A Dirty Dozen with MATTHEW BRUE from MISSIO – April 2024

Photo credit: Ima Leupp

According to a recent press release: “MISSIO – Matthew Brue (Vocalist / Multi-Instrumentalist / Producer) and David Butler (Engineer / Multi-Instrumentalist / Producer) – released their debut album, Loner, in 2017. The genre-bending, eclectically dark Austin duo quickly landed a global radio hit with their first single “Middle Fingers,” making their late-night debut on Conan and reaching #9 on the Billboard Alternative Charts. They have since released three full-length albums, garnering six #1’s on SiriusXM’s Alt-Nation with songs like “I See You,” “Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea,” “Underground” and more. MISSIO has partnered with global commercial brands such as Shiseido, Summer’s Eve and Armani. Topping off an illustrious career, they have over 1 billion global streams and have a R.I.A.A. Gold certified record for “Everybody Gets High.” All of this set the stage for the release of I Am Cinco. This ambitious season of music initially took shape in their headquarters of Austin only to be completed on a creative sojourn to Mexico City. After creating the body of work in multiple countries, 10 different sessions, MISSIO has come alive with these 26 tracks.” We get Matthew 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?

We just released a new & aggressive rock banger called “Aztec Death Whistle” & an interesting nugget about the song is that it features a real Aztec Death Whistle from Mexico. One of our favorite cities in the world is Mexico City & we visited the pyramids at teotihuacán & recorded someone blowing into one on my iPhone. That loud scream about 3/4 of the way into the song is what a real Death Whistle sounds like. Imagine 5000 of those in battle back in the day coming over a hill… terrifying.

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

We both were introduced to music in our childhoods but on the complete opposite sides of the spectrum. I started classical piano lessons at age 6 and joined choirs as I aged that would eventually tour globally. I performed at places like The World Fair in Japan & The Sydney Opera House in Australia, so I was immersed in music professionally for the majority of my life. I learned through that early travel that I wanted to continue that lifestyle in whatever musical way I could. David took the more punk rock approach of escaping the hardships of life & running to music via teenage angst after being inspired by a band like Led Zeppelin in Middle & High School. He taught himself electric guitar and joined multiple bands that would eventually kickstart him into a future of learning audio engineering & playing in touring bands until the present day.

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

Radiohead has been a big influence for us both, sonically & artistically. Their approach to making authentic art in whatever form comes out has been incredibly inspiring over the years. “Everything In Its Right Place” is probably my favorite song of all time. Led Zeppelin, mentioned earlier, was a big one for David when he first read Hammer of the Gods about the multifaceted lives of the rock stars that make up that band.

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

We were actually just discussing this the other day. James Blake would be someone that would blow both of our minds if we had the chance to write with him. We really respect him as a songwriter, producer, & artist. He conjoins musicality with his art in a way that is new & fresh, unlike anything else being done in the current day. We feel like he has yet to be respected in the way he truly deserves to be respected. James, if you’re out there reading this, check out our massive catalogue of songs and let us know if you would be down to produce an album with us!

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

Camping / fishing & just generally interacting with nature is a big one for me personally. David & his wife love to garden & grow their own food. They have a really beautiful backyard setup with vegetables & a bunch of chickens roaming around. We both really enjoy yoga & re-centering spiritually from the chaos that is this fucking crazy world.

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?

We typically describe ourselves as “The biggest band you’ve never heard of.” Haha. And / or something like “genreless.” We have had a lot of success in the mainstream, but still feel like we’re slept on by the masses. I guess that’s a good place to be, existing somewhere between the mainstream & the underground. As far as a band comparison that has made us cringe, probably Imagine Dragons. No shade to them, but actually… all the shade in the world. Haha.

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?

David typically cooks. I am sober now so David would get the drinks in too, but to be honest we’re more of a weed band than an alcohol band. Alcohol makes you feel like shit the next day, weed does not. As far as “cracking out an acoustic guitar to singalong” you wouldn’t catch us in a million years doing some shit like that. Haha. We tend to cringe at those people.

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

Majority of people suck if you want my honest answer. Majority of the famous people that we’ve met have typically turned out to have way too much ego & we wouldn’t want to hang out with them so this is a difficult question. I have never met him, but I would probably be starstruck around Thom Yorke, but also, I’m not sure if I would want to meet him because if he turned out to be an egotistical loser too, that would be the biggest buzzkill for me being such a big Radiohead fan.

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?

The best part of being a musician in this band specifically is the brotherhood we get to experience via the music in the studio & on tour. We lock into a meditativeness when a song clicks for the first time & it feels like the best drug experience on the planet. We are living our dream jobs truthfully and wouldn’t even be able to consider something else.

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?

Honestly, this question itself is indeed the question we would ask an interviewer to ask. Meta AF. Haha. But, we love when people show self awareness & this question shows that y’all genuinely have an awareness of making an artist feel heard & valued. The question that becomes the most tiring is probably “Tell us how you got into music” but not because it’s a bad question, it’s just because it’s monotonous due to the fact that everyone asks it. This is coming from the guy that gets tired of playing our biggest hit though, so it comes with the territory. Haha.

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?

It’s hard to answer this because the “do over” moments all produced lessons that we learned from & helped us grow in order to not make those same mistakes again, so it’s a catch-22. Without getting into specifics, yes, we’ve definitely had a few of these moments. I wish we could talk more about them, but previous managers would sue us for breaking our contracts stating that we aren’t allowed to speak badly about them. Haha. Welcome to the music industry.

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?

This answer sounds cheesy AF, but I wish I could go back and experience the making of our first album Loner now knowing what it allowed us to do in this life. At the time, we were making music without knowing those very songs were about to blow up in a way we never could have seen coming. The process was so quick now looking back at it & I wish so badly I could go back and cherish those moments for what they were. That album forever changed the trajectory of both of our lives and together we’re both insanely grateful for that.

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Category: Interviews