Is North American Poetry the first album you recorded outside The Beets?
Prior and during The Beets I recorded a lot of stuff. We published two tapes through Captured Tracks, but they were nothing official, just things I recorded at home. I’m really proud of those tapes. It’s like mix tapes. I have a lot of stuff I have recorded at home. I understand that a lot of people don’t have the ear to listen music recorded at home, and I’m not the best at recording so I got into the idea that recording at the studio would help my music reach out a little more. So I did that, but at the same time I’ve been wanting to start recording at home again. I’m still conflicted about how much I want to play music. I love playing music. I’m a musician by nature, but In terms of society a musician is a musician who lives off of their music. I’m interested in that and I love it, but I don’t like the internet. I don’t like to have to promote myself, prove myself, but at the same time it’s been a challenge that I’m proud of. I’ve gotten to meet a lot of people, and I want to push it for a little more. I’ve got an album coming out in the summer that I’ll tour for, and make another, and then see. This is my job right now; I live off of this. I take it seriously. I’ve done other jobs and I wouldn’t mind going back to them. This feeling of questioning playing music for a living was much stronger when I was in The Beets. I wouldn’t do an interview, because I didn’t see the point. I was a little brat (laughs). I still am, but I find pleasure in this right now because I’m studying myself. You’re asking me things that make me think about myself, and it’s interesting for me.
What do the words North American Poetry mean to you?
Since the album’s come out it seems like it’s taken a whole different idea. When I didn’t play music live I was still playing music at home. In 2012 I signed up and took some college courses and that’s during the time when I wrote “Nap.” Since I wasn’t playing live I got into writing a lot, but not just poetry. Poetry is relative, it could be what it is to you. I don’t enjoy reading poetry like from a book. It’s boring and kind of hard to understand, but I liked books I discovered when I was an adult, like Where the Sidewalk Ends, and Dr. Seuss. So I started writing and then I got into acronyms through Wu-Tang Clan. So I wrote “Nap”, like taking a nap, and North American Poetry. I put out a magazine with my poem. The magazine doesn’t exist anymore. I just did a little run for friends. There were maybe like fifty copies. I have one now that teaches you how to play the songs on my album.
What has been the most unexpected part of this whole music journey for you?
I’m going through a time where I’m trying to rediscover myself because I’m pushing myself to a different ground, which has been great, but it’s definitely shaken up my reality. It’s never crossed my mind to be a performer. Sometimes people tell me that It seems like I do it naturally. There’s nothing really forced in my performance, but at the same time I wonder about this. What has been unexpected is that I’ve been away from home a lot, and when you don’t have a home—I have a home, a place to go to—but not maintaining a home kind of changes your reality. It’s flipped all my relationships with my friends, my girlfriend, my family, stuff like that. It’s creating some conflict, but I’m the kind of person that doesn’t run away from things so I’ve been really good at facing it. Nothing ever really solves itself, but thing fall into place. I’m pushing it towards that. It’s kind of scary, but times changes and we should embrace the change.
What’s the songwriting process like for you?
Sometimes I just write, but most of the things I write they just end up in a notebook. I like to communicate ideas. Something that I write might end up in a song. Sometimes the songs come to me just like that. Lately it’s been a little bit hard because I haven’t been home so much. When I’m home I play my guitar for a long time, like three hours a day. It’s not that I want to, I just have this obsession with the guitar. I think it’s because, like we were saying earlier, we can be distracted people, and the guitar is a place to focus our attention and think about stuff. When I’m playing I try to just sing stuff and songs come like that. It’s been changing a lot lately, which is good. In the song “Water” there are three parts that are completely different- the intro, the verse, and the outro. I wrote all these things separately, but somehow they worked together. It’s like an enlightening process, or moment. You’re like, ‘oh shit, I can do this’.
Your songs do try to communicate simple truths, what is it that you’re trying to say from your perspective?
Even though some times are hard-and Uruguayans are melancholic by nature, and I carry with that continuous sadness-at the same time there’s something really good about living. The gift of being alive and embracing every single little thing. Being sad is just another feeling in a way. It’s not the end of the world. Every time there is a crisis we come out much more powerful. Let’s say a boyfriend breaks up with you and breaks your heart. Well, when you come out of that you’re like a new flower. You’re ready.
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