“We wanted to tell people who are struggling with the system that it’s OK to explore other options” – Alejandro y María Laura tell us about their beautiful new single.

Alejandro and María Laura are one of the most important indie acts in Peru. Soon they will be performing in Colombia at the Hermoso Ruido Festival, right after they have visited Argentina and Chile.

And at the end of September, the duo presented the music video for their new single “De tronco en tronco”, one of the most beloved songs of the band.

So for these reasons, we have done an exclusive interview with this outstanding band telling us about the new single, touring with diapers and their upcoming 10th anniversary.

“De tronco en tronco” is included on your 2017 album “La casa no existe“. How was this song created – and why did you invite Perota Chingó and Ezequiel Borrá to the studio?

Alejandro and María Laura: Of all the songs on the album, “De tronco en tronco” had the longest writing process. We had about 10 versions of it throughout the year. We wrote part of it in a boat on the Amazon River, then in Cusco, later in Alta Gracia, Argentina…

Eventually, we had the final structure of the song but also had a section with a hip-hop drum pattern and we didn’t really know what to do with it. On the last day of recording, we invited Perotá Chingó and Ezequiel Borra to the studio after watching them perform live the day before.

It all worked out. It was surprisingly spontaneous. We were tired of the song. But after they came in, we fell in love with it again.

Why did you decide to release “De tronco en tronco” as a single? And how did you come up with the idea for the video?

We feel it’s representative of the album as a whole. It’s about not being satisfied with one standard music – and life – system. It’s us declaring that we accept and have grown to love being independent and making our own choices, come what may.

It’s a single because we wanted to share how we felt about having different ways of leading your life plans, and to tell people who are struggling with the system that it’s OK to explore other options, to be bold with their decisions.

The video carries on with that spirit; it´s a song that everyone can make their own. We wanted to see friends and fans singing the lyrics, watching how it affected them.

How is your experience of playing abroad these days?

It has changed quite a bit since we became parents. Now, besides our instruments, merch and gear, we bring diapers, tiny clothes, stroller, pacifiers, etc. We’re much more efficient now. We go to a venue, play, go back to hotel, sleep. On repeat. There’s no time to waste.

And what are your next musical plans?

Next year we will be turning 10 years as a duo/band. Something is changing constantly, musically. We are curious, we like people listening to the third album and the first one and noticing the evolution. We get bored of formulas.

Furthermore, we really hope that next year marks a career-defining change. We still don’t know what it will be but we have some ideas and are very excited. In the meantime, we are releasing a couple of new songs, writing music for a film, for theatre – and producing albums for other artists.

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