A Dirty Dozen with AIRE COMO PLOMO – November 2022

According to a recent press release: “AIRE COMO PLOMO (translates to AIR LIKE GUNFIRE) also known as A.C.P is a Colombian extreme music group that combines Death grind, Thrash Metal and Hardcore Punk with elements of Avant-garde art and Latin-American horror and folklore. The name is commonly referred to as a metaphor for a forced and daily inhale of violence and savagery. Presented in Tarantinoesque anti-political propaganda aesthetics, the clip is a fast-paced montage of the band as street level and rebellious apes, performing aggressively against a collage of visuals inspired by the work of León Ferrari, the Colombian injustice system and a senseless history of ideological warfare. In this homage to grindhouse, graphic design and video art, A.C.P pulverizes all idolatry and belief with an aggressive sonic hammer called “Erase the One.” We get the band to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  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?

Our new single and music video is “Erase the One,” it’s a blunt, straightforward and blazing manifestation about undermining idolatry, so a lot of stuff is going to go under the radar the first couple of times. We’re huge history, film and comic book buffs, so we encourage people to take as many views as possible, because there’s a ton of hidden meanings and Easter eggs. The band isn’t shy about putting a critical stance out there, so be warned and prepared, the imagery is strong and transgressive.

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

I remember having Gustavo Reyes over one time, he’s a family friend who used to give us guitar lessons, and seeing him put his guitar through a Zoom pedal board and just cranking out a power chord with distortion did it for me. Hooked.

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

It’s always difficult to filter a who is who. But something we like to highlight and sponsor is how the peers from our local scene are a constant and insane driving force in the methodology of the band. In Colombia, we have these massive open air gigs for tens of thousands of people, and they were the first big shows we ever went to. They’re free actually. And you get to see so many of the up and coming local bands share the stage with high-profile international artists in a very intimidating stage that bounces between every imaginable genre and has the most hostile or loving crowds. It’s very difficult to not be influenced by all that’s going down in a moment like that.

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

There’s one artist who we’ve been working on in the past years, but as filmmakers. His name’s Draco Rosa and he’s this mad talented entertainer and wise soul who we grew up listening to. A huge influence. We’ve always been able to talk about a whole bunch of stuff in and out of the professional world, but at the end of the day we always go back to sharing stories about the road, the studio and the musical side of what we do. So it’s something that’s made its way into the bucket list.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

Working out. It’s been years of abuse and recklessness and we’re not getting any younger, just wiser. It helps to break the rut and keep the body and the mind ready for any hustle.

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?

A.C.P is the soundtrack to a horror movie about being Colombian. When we were starting out, we used to get the genre card a whole lot and it used to get us worked up, because we had metal and hardcore, but weren’t metalcore, you know?  It’s hard to do all the different influences justice, because you’re doing your thing, but it’ll always be an exercise of perception according to the listener’s background. So, you actually make peace with needing the exposure to come across in the most faithful way possible. We look back at it now as angry kid stuff.

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?

Since we’re working out, we all take care of the proper meal. That aside, Enzo, our drummer, is the ambassador of keeping the booze running and Jose, the frontman, is always first at the strumming.

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

Watching Bobby with Pentagram this year. There’s this mystical quality to it that’s undeniable. Like witnessing something come back from the other side. An undead wizard. You hear the tunes, read the story and see the documentary and it just hits hard with the ups and downs of giving into music. So having it happen in a jam-packed, close and personal venue was mesmerizing.

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?

Staying true to music has brought us all kinds of amazing life-experiences. I mean, our current life is everything but one-dimensional because of it. So anything else, as long as it can go back to having some music in it, will be worth the ride.

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?

For the first part of the question, I think why. It falls in a different place than who, what, when and where. You’re always searching for the meaning behind your motives, so any questions that bounces back to you as an informed inquiry of the deeper will be greatly appreciated. On the second part, I mean, it’s inevitable, but those “who are your influences?” can become tiresome, and we’ve found out over time that a different type of approach can trigger a conversation that will eventually bring all that info up.

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?

Now we know that it’s impossible to assess the impact of a sudden and impulsive reaction, because our most valuable mindset has become being able to turn things around. In a very broad way, and remembering our angry kid years, we used to put a whole lot of people down: friends, audience, promoters, etc., for not noticing the larger picture of what we wanted to do on the spot. So if we had the chance to do it over, just being more focused, open and patient would be a solid way of keeping it together. It’s hard as it is and you constantly see things going past you and not happening. It’s the way it works, so why make it harder?

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

Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath. We’re old school at heart and I feel it’s a thing of reminiscing about the past in terms of an energy that was different with the world. I remember just having chills down my spine when I first listened to the title track, but also going on a hell of a trip around this album that’s made up of a whole lot of amazing music and concepts. The whole idea of being in the moment and lending something to a history defining piece of human expression is intoxicating. That whole obscure aura is a mean combination between danger and fun. The best kind.

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Category: Interviews