ARTIST FEATURE: ANDINO SUNS
moment they entered. Andino Suns carry themselves with an infectious joy on and off the stage, but this interview served as proof that the joy extends beyond the music community.
I wanted to speak to with Davalos, Palma, and Moya about their latest album, but it became evident from the onset that they were going to have trouble staying on topic. I wanted to talk about the present and they already have their focus set on the future. We spoke at length about songwriting, the recording process, artist strategies in the evolving music industry, and their influences. Without fail, ev- ery one of their responses led back to their “next album” and their “new songs.” There’s a fire in the band and it’s evident that seven years in, it’s burning brighter than ever before.
Andino Suns has had a long list of members and contribu- tors over the last decade. It’s always anchored around Davalos and Palma, but with the addition of Moya just before heading into the studio to record, it feels apparent that they’ve found what they had been searching for. As we begin to speak about what it means to be a band and the value of collaboration, I am as struck by Davalos’ previous re- luctance to collaborate as I am by his frankness as he opens up about his insecurities. He speaks of how the current line- up has shifted his perspective in the rehearsal space and in the studio. He used to cling to his ideas but is now inspired by trust and excitement in his bandmates, stating, “It’s been great for me to open up, let go, and just let people do what they’ve got to do to make the song better. And now I trust that’s going to happen.” The rest of our conversation contin- ued with the same degree of honesty and openness.
SaskMusic: Tell me about the process of songwriting for Andino Suns. Where do the songs come from?
Andres Davalos: Basically Andres (Palma) and I are really good at providing a template with a good chord structure and progression, and then Christian comes along and does things to it that we couldn’t do. Although I feel on the next one, Cristian will be the one who comes with songs and we will add stuff to them. He did contribute to the last (album), but I feel like we were writing templates and getting him to splash his genius on it.
Cristian Moya: The last album was basically written (already) so when I joined it was sort of like, ‘add your spice to it’. With the next album I’ll feel more integrated into it. (The instru- mental) ‘Invierno’ was sort of the last hurrah that happened.
AD: It was the last song we squeezed in. CM: This next album I’m really pumped because it was be us
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putting our songs together. I’ll feel a little more integrated into it.
AD: Even though Cristian came in late, in the past we would have been “oh I brought that chord progression, that’s my song 100%.” Whereas on this one Cristian came in and made the songs so much better that we couldn’t cut him out. The three of us are listed as the songwriters.
SM: I think that’s so healthy for a band. That spirit of being open to collaboration and not clinging to the idea that ‘I did this, so this song is 100% mine.’ It’s such a valuable part of bringing out the best of each other. For example, Cristian doesn’t have ideas that he clings to as his own to sit on ‘for someday’ because he feels someone doesn’t value them.
AD: I think in the past, especially with the first album when I had an idea in my head, I felt it had to be that way and there was no flexibility. Now it’s a relief to be in the studio with these guys and I don’t feel I’m trying to micromanage creativity.
SM: Has that process changed since you first started? Do you see an evolution?
CP: It’s funny for me because the first time Andino Suns started jamming I was 15 or 16 and actually sat in on the first three jams. We actually played that first gig together too. I remember it was just about fun. Just a box of Pil and jams. It’s funny seeing now it’s such a different atmosphere - there’s spreadsheets and calendars involved. Everyone’s at a different point in their life. This guy (points at Davalos) is a dad. And this guy (points at Palma) is an engineer. I myself left and I guess you could say I grew a little bit.
AD: The first album I pretty much wrote myself. When I first met Andres he showed up with this amp and all of these effects. He had an electric guitar and I was like, “Nope. No, dude. Nylon strings.” I was also so insecure and felt like we had to write only high-energy songs or else we were going to lose the crowd - because we were always playing bars.
AP: I think it was also just general insecurity because we started off playing Casa Latina, a fine dining restaurant, and we didn’t want it to become background music.
AD: An insecurity that if it wasn’t exciting enough they’d be bored. It used to be one volume and one energy.
AP: But I also think we’ve progressed more as musicians, and things have grown more dynamic and can get softer.
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