In this interview, we chat with Scotch Mist about their influences, newest project and more.
Full Q&A, links, and a stream of Speak of the Devil below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
AZ: We come from a musical household; our dad used to wake us up by belting U2’s “Bad” on acoustic guitar when we were on family vacations. The folk element in “Speak of the Devil” has deeper roots in road trips taken on summer vacation listening to dad’s CDs. We spent one summer listening to an Eric Clapton best of on repeat while combing the Italian countryside, and another on a boat listening to Exile on Main Street while orbiting the moon on pot brownies. We owe a lot of our core influences to our dad and all the adventures he took us on, and the fact that he was always keen to keep an acoustic guitar present on each one.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
EZ: Our dad got us into music at an early age. I pretty much knew I wanted to play guitar when I would watch him play. Overtime I just started writing little snippets of songs and showing my brother, who would write the words. It’s enabled us to come together in a way where I can’t say we’d be as close as we are without it. It’s always been a refuge particularly during times of crisis and heartache, which the last five years has seen a lot of for the both of us. Putting our music out to the public is our way of expelling those negative feelings and experiences from ourselves in order to move forward.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
AZ: Right now I listen to a lot of David Bowie, Flying Lotus and Tom Waits, stuff that puts me in a weird kind of spooky groovy mood.
EZ: Definitely digging Anderson .Paak and Hiatus Kaiyote. I tend to listen to stuff that’s pretty wildly different from the music I write with Andres.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
EZ: Speak of the Devil is kind of an older track… We originally wrote it back in 2011 with a different band. I think we wanted to prove to ourselves that by taking our time with the song and really layering vocals and guitars that we can do something different and still have fun with it.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
EZ: Being a musician today requires time and money on top of being as much of a one man industry as you possibly can be, and have as many connections to other creatives as you can. Think about it: you need to know a photographer for photo shoots, an audio engineer to mix and master your work, a music video and all the people required for that, an artist for your album art, and so on and so on and so on.
It may sound like I’m complaining but it’s a fascinating challenge that leads you to some even more fascinating people. Your music becomes part of a web of other creative pursuits, which, together, can potentially create something even bigger than what any of you could have intended.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
AZ: You can find new releases on our Soundcloud and contact us directly on our Facebook page. You can also find my artwork on my instagram @amz.artworks.
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
EZ: Expect a full album soon.