another band.

S: It’s stratospheric. It’s at another level. I saw them live and they were…

R: Well, it’s brutal. I’ve come to a few concerts. I’ve been there a few times. And then I’ve also seen Thom Yorke. I saw him at Sonar. The last time I saw him at Sonar he was playing alone. Let’s say. It doesn’t matter how crazy you are with the band. It’s brutal.

S: He’s a genius. He’s the anti-rock star.

R: Totally. Yes, yes.

S: And then, obviously, Depeche Mode. I saw them for the first time in February. Also amazing. It’s kind of obvious. Everyone is going to say Depeche Mode. But I loved them. I’m telling you this because I saw them live a little while ago and there are people who have seen them 20 times already. But for me it was something new. You heard them before. That’s why, as I told you, there’s a mix there. Then there’s another band that I discovered recently called Nothing. But it’s more shoegaze and heavy. There’s something there. A mix. As I told you before, it’s kind of difficult, but not because it’s difficult to play my music. It’s not like that, but I feel like there’s a lot of information, a lot of branches, and I think that’s also what makes you do something a little different. You listen to a playlist of Spotify, of Darkwave, and sometimes it happens that after a while they’re all the same. Without criticizing anyone or anything.

R: This happens a lot to me. There are a lot of bands that have a mix. A record is cool, but then it’s more of the same. There’s no evolution. There’s no growth. So I get bored with that too.I like it a lot. For example, Radiohead. Of course. From Pablo Honey to Kid-A there’s evolution. It’s incredible.

S: Another band that I admire for that is Arctic Monkeys. Their first album is Ska. It’s basically a Ska album, and each album has a different style. They’re the ones, until the last one, that sounds like music. You’re drinking a Martini. It’s crazy. That’s what I like. When you don’t stay in, oh, this works, I’ll stick with this. To do that.

R: That limits you a lot. Creativity, I think. It’s also a reflection of the little creativity you have. This formula has worked for me. And you can see it. Regardless of whether you like one style or another, I think you can see it. When it’s not authentic, when it’s not something that has come out of you.

S: You can see it when it’s a formula. And then it’s all around it. They’re searches. I like to make music and try to surpass myself. I don’t know, I don’t stay, I study architecture. I have to do something that I feel limited.

R: And if you had to choose a song from the album, a song that goes beyond, a song that, if I had to choose a song from the album, regardless of the singles, we’re talking more on a personal level, which may coincide, but maybe not.

S: For me, Fading Echoes, which is the name of the album. By the way, it’s the name of the album, but it wasn’t a single. Is Number four. Yes, I’d stay with that one. Because it was the second one I did. I remember when I was learning it.

R: And why? What motivated you? What motivated you to do it and why did you choose it?

S: Because it has the mix of organic and, I don’t say electronic, because it doesn’t sound very electronic, but the melodies are very personal and deep. Also the lyrics. It’s a song that’s like my… Yes, I’d give it as a presentation card. By the way, we didn’t choose that… The album… I’m happy with all the songs, but I didn’t want… Since it’s called Fading Echoes, it was going to be a bit confusing. I wanted to leave a bit of a surprise. I think the singles were good, but I like that for me, they were quite interesting songs, outside of the singles.

R: And why Fading Echoes? Why that name?

S: Why? Because I felt it as a kind of… The whole album is a kind of echo, going away. It’s not going away. It’s like memories and a me that’s no longer here, dying. It’s a kind of statement, like, this is how it is now, and from now on, nothing more. And I like that title. It came to me there, and I think it made sense with the album.

R: You’re preparing the tour for next year, but is there a place where you would especially like to present the album?

S: In the Uber Arena.

R: Why not? You never know. You have to always set high goals.

S: Where would I like to do it? In the Uber Arena? One day we’ll do it with this one, probably later in Berghain, in the Kantine, or even in the main hall, but obviously not on the same day. But that would be great, because it’s like the mix of the two worlds.

R: Of course, and the building is impressive.

S: Yes, I already played there in the canteen, but I wasn’t presenting an album or anything. But I hope that in some presentation of an album…

R: And some, regardless of Berlin, some festival, some…

S: Yes, there’s a lot. There’s one in Portugal that I saw pictures of… 

R: Entremuralhas? I spoke to you about it the other day, I remember. Well, now it’s Extramuralhas, but before it was EntreMuralhas. Because before it was only… And do you think that by next year you’ll have the band format already?

