A Dirty Dozen with EL SUEÑO from UNFITS – April 2020

According to a recent press release: “Homeless during his teenage years, the band’s frontman found purpose in music, teaching himself a variety of instruments and ultimately becoming a songwriter for rap icons like Royce da 5’9” and Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA. He caught the attention of Grammy winning producer Emile Haynie (Kanye West, Lana Del Rey), and their first collaboration “Satisfy Me” quickly gained more than 1.2 million streams. Drawing on their background in skydiving and extreme sports, the band shot a Matrix-meets-Blade Runner music video music for “Satisfy Me” in 7 countries around the world with a collection of 11 friends and influencers.” We get frontman El Sueño to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1.Tell us a little about your upcoming releases. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

We decided to work with producer Emile Haynie. He has collaborated with Kanye West, Lana Del Rey, Bruno Mars and Eminem. I don’t think listeners would have expected the dark alternative pop that came out of our production with him, with lyrics like: “I’m sedated, when drugs don’t even do / Lingering comets of desire grew…” “Life is lust and we fade too black…” “I can’t get off on anything in life…”

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I feel like music chooses everyone, but not everyone responds to the call. I personally can’t imagine a life where I am not creating music, it’s not even remotely possible. I’ve always felt like life was a video game simulation and we get to make our own characters. Whatever your character is you should be a good one.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

My formative years were filled with albums as diverse as Tupac Better Days,  Bob Dylan Bringing it all Back Home, & of course Michael Jackson HIStory. Favorite concert to watch online (I wasn’t alive yet) was The Clash North American Tour, belting out songs like “I’m so bored with the USA.” I also grew up watching documentaries of guys like Bob Marley who was shot in the arm after seven armed GDK men raided his house. Yet, he still performed at the Smile Jamaica concert series. These type of backstories reinforced my belief that to be an artist you need courage. My favorite quote to live by is “Nature Loves Courage.”

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Joe Strummer, John Lennon, Marc Anthony, Tupac, and Michael Jackson.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (aka the Weeknd), because of his excess, shadows, edges and being one of my favorite artists of the decade.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I would describe my current music as dark alternative pop. One fan compared a song I performed to Zayn Malik, and I didn’t know who he was really, but I remembered “I Don’t Want To Live Forever,” and that’s a great song. I don’t really cringe at any reference point anyone has. We are all experiencing this 3 dimensional world with our own levels of consciousness and different subjective realities. In other words, the reality you are experiencing is definitely not the same reality I am experiencing. That’s why it is literally pointless to argue with someone if they’re on a different level of awareness than you.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

My mate Vince Prince is usually first to start playing piano or music of some form. I am first to drink tequila, then another tequila, and another one, and another one… etc.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I don’t get star struck with any celebrities. I would get star struck with people who are thinking about the new world that we are going to live in. I would get star struck over Elon Musk, Max Tegmark, James Turrell and probably Oprah haha.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

If I could no longer be a musician, I’d probably dedicate my life to space commercialization. I have a big dream to build a space hotel someday. Don’t worry, I’ll save a rock room for you!

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I’ve always wanted to be asked “what is the purpose of this life? Like why are we all here?” I think the answer would be somewhere within the space of increasing consciousness, connection and imagination to be connected to our source. I am tired of being asked what my favorite tequila is. Obviously it’s all of them.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I spent too much time fucking around with my acoustic guitar and would have started experimenting with electronic music sooner. Also, I let drummers play crash cymbals too much and I should have thrown them all away to focus more on tribal type rhythmic patterns.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for anyone record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I’d go back in time to 1964 at RCA studio and watch Sam Cooke record “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

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