Redbrick Meets: Ponte Pilas

Emma: Tell me more about the band name. For our readers who don’t speak Spanish, what is the context?

Daniel: We were all living together as a band in 2017. We suddenly got a gig and needed a name. Since Spanish was spoken a lot with our friends, our singer Callum always heard the expression “ponte las pilas” which means ‘snap out of it’ in Ecuadorean Spanish slang. Since we needed a name quickly, he just proposed it and it stuck. We got two more gigs after that, and the ball kept rolling with that name. It catches peoples’ attention. It’s an intrigue because nobody really knows what’s going on.

E: If you had to explain your music to an alien and you only had three words, how would you describe it?

D: Indie rock, spicy sauce, and a blender.

E: What makes your band different from other indie rock bands out there today?

D: I believe that we authentically feel part of the crowd. We started embracing our name and always try to look out for a small community that we have created. We try to make our concerts as cheap as possible. If we weren’t playing, we would be the first ones in the mosh pit. We try to keep it real as much as possible. We enjoy ourselves and recognise we have a great job and try to do it as authentically as possible.

E: Tell me a bit more about your role in the band. What do you personally bring to the band?

D: We all bring ideas, for the debut album for instance. The lyrics are written by our singer, Callum, but we all bring in different ideas and concepts. I play a bit of guitar too, so I contributed some riffs. One thing I like most in the band is that we all do things together musically. For the other aspects, I handle the social media, so I try to keep it as funny as possible. It’s always had a good reaction. Also, with the cinematography. Before the debut album, we did everything DIY with the videos. I edited some of them myself, I really enjoy it.

I believe that we authentically feel part of the crowd. We started embracing our name and always try to look out for a small community that we have created.

E: You have just released your first album. What was your creative process behind it?

This album happened more coming out of the lockdown. We composed it during August-December last year. We had a deadline and had never written so many songs in such a short space of time. What I liked most about the creative process this time was that we took in every idea, even the bad ones. We used to have really high standards of new ideas so used to reject a lot. However, for the album because of time pressure, we took ideas that maybe didn’t sound good at the beginning. We then turned them into great songs. It was a nice change. What I also enjoyed the most was that we’re not always playing. We take breaks and sit down and talk about the content. We don’t really jam as a band. We are more direct with the creative process and getting stuff written. It is good to get different ideas from different influences.

E: Did you want to promote a certain message or theme with your debut album?

We wanted to find a purpose, but this revealed itself as we were writing. It happened to be that we were all in a transition phase towards being more mature. This experience came with wild lessons and new insights and perspectives. This is what the album is about. We as a band have been together for five years and lived through it all. We felt that we are outgrowing the expectations we had as a very young band. So, this reflected in the writing process. We have songs about being more mature, being in a relationship, being ambitious.

E: Do you have any upcoming tour plans?

D: We will have a short tour at the end of November in Germany. There is potential to be opening for a British band soon, but this is not confirmed yet! Next year we are going to Sweden and Spain. Hopefully, the UK too!

E: If you could play in any city, where would it be?

D: It would have to be London. I grew up in South America, but I adore the music of the Beatles, Arctic Monkeys, and everything in between, like The Cure. I would constantly watch all these bands on Youtube. I was in London last week; I love how the city breathes the type of music we play. It would be phenomenal to try and show what we do in the city that breathes this type of genre.

E: Do you have a most memorable performance?

D: I think it was a show we played recently. We played in Sweden about a month and a half ago. We as a group feel very ready for the next level. We played this festival and it’s mainly industry people, crossing their arms, making us feel judged. We tried to engage people in our performance as much as possible. It was great to see how we managed to turn a venue that was very static and silent into a party! I think this proved to us that we can try to mix things up wherever we go. This performance meant a lot to us, to acknowledge that we are ready to take more chances.

We felt that we are outgrowing the expectations we had as a very young band. So, this reflected in the writing process. We have songs about being more mature, being in a relationship, being ambitious.

E: What is your favourite thing about being in a band?

D: What’s not to like? We are like a band of brothers. One is my brother! I met our singer, Callum, about ten years ago. We had a covers band in another city. When you’re on tour, you’re on tour with your best friends, so it’s like taking a fun trip with your best friends. Doing what you love, that’s the greatest feeling. Getting to travel, feeling alive. It’s a unique feeling.

E: Which song are you most proud of?

It would be the second song on the album, ‘I’ll Never Be A Cowboy’. It really speaks to me, specifically because it’s about this transition phase that I’m going through. You look the same, but you’ve changed inside. It’s about a confused grey area, where you must accept that you’ve outgrown certain things. As a drummer, I usually prefer other songs to play, but it has such a good vibe.

We wanted to find a purpose, but this revealed itself as we were writing. It happened to be that we were all in a transition phase towards being more maturity. This experience came with wild lessons and new insights and perspectives. This is what the album is about.

E: If you weren’t a musician, what job would you be doing?

D: I graduated from Engineering Logistics, but I tried to get away from it as much as I could! I think I would probably be doing something related to video production. It’s my hobby, I love writing scripts or directing. Certainly, something in the artistic field.

Ponte Pilas’s debut album is out now, available via Pianola Records.