S: Let’s see, I want… With this new thing, I’m there, but I hope so. I mean, I’m there… I don’t want to do things in a hurry. No, I want things to be good. I want it to be up to what I want to do. Because it’s difficult, you know? It’s like finding people who… I don’t know, take things seriously.

R: Well, that’s the first thing. And then that they’re also professionals.

S: Yes, of course. I think that’s what chemistry will achieve later on. But the most important thing is that they know how to play, and professionalism, and taking things seriously. It’s not like everyone is like that. So, it’s fine. But I do this. It’s not like I take it as a hobby. No, of course, exactly. So, nothing, that.

R: So, in your diary… What do you do in your diary? Explain it to me. Quickly. You don’t need to go into all the details. But you’re professionally dedicated to music. You make a living from music.

S: There are several branches. It’s not just playing. I mean, I do remixes. I also work with people who… I help them finish songs. It’s not necessarily voice producing. It’s like… It’s like… I don’t know if it’s mentoring. But I don’t like the word mentoring. Of course, it’s like helping them finish ideas. Yes, perfect. How is it? Well, then I do remixes. Sometimes I also give production classes. And more than anything, it’s like… Sometimes it’s a lot. Sometimes it’s a little calmer. And in the middle, I also do my own thing. Because it also takes a lot of time to work with other people. Who didn’t like it. So it’s also good to save a little for yourself. Because I have to finish… I’m burned out.

R: Speaking of remixes, William from The Days of Sorrows told me to congratulate you for your remix, that he liked it a lot.

S: Ah, really? Yes. The Days of Sorrows? Ah, yes. Wild World.  I’ve never done a remix so fast. I mean fast BPM. BPM, I think it’s 135. It’s made for you to put it.

R: All the songs on the album are very playable. How would you define your album in one sentence?

S: Let’s see. Uh, man. These are difficult questions. Death is like… I think it would be like a kind of rebirth. Beyond the fact that it sounds dark and everything. But a lot of having done that, taking it out of me, it’s like a kind of rebirth.

R: And how did you physically feel the relief?

S: No, I completely changed. Everything? Completely. Like, you don’t realize how it affects doing something. I don’t know, writing, drawing or whatever. For me, making music, I can be very depressed or whatever. And suddenly I do something that moves me and changes my day. So, for me, that album changed that moment in my life. Beyond what may or may not happen.

R: But, well, it’s a way, as we said before, music is always… Art in general is very transmuting. Not all art, right? But music has something, at least for me, it goes beyond, you know? It has that energy that you put on a song and suddenly…

S: Either you get depressed or you get happy.

R: Exactly. Or if you need to get something out of it, you put on music to get it out, right?

S: Yes, yes. That’s why when you’re kind of depressed, you put on Radiohead and say, if I’m going to be depressed, I’m going to be depressed, right? I love it. But when you’re in a depressive mood and you put on Radiohead, well, there’s a difference.

R: I confess, when I’m depressed, I listen to Los Planetas, which is an indie band, very well-known in Spain, and although it’s more… another thing, right? Well, it has a lot of very dark themes, to be honest, and it has very dark records, with a mix of flamenco, they’re quite innovative, to be honest. But there are songs that seem to be happy, what I’m saying, that seem to be a happy song, and that’s it, man. I mean, it’s telling you a lot of shit, that you hallucinate. And I like them a lot to… you know, to get it out, like that. And it’s like, ah, Los Planetas song, I could put it in a moment of my life.

S: Sure.

R: Do you have a band like that?

S: Guns N’ Roses. I mean, beyond the fact that I’m not listening to them all the time, but they’ve been with me since I was five years old. I mean, I listen to songs and they make me remember when I was six years old, a Saturday afternoon at my father’s house. It’s something that’s with me, that goes beyond the band. They’re already incorporated. There’s a lot too, right? Aerosmith, for example. But Guns N’ Roses. But Guns N’ Roses is like, obviously I’m talking about before, right? But yes, I can’t lie, I have to say it.

R: Don’t lie, don’t lie.

S: I can’t do the coolie, do it there, no. It’s Guns N’ Roses. 

