Following their most recent album release, Brazilian American rock band, Unconscious Disturbance answers my questions about their sound, their inspirations, and the difference between playing shows in the US and abroad. The guys have been on tour since last month and are touring their new album "Let It Rain" throughout October.
How do you describe your sound?
In a nutshell, probably rock with an edge and a funky element. Within the rock genre, we draw our influences from hard rock/metal to classic rock. We have a lot of Latin music and funk influence, and even throw in some jazz at times. We have no rules when we write and we all listen to many types of music.
How has being multi-national impacted your sound and/or your live shows?
It's made us more versatile and used to dealing with different crowds. There's no real equation when it comes to pumping up and engaging a crowd, so understanding cultural differences makes you understand people better in general. The more you understand your audience, the more you can interact with them.
When it comes to sound, we are influenced by Brazilian rhythms a lot. Traveling always ends up influencing music, so going back and forth ends up influencing the way we are feeling when we write.
Is it much different performing in Brazil compared with playing shows in the US? If so, how? And which do you prefer?
It's usually pretty different. Crowds in the US usually take longer to win over. Brazilians love to party, so when we bring out our energy, they go right with it from the start. It usually takes about two or three songs to get the American crowds going. We have no preference. We love our fans no matter where they are from, and each crowd brings different challenges and rewards!
Do you have any non-musical inspirations that have influenced your sound or your creative process?
Absolutely. We draw inspiration from our everyday lives and things we see around us. Our message is very much about being yourself, and cutting the bullshit in your life. That is something that we've learned from experience and incorporate in our music. We aren't a band that wants to sound like any other band, so we really create our music based on what we are feeling and things we are going through at the time.
Your new music video is really cool. How did you come up with the narrative for it?
We worked with our friends at Ritmo Visual Filmes in Brazil. They are a sick video production company co-owned by our former guitarist. The band was already in Brazil tracking the EP and we just went out with Pat and Pedro from Ritmo Visual and came up with the narrative/logistics over a few beers at a local bar. We knew we wanted a storyline with a lot of action, since the song has an upbeat dynamic and a pretty cinematographic feel.
What was it like to act in an action video?
Amazing! First time for all of us. It was really cool to see that nobody in the band is camera shy. Very much the opposite, actually: if music doesn't work out, we might just pursue acting careers!
Is there anything you would like to add?
We'd like to thank Odyssey and whoever is reading the interview first of all. Aside from that, stay tuned for more releases coming soon and come kick it with us at one of our shows!
Thanks for the interview, Unconscious Disturbance! Don't miss out on their tour and check out their music video here.
