(Photo Credit: Ima Leupp)
I am Cinco collects the totality of five emotions. Often times art struggles to convey one emotion in a cohesive manner. How were you able to arrange something that feels different, but also works together as a collection? David - "This idea came as songwriting and categorizing into certain songs. Then we started writing to this idea of I Am Cinco. How you describe it as a whirlwind, that is life for us. Even as artists you experience highs in lows. There is often an expectation that bands stay in a lane. We feel that this album is diverse and represents MISSIO."
You released this double album as a series of EP’s over the last year or so. You’re known for bucking the music industry system, but I think this took it to a new level. How did it feel releasing this in pieces and then later as a totality? Matthew - "I enjoyed the consistency of it. Back in the day when artists would go into the studio, they'd go into the studio and spend time, you'd only get an album every 18 months. Now you can release much faster. It makes me wonder what else are other artists doing to keep up with modern culture, the algorithms of Spotify and Apple Music? It's hard for fans to listen to songs front to back. I'll admit listening to this thing front to back the first time, I texted David and was like "that is a thing man!". You also have to think about people have full time jobs, etc. it's hard to take out 2 hours at one time. To be able to drop it over a period and let it speak." David - "Another thing I love about this album, because we broke it into EP's there is a medicinal element to it to go along with the emotions. This album is in line with what I believe the new wave of artists should be doing rather than just listening to playlists." Matthew - It is playlisting but curated for MISSIO fans with the emotions going together. I haven't seen other artists do that. Nowhere can I find an artist's "sad songs".
Each EP deeply embraced the emotions it was meant to portray, not only lyrically, but musically. How did it feel shifting throughout the emotional spectrum in such a short period? David - "There was a little bit of healthy anxiety before each one. There's parts before each EP, that I was a bit worried about the casual fans that people might be like "oh it's all sad songs". The Angry stuff we've never played guitars like that. The word "crazy" sort of makes others feel uncomfortable. There's anxiety up and down every single release. Generally speaking, being afraid and worried is necessary in the artistic process. It represents us fully." Matthew - "The hardest part was early on, when we released I Am Sad. We were coming from Villains record that was more charged. It was hard for people."
What were some of your favorite moments when compiling this project. And did you have a favorite EP of the collection? David - "My favorite memory or something to highlight, was the back half. We wrote a bunch of songs piecemeal. The second half, we finished in Mexico City. Previously we have worked in the studio in Austin with a producer we use and boom boom. For this one, the schedule wasn't working out with the producer. So we went to Mexico and started writing and recording in the studio. There were some very fun memories walking around in the Mexican culture. I don't think I have ever had more fun or felt more confident in myself then working on the back half of that record." Matthew - It's something I never want to take for granted. Lots of people are confined to their laptop. What I envisioned as a kid was doing what we did, going down to Mexico City and writing a record. That whole experience was amazing."
Where does this musical accomplishment stand among everything you have done, or is it hard to think of your projects in a manner that ranks them? David - "I honestly think it's very hard to look back without time. Every album has had different amount of time to find it's way. Every one of our albums I love and am so proud of. For me, as an artist growing up idolizing bands that did stuff like that (Pink Floyd and The Smashing Pumpkins). This has been a massive thing, the songwriting was fine but the other part of putting together a double album will likely never happen again. I'm very proud, but it hasn't even been released yet." Matthew - "For me I don't go back and look at our albums as accomplishments. I am an artist and I need to express myself. There are really good memories associated with each, and there are really bad memories associated with each. I never sit to view it as an achievement."
What’s next for MISSIO? David - "A lot of touring. We're kicking up touring back into full swing. We have a lot of surprises because we have stuff we can't announce yet." Matthew - "We'll be in Europe in June. We've got really exciting stuff we can't talk about that yet."
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