Interview with Slowkiss

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• I think that in large part I owe this great love for music to my mother. Maybe if it hadn't been musician, I would be a mermaid because I also love water a lot haha ​​when my mother came home from work she would put me in the bathtub while she did her things and I sang, I loved the reverb in the bathroom, so she was the one who discovered my potential and soon I started with my first music classes. The truth is that I can't imagine myself doing anything else, but it could be cinema, I studied some of that too.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• I've been dedicating myself to music for years, so when I'm not playing I'm producing, there are always things to do to move a band, you have to prepare shows, tours, you always have to be composing new songs, recording demos, recording videos or live sessions, making posters for the shows, taking photos, moving social networks, manufacturing merch, getting new contacts, and a thousand other things that are related. Being an independent musician implies having to deal with many things, you have to be very active and willing to learn a bit of everything. I am lucky that through all this I am always meeting interesting artists and people from whom I am constantly learning and enriching myself.

How long has your band been around?

• Since 2014

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

• For now, we are still in Santiago de Chile but we will move to Europe this 23' Making music here in South America, although it is much more complicated, we are lucky to grow up listening to the Anglo music that everyone knows, and also have Latin music in Spanish that It teaches you another world and other rhythms and sounds that undoubtedly influence us as well, and on the other hand, since there is much less industry, you become much stronger and more perseverant.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

• Putting a name to a band is super difficult! At first we had named one of our first songs like that, it had nothing to do with the lyrics, more than anything it was a concept, but we ended up liking it so much that in the end it became our name. SlowKiss has something sensory that first leads you to remember that kiss that makes time stop. I like what it has to do with the relativity of time, and love, perhaps even the pulse of the heart when you kiss. I feel that it also has a feminine and romantic touch. I think it draws attention and makes you want to know more about the band.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• I will choose 3. 1st the show of 2017 in the annual exhibition of music posters at the SXSW Convention Center in Austin, Texas, a stage among thousands of incredible posters and where after the show we sold ALL the merch we were bringing and met the great artist Kii Arens. The 2nd show on March 22, the 10th version of Lollapalooza Chile, the biggest stage we have stepped on, was an incredible experience that left us thirsty for more. And the 3rd one, was recently on our 1st tour to Europe at the CLL in Lille, France, a show in a basement where sweat rained from the walls and ceilings because people kept jumping and dancing with us, fucking crazy.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• We recently discovered that we really like to play at festivals. Although you never have the best sound check, it's great to be able to go up on those huge stages, that people who may not know you can see you and sharing with other bands is very fun. This year we want to take advantage of the summer and go to all the European festivals we can! A dream could be to play at any of the mega rock festivals like "Sick New World" or "Riot Fest" "Rock in Rio", "Primavera Sound" etc. you know what i mean.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

• Haha nice and difficult, I will limit myself to putting only active bands.

  The Cure, NIN, Deftones, Smashing Pumpkins, The Distillers, My Chemical Romance, Turnstile, Amyl and the Sniffers, Tired Lion.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

• I would say to a new musician, don't waste time, dedicate as much time as possible to learn, practice a lot, record all the ideas you have, if you found a nice group of people to grow up with and take care of each others, stick up with them, invest in good instruments and listen to a lot of music and go to many concerts!

  To me when I was young I would say, take care of your copyright, and avoid any romantic relationship between you and your team or bandmates haha.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

• You don't have to prove anything to anyone. Just be yourself.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• I believe that many of my songs have meant a lot to me at their time, many have been composed going through very hard times. If we talk about the latest songs, from Patio 29, “In ​​Vain” is the most visceral lyrics I've ever written in my life. I remember being so hurt that I wrote it all at once, like a vomit that came from inside me, that's why I think it's a very powerful song and it transmits a lot of that.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

• I love our opening song Vampire, it has a super entertaining dynamic to kick off. Also Enough, who has unstoppable strength and a lot of contained rage. If we talk about older songs, when we play Asteroids or Emty Eyes the whole mood changes and everything lights up and I love that.

  I feel that deep down people are very emo and connect a lot with more melodic songs like Ballerina, which is a beautiful moment in the show or they also like when they are left with their mouths open with songs like In Vain or Control that don't even give you a chance to breathe.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

• The creative process changes like life itself. We have done it in many ways, for example the last album was created during the pandemic. We had to work virtually sending each other ideas and demos and each one recording their instrument in a common demo, crazy but we will always be open to new ways that allow us to continue working and creating music together.

  The main inspiration is "the complaint" or "the truth", we like to talk about in a dark way, for example, stories of women, or things that we observe in society, issues that bother us, things that we do not like, but also, about mental states, love and crazier things, no limits.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

• Deep messages of consciousness and change. Of strength and action, from a dark or pessimistic vision or even with a certain touch of humor to shake and make you move.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

• Of course we argue. Having a band is like being married to 3 people. There is a lot of energy involved, a lot of feelings, commitment, responsibilities. You have to know how to endure a lot. If you get angry at first, the one that suffers the most is the band. You have to work hard on tolerance. There are times of great stress and demand in which there is much more fighting, and it is very difficult to separate the personal, therefore what I recommend is to breathe and let things cool down and then talk about everything, more calmly and go back to peace and remember we have dreams together and that we love each other.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

• In the near future we hope to release soon N.O.C.G.A the 1st single from our new album K.O. which we hope will also come out soon. Doing a 2nd European tour in spring-summer and continue growing as a band.