On friday august 20th we’re releasing Los outsaiders new album “tiempos de bronce”. This is their second album we have the honor of releasing on our label - all because of a serendipity meeting at a taco truck at sxsw in 2015. we wanted to ask them a couple questions about the new album and dig a little deeper in the artistry of the new songs & the band. Here’s what Charlie wrote us.
Q. What is the new album about?
Bronze can mean some defeat, as it can also allude to the old time, the one that leaves its mark and tarnishes things in its path, but at the same time, for us, it represents a stroke of optimism that tells us that the best is always yet to come.
Q. What was it like recording the album in NYC?
It was very inspirational. A unique way to do it and I believe it was meant to be. Sometimes I went to the roof of the building where the studio was and I just stood there, looking at the city thinking of how far we got. Being a Peruvian rock band means you have to work a hundred times harder, but it worth every single moment. Working at such a nice studio with people like Rudy Pagliuca and Carlos Imperatori was a big challenge and it was also kind of a master class for us. Everyday we had to bring our A game, we needed to be focused all the time and I’d like to think that our fans can feel all of that in the songs.
Q. How does a typical day look like for the band?
When we’re together we always laugh. There’s a high sense of humor in all of us. You will always find Dani being loud and Renzo cracking us up with his jokes. Fun fact: he’s even funnier in English than in Spanish. So, no matter if we’re rehearsing, doing some kind of “office work” for the band or even in a show, we’re always having a good time.
Q. How has it been planning a release in Peru during Covid?
It’s been both hard and frustrating. The internal struggle of not really knowing what’s going on, where to go next, plus the frustration of not being able to share your work the way it was meant to be, it often made me feel hopeless. Also, being 4 people in the band, sometimes it gets very tricky. But it’s all in the past now, not the pandemic at 100%, but we always look for the future and whatever is next for us. Music is healer and we work to bring that to the world trough our songs.
Q. What is the music scene like in Peru at the moment?
It’s starting to getting better, a little by little, which is a great symptom. A few months ago we could only dream about it but now we can see many shows being held. Still is not the same yet, shows can’t be full capacity, people has to stay in their own seats wearing a mask, no dancing, no moshing like it used to be but it’s a great start. We hope we can play everywhere and make a tour for the album soon because it’ll mean the pandemic is behind us.
Q. How does the songwriting process look like for Los Outsaiders?
Usually when I write a song I like to make a full song demo. I make drums on the computer, record the bass guitar, guitars, synths, vocals and everything. I enjoy doing it and it’s my way to fully show what I had in my head. After that, if the band like the song, they start giving me their inputs and record a new version of it with them playing now. That’s how we pre-produce our songs. Something new on this album is that Perro and Dani had composed a few songs and they have a different writing process. For example, on Dani’s song he went to my room with a very nice idea, then I suggested a little part that I had wondering around and then I made the lyrics for it and that’s the song that made it to the album. It’s always fun to find new ways to make music.
Q. How does this album sound different than the 1st one?
I mean, it has to be. They were recorded 6 years apart from each other and we never want to sound like something we did before, otherwise we would get bored. We always look forward, like the time itself. We have more experience, new goals, new influences, we’ve met more people, we’ve done a lot more, often together, so now we have more stuff in our brains, new instruments and rhythms to try and new ways to tell our stories. For our first album we had exactly 10 songs to be recorded. For this new album we made almost 40 songs and then we narrowed them down in the studio, listening to all of them with Rudy and making our final decision together. Anyway, somehow, the essence is the same: you can listen to any song of ours and you will know that is us, so I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’re the same different guys.
“Tiempos de Bronce” will be available on Friday on all digital platforms. Congrats Los Outsaiders with the release of the new album!