R: You can say  Joy Division.

S: No, it’s Guns N’ Roses.

R: Well, very good, very good. Because for me, for example, it’s something that has caught my attention. You sound very New Wave on the album. You sound a lot, as if you had a lot of sources, like that, right? Joy Division, and so on. And I know, faithfully, that you don’t. Because the other time we talked, I already had it clear, you know? But that’s very cool, because in the end it’s like you’re born with it. It’s very authentic, you know? It’s not that you want to look like that.

S: No, no, but later, I don’t know. If it happens, it will be, I don’t know. But it’s not that I’m listening to a Dark Wave album and I want it to sound like this. I couldn’t do it either, never. I feel like I’m doing, I don’t know, stealing. So for me, the more pure it comes out from the inside, the better, I think. Later, if it looks like, or not if it looks like, but if it’s pop, because I think there are even pop things, which for me is not a bad word.

R: Yes, yes, totally.

S: Because there is pop that is good.

R: Totally, yes, yes, totally. I love pop.

S: But if it see my playlist, it would be better hidden.

R: Why?

S: There are things that… 

R: Reggaeton? 

S: No, no, no.

R: But hey, I really like, for example, salsa, but very typical things. Folklore, right?

S: No, for example, Lana del Rey. I love it. I love it so much. I think it’s incredible. But then you see me and you say, no way, you like Lana del Rey?

R: But you would go to a concert of hers, for sure.

S: Yes, I never went, but I would love to go. The first time I did it, it happened to me. But yes, I love it. I think it’s very dark.

R: It is also true that there is a lot of prejudice, right?

S: Yes, of course. Prejudice is at home doing nothing. It’s typical, you know? Ah, it seems to you… I already saw it. A while ago on TikTok they put something of Billie Eilish. I get into prejudice because… No, no. It’s like those who criticized Metallica when the album came out, the Black Album. And who are they criticizing? Someone who wanted to be like them and didn’t make it.

R: Exactly, yes.

S: I’m not saying that everyone has to love you, right?

R. No, no, that’s going to be impossible.

S: That’s going to be impossible. No, that’s not… No, no, obviously. That’s not the idea either. If not, there’s something kind of weird. If they love you. Of course. But… I say the criticism there, kind of, that you get on the train, because everyone says something. It’s not that I’m embarrassed, but, for example, Adele, she’s great.

R: Yes, why not? Of course.

S: She’s great.

R: What I’m saying is that a lot of people have the advantage, because they’re more mainstream singers, let’s say.

S: Yes, but at some point, the mainstream… At some point, they were… Because they’re mainstream. Of course, but at some point, they weren’t. But they’re number 10 now on the US charts, you know what I mean? The thing is, people say they’re mainstream. At some point, they weren’t, you know? So, they have to starve to be cool. I mean, they hit it. They have millions, I congratulate them. Phenomenal. Now they call them mainstream. Okay, they’re mainstream. It’s incredible, that’s it. Exactly. But it’s a discussion. I don’t know what the thing is to say, oh no, they sold out. No. They made music that was good and obviously, they were lucky that they were in the right place with the people who listened to them. But hey, it came from something that was real. Yes. And nothing, it’s good. Totally. But when they start, I don’t know, they sold out. They sold out, okay. I mean, if everyone wants to make a living from what…

R: Well, I know, I know, I know the artist or some of them, they prefer it as their underground, they prefer to go… No, I respect that. It’s all good. Well, yes, I also respect it, but it’s not my way of seeing it. Of course. My way of seeing it is, you don’t have to set limits, you get where you get. Obviously. If suddenly you hit a ball with something that really came from you, you know you’re doing it because it came from you and it’s born, then welcome. Of course. Now, saying no, I don’t know, I don’t care. Another thing is saying, no, I’m going to make music so that it sounds like… You know, that’s different, what we were talking about. Yes, obviously. But if it’s something that came from you and you’re authentic, phenomenal, I applaud you. 

S: Yes, no, me too. I mean, blocking that, for me, is stupid. I mean, if there’s a chance that music reaches a lot of people, it’s basically that. Music resonated with a lot of people. Why cut it off?

R: Exactly. For that. Well, I’ll see you at the Louvre Arena.

S: Yes, I hope so. Hahaha.