Apr 1, 20235 min read

NAS 10 Questions with Homesick

Updated: Apr 3, 2023

This time, we get to know Homesick, AKA Darío (guitar) Javi (bass) Ale (vocals) Félix (guitar) Álvaro (drums) a five-piece band based in Spain with new wave, pop and punk influences such as Blink 182 and System of Down.

The track "Distressed" is featured in the New Artist Spotlight Family of Playlists.

Link To New Artist Spotlight Playlists:

https://www.newartistspotlight.org/playlists

1. Tell us a little about where you are from and what you are currently doing.

Homesick was conceived as a project during the first months of the pandemic in 2020, there were two of us living together (Darío and Javier) when the lockdown came to stay.

We had a band that died in 2019, and by the beginning of the pandemic, we were starting to review some tunes we wrote in the past and decided to start a new project.

The first thing was looking for more people to work with, and we had the luck that we found Alejo very fast, he's never been in a band before so he was extra motivated to work, even with the frustration that the lockdown was for whatever an individual was trying to start (a job, a band, meet a friend, a date...)

So we got 2020, and 2021 trying to get together a full band while writing new music with the people, we got some friends that came by as drummers and guitars, but due to work issues or life in general, they didn't stay with us three (but we still love every one of them!).

In 2021 we managed to record our first song 'We Are Done' that talks about the past experiences we had with the almost non-existent music and lack of passion for music. We recorded a video and debuted finally as a band. almost two years after we started the work.

Last year 2022, we continued to write and record a full EP and recruited Felix as our guitarist, and some months later, Álvaro as our drummer. We did a couple of gigs with some friends and tried to regain some attention for the kind of music we do.

Here in Madrid is hard to be seen, there's a lot of music happening, but very few styles getting the attention. We assume it's a hard world and that we must face all odds in order to keep doing it, 'cause we love music, don't we?

2. What inspired you to start playing and making music?

We're from a generation that grew up with the 2000s music mentoring and raising us and dreaming of being able to create tunes and play shows as the ones we were (and still are) enjoying

We love going to shows of our fav bands, and friend bands, writing music, and definitely playing wherever we are, for us it's one of the more exciting parts about being alive, and it's our way to expressing it and celebrating it

𝟯. Who are your biggest influences?

We have a very variated influenced group, sometimes we joke a lot about it

The core of our music is clearly based on the structures and resources that Pop-Punk and Easycore use, but we like to experiment and mix it with some tastes of other genres and styles

It's easy to embody this with some bands like A Day To Remember, Blink-182, Chunk! No! Captain Chunk! or Neck Deep as a few for example

On our rehearsals you could listen to us playing around 'Bleed' from Messugah, to play some acoustic thing with just clean guitar and vocals, next into an improvisated cover of 'Byop' by SOAD, or 'Break Stuff' by Limp Bizkit.

So metal resources are too a big part of our writing, and we like to include some of it on our songs like a mini solo, some harmonized parts, or more djenty riffs here and there.

At least that's what we try

4. What are your goals in the music industry?

Well as we said before, music it's a very big and cruel game so we try to stay embrace the attitude of spreading our music and trying to reach the most people possible.

But not just random listeners pass through our catalog and they exit indolent of it, we'd like to reach some hearts and share our vision about living and enjoying, learning, fighting for your goals, and loving the road we walk.

We'd love taking the typical success and doing tours before people who really want to see you play your songs, and it means something to them.

Or being a band that could live just writing and playing music, no need of stadiums or Grammys, we'd love simply being a band that just could make it with their music paying the bills and working hard to keep moving us, nothing more.

5. Tell us about your creative process when you make new music.

Well it uses to start with something running in our heads that we wanna replicate or develop on our own style of expression, maybe a full song by another band, a melody we just imagined, or a concept for a song structure

We use a lot of references in order to identify what we are trying to create, and then we first write it on our pcs (guitar pro is our first option) and share it with the others. Everyone can opine on the project and develop it, we keep doing it until we got a song structure full written with more or less everything we want to put on it, at least as a concept.

Taking in mind the full work and how all the songs play a role in it is also something we give so much importance

Then we go into demoing with some VSTs and dirty recordings, to see the song in a more realistic way, where we can keep transforming the song.

When the demo is finished, we go to show it to some friends and the producer we work with, to start pre-production.

There are still some things that we change the same day we're recording the final take of the song, so, we're constantly looking for the best decisions and trying to make the song actually a better song.

6. What is your all-time favorite song?

It's hard as five to take one take on this question, and they're probably killing me if I say a tune that they don't agree with me, so I'm putting out my joker card and inviting you all to take a listen to our first song 'We Are Done' :P

7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?

Be humble, and appreciate everyone who supports you and who shares your goals, we need to be united on this, and love every move you take, in order to be able to enjoy while you're taking it.

8. Proudest accomplishment?

See somebody on a gig singing our lyrics, we all agreed that day that those kinds of things are the ones that fulfill our hearts and fuel the fire to keep bringing all the energy to our music

The first show was a real approach too, after the pandemic, all of the forming a band and that stuff, that was a moment that we felt the love from the public and our loved ones.

9. Just for fun! What's been your most embarrassing moment so far?

I can remember Darío on a gig not sounding at all and later on, viewing somebody recording the show with him fully embarrassed, faking he was playing the songs.

Alejo, our singer, failed to land a jump on a mosh, ending in a broken leg...

Well, all have accidents hahaha

𝟭0. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.

There are points where despair or frustration takes off, but at least for me it always passes when I put myself to hear some music or play my guitar.

People need more awareness about the real power that music has in our mental health and the push and help that brings to everyone as an individual.