Although some might say that Lejos. No tan lejos (2010) killed the momentum of their 2009 Bestia album, Hello Seahorse! holds their ground and argues that their latest release was conceived from the band members’ natural need of expression, and was not meant to satisfy any one’s timeline other than their own. It’s with this album that, according to LoBlondo, lead singer to the Mexican indie rock band, the band allows themselves to deep further into their vulnerability and allow for the music to therapeutically soothe the inner and fictional beasts that their previous album left behind.
In this first part of the interview, Lo Blondo shares with us the reason behind the sudden need to release an album, and about how the band copes with the criticism that may be dimming the light on an album that, as she states, is their most vulnerable project yet.
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The urgent need to create
We wanted to stray away from what we did with Bestia because we were at a much different place in our lives. That album opened may doors for us and with it we traveled, played important venues, and were highly recognized, specially in the Mexican region. But when the band came together from after the holidays, we were all very much different people. We all simultaneously felt the need to create something new and let ourselves go with what we were feeling at that moment, and not necessarily produce what we thought people would want to hear from us next.
From the writer’s point of view, Lejos. No tan lejos is the most intimate album we’ve done so far because I completely let myself go in the writing and allowed myself to be as open as possible. In this album I’m writing as myself and describing some of my very own personal experiences. I’m no longer this fictional character talking about fictional moments as I was in Bestia. Lejos. No tan lejos holds real life experiences that as I was writing I was also learning to cope with and release them through the making of this album.
Therapy at its best
In the moment of creation music is very therapeutic. As a writer you write because you have that need to release and we’re very transparent in the sense where we write honestly and without much premeditation. Although people might not think so, we really are.
The song “Perla blanca” for example is probably one of the most vulnerable songs in the album along with “Casa vacia”. “Casa vacia” was actually a pre single that we released in Mexico and it was badly criticized throughout the region. Some people said it was lame and that it made no sense at all, but to me it was very much the opposite. I wrote that song during a very lonely time in my life and it talks about the feeling of profound instability and uncertainty. Writing it for me was very liberating and although it was criticized as “not making sense”, to me it did because it allowed me to express all those feelings of unknowing. I think that all of the songs from this album talk a little bit about that need to let go and release yourself completely. We didn’t intentionally write it out that way but music works in that sense where it reflects what you’re living at the moment, if you let it, of course.
I’m also the type of person that gets hurt very easily so I’ve been hurt plenty of times by what critics say. But in the end it just makes me stronger. I know that not everyone will relate to the things that I write or the music that we make, but it’s ok. There will be those who are intrigued and that can relate to what we’ve created and that’s wonderful. But in the end we paint, write, and make music to liberate no one but ourselves.
All in due time
We released this album rather quickly because we wanted to keep the songs fresh and we didn’t want them to loose their feeling of sincerity and pureness. I think that if we had waited any longer they would have lost their essence, so we decided just to do it. It was arranged and produced all within a few months so that was very chaotic, but that as well was just as therapeutic as writing the material. The fact that we released an album so soon after our previous release has also been very criticized, but that too is something that we’re coping with without letting it take away what this album has done for us on an emotional level.
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Stay tuned for the second part of this interview where Lo Blondo talks to us about the production of the album and about the words of wisdom that producers Yamil Rezc and Money Mark have shared with them in order to stay true to no one but themselves. And meanwhile, don’t forget to check out the band as they make a kind visit to our neck of the woods as part of their 2011 promotional tour for Lejos. No tan lejos.
Win tickets here and see you at the show!
Lejos. No tan lejos
Mexico: MUN
US release date: January 25, 2011 (Nacional Records)
01 – Ginebra Dulce
02 – Casa Vacia
03 – 7 Dias
04 – Perla Blanca
05 – Fieras
06 – Un Año Quebrado
07 – La Tumba
08 – Oro Y Plata
09 – Me Has Olvidado
10 – Velo De Novia (Live Recording)
11 – Lejos. No Tan Lejos
12 – Casa Vaca Acoustica
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