Artist Spotlight: Divino Niño
Divino Niño has a habit of pushing boundaries and rebelling against the expectations that society has set for them both musically and individually. Breaking free from their religious upbringing in order to bend genres to share the things that they love the most, the band is back with their latest album Last Spa on Earth.
Within the confines of the twelve tracks, the quintet explores their collective trauma through a variety of methods, from psychomagic to graffiti to dance, the inspired tunes all resulting in a cathartic release that holds space for their listeners who may have been searching for the same outlet all along.
It’s through the exploration of self coupled with the desire to grow as an artist that makes this troupe so dynamic. Duality isn’t only the theme in this sense, it’s also present in their conscious choice to write the album almost exclusively in Spanish. While cracking through the exoskeleton of their past, at the same time they are coming home to their origins.
How are you feeling after the tour?
It was amazing, it’s been crazy. The last leg of the tour, which was basically Denver, Salt Lake, Boise, and Seattle - were really long drives so we were just exhausted but after I got home it’s been like okay, I got some sleep but we had so much fun.
Driving wise - do you feel like that’s the best mode of transportation when on tour so you can be together or do you think it pushes the boundaries at all?
It’s definitely difficult but we try to make it comfortable and give each other space when we need it.
It’s exciting to see how the release of this album has impacted how you make music. Do you feel like adding new members has helped expand what you were working on previously and helped it develop into what it is now?
Absolutely, I think Justin from the get go had interests that the rest of us weren’t familiar with and that was really cool. He was making a lot of electronic beats on his own that we liked and when we couldn’t meet because of lockdown, we wanted an excuse to party and dance so that transition seemed fun and exciting for us.
The whole album inspires joy when you listen to it. Did you feel like it was a way of working through things or facing the cobwebs that were lying around from events that had happened previously? Do you feel like that was present in the writing process?
Oh yeah, the way that I was thinking of it was I was reading a book by Alejandro Jodorowsky on psychomagic. I don’t know if you’re familiar with this filmmaker but he did ‘Santa Sangre’ and ‘El Topo’ and ‘The Holy Mountain’ I think that’s what he’s most known for and he tries to do a lot of shock value stuff like show crazy scenes but he justifies it with a specific spiritual meaning. This psychomagic concept is basically like an action that you do to free yourself from something spiritual. So something that he was talking about in the book that I was reading was rings and he was seeing one of his clients who was saying that they were bound to the person that they were with. He asked what they were wearing and where they got it, they replied that they were still holding onto it so as part of the psychomagic thing to free themselves from the traumatic relationship was to take the ring off and to cast it into the sea. So you can take that as us making music was our psychomagic way of turning a lot of stuff that maybe you were holding in and you didn’t realize because you were distracted by the things of life, even tour could be a distraction and then you’re forced to look within and you realize, holy sh**, that’s me. Part of the creative process was definitely making art with the purpose of freeing ourselves with the hope that other people feel the same way or connect with it in that perspective. Coming into it, that was our mentality.
Do you feel like the religion aspect was something that you were working through?
I think we were working through some of that trauma, Cam and I grew up in a cultish Christian thing where we weren’t allowed to listen to music that wasn’t Christian and we weren’t allowed to have any kind of relationship unless it was approved by the pastor. It started pure and then turned controlling. ‘XO’ is a commentary on that and seeing the juxtaposition of these religious symbols with something that wasn’t allowed in that realm was a commentary on that.
What part of it for you was most cathartic - writing, performing or recording?
That release came with every single step. Once we finished the track we hadn’t visualized the music video. If you translate the lyrics, they have different meanings that I don’t know if my parents would be the most proud of but we wanted to be edgy. So that was funny, I felt a release of laughing and having fun during the process. When we made the music video we worked with Ambar Navarro, she only works with film and this is the first time we made a video like that. We rented out a church in LA and the pastor was there the whole time so we had to sneak in certain things since we weren’t supposed to defile the holy place. That was part of the release as well.
Do you feel like it’s been a process to watch your visual identity evolve?
It came naturally after we finished the record. Cam, the lead singer, also does a lot of designs for the band. We started hashing out ideas based on what the music represented. It started coming together as an actual world. It was a big conversation and we put a lot of thought into it. It was organic but once we started hashing it out, everything was done on purpose.
You made the album in Wisconsin and Georgia. Can you tell me more about that?
Most of the writing happened in a cabin outside Wisconsin and outside Atlanta and the rest happened at my house and Camilo’s house. The cabin experience was fun and I want to bring that into the next project. You put yourself in a situation where you wouldn’t necessarily write music but for inspiration or the process, it gives you a different result. Changing location can strike up some more fun ideas.
Do you have a set process for how you write or does every individual have a set role that’s defined? Do you allow each other to play in all facets of the process?
Previously it had been more assigned. That’s how ‘Foam’ was written. This record was written more like a collage. Someone would have an idea and we would make it on the spot. Then after that, those ideas were never precious. It gave it a collaborative aspect. Now the band is more open minded and if someone has an idea we’ll just jump in. That was an act of freeing the band a bit - anyone can do whatever they want. We’re honest with each other. If we don’t like something, we’re quick to move on. You get into a creative flow and that makes the process richer.
What was the response to this project vs the response to the last?
The response of the record was mixed. The people that have been following us for a while, really like ‘Foam’. If you listen to this one, we changed a lot of things that happened in that one. With this record we surprised some people. Some people are like “that’s really cool but I miss the old songwriting.” For me it’s about finding that balance and trying to push yourself to the next phase that you want to be at. You can’t make art as a formula but I also listen to the people and understand what aspects they liked about it. This record is a scorched earth kind of thing. From here anything can happen, with the repercussion of getting people angry that had been our followers previously.
You sing almost the entire album in Spanish. Obviously that was an intentional change but did you feel as if this was your way of maintaining your roots?
Absolutely. I felt that I had lost my identity in a sense where I was trying so hard to fit into the Chicago music scene because we were the new kids. You start changing your behavior to abide by the scene. The pandemic kept everyone at home and put everyone at the same level. That to me made me look within. I think that this was a way of saying there’s another person inside of me that I love and appreciate and we shouldn’t hide it because we’re not fitting in.
Did you feel like because you were speaking Spanish you weren’t fitting in? What were you bumping up against in that scene?
Opportunities. People see you as a Latin band if you speak in Spanish and you can only play with other Latin bands. You’re only seen in that specific market. I’ll play for Latinx shows, I love representing but I don't feel like it should only be that. It should encompass everything.
When you look at your discography, you work with a variety of genres.
We want to make art that has everything that we love and we love a lot of stuff. There’s people that are purists and that’s okay too.
What was your experience like working with a producer and what’s their role in the creation of the album?
A good producer brings good ideas but also their judgment. This record has a lot of layers and we had to filter it down. I feel like we’re still learning how to do that and the producer has that taste that makes you find what’s special about a track and highlight that, instead of adding a bunch of stuff that distracts from the core of the track.
Where do you see things evolving to next and what are you most excited about?
I’ve been working on a couple demos. I want to be able to bring in a lot of the DJ learnings I’ve been getting - being able to blend songs and match BPMs, understanding key changes and tempos that work together. We’re going to have a couple songs that are faster tempos. The fastest tempo is 129 from this record and we want to get up to 170. We will also bring back some of the songwriting in our own way. I’m excited for that. I’m not sure what’s happening next but I know we’ll be making more music.
What would you say to the younger version of yourself and what would you say to younger artists?
It’s easier said than done but don’t doubt yourself. If you like something then just believe in what you’re doing and do a lot of it. I believe in trial and error.