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A Sense Of Belonging With BEN SIMPSON From CHAVEZ CARTEL · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 0:00
  Speaker 2: I'm been from Chavez Cartel. We've got a new single
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: all I Know coming out this week.
• 0:05
  Speaker 3: Beautiful Ben, thanks for joining us today.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Rather thank you for having me mate Ah.
• 0:09
  Speaker 4: Pleasure as always, So Chaves Cartel are releasing a new
• 0:12
  Speaker 4: single all I Know.
• 0:14
  Speaker 3: So tell us a bit about it.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Well, we were recording an EP last year and I
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: helped me met a mind booker, so I build his
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: studio and we just I built it with him and
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: he recorded a couple of songs for free, So we
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: ended up with these extra songs. We'd already released his EP,
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: so we just thought we could just be born as tracks,
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: all B B sides, But they ended up coming out
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: quite quite well, a lot better we expected. It were
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: very DIY and we're like, fuck it, these are good songs.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: So we scrubbed them up a little bit and got
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: them polished off, and yeah, we've we've ended it within
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: a couple of good ones.
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: So tell us a bit about it from a musical
• 0:48
  Speaker 4: point of view, I guess, and what are you gone for?
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: So?
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: I guess it's it's a little bit ninety sounding, like
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: a lot of the stuff is. I think it's got
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: some nineties elements in there. It sounds like a dirty
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: Oasis tracked to me if I strip it back, like
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: a bit.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Of a punky, dirtier like brick pop song.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: The song itself is a bar just just grinding day
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: to day life, you know, stuck in traffic, back and
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: forth from work, feeling like you waste you know. Way,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: it's a it's a bit of a it's a bit
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: of a miserable approach to working class life. But it's
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: got a bit of life in it, so it's not
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: a miserable song. It's just it just touches on the
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: misery of some days.
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: You know. How does a film clip reflect on that?
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Uh?
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: Well, we did when you wanted a lot of it
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: in the car just to like like getting on that
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: like groundhog, we're all just stuck in his car up,
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: you know, like stuck in school traffic, stuck in work traffic.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: We're always in fucking cars. There's a million cars on road.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: So I just thought it'd be a good be a
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: good thing to do just to capture just them monotonous,
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: fucking grinding things that we do all day every day,
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: you know. And I think I think that that's reflecting
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: video that's what we've gone for. And there's a there's
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: a scene where we're in a swimming pool and that
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: sort of feels like, you know, so that that message
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: we're trying to get across, I.
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: Know it bro like.
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: It normally takes me about forty eight minutes to get
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: the Gold Coast from where I am, and I went.
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: Down there the other day.
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: I had to leave at four thirty in the afternoon
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: just because of other issues, and took me an hour
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: and thirty eight minutes. It took me basically now at
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: longer at that time.
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: It is so frustrating.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: And if there's any if there's any like any road
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: works or an accident or anything like, you can stick
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: a number two hours on that from busy to gold
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: It we're all. We're all there, stuck in it, man,
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: We're all they're stuck in it.
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah. True.
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: So is this on a standalone single mate or is
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: she part of a bigger picture?
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: A right, So it's standalone at moment, yeah, But I
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: think it's going to make the album. We've got to
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: We've got a full LP coming out next July. We've
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: just recorded last couple of songs and I think it
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: is going to get on there. We all really like
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: it and I think it'll be on there for sure,
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: So it'll be on his debut album next year.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Mate Wait and.
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: Press release also says that it marks the start of
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: an exciting new chapter for Saber. I know they always
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: say that, but I got a feel and they mean
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: it with you this time.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: It does like this almost feels like the announcement of us.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: We've been a band for a long time, but these
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: last couple of years has brought some exciting opportunities. And
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: then from we got nominated for Breakout Artists of the
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Year at golf Course Music Awards, and from that we've
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: got picked up by a management company.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: Which we've really needed in Australia. We've got help other season.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: We've never had help here barring a couple of people
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: who like us and have just been good enough to help.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: But we've got like official backing now as such, so yeah,
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: we get we get into right places.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Now. We've met a lot of interesting people, like a
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: big sound.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: We've got we've got quite showcased around a big sound,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: and yeah, it's we're just connecting better these days. We're
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: just getting to the right places. So this next, these
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: next releases, they're getting too places that previously we wouldn't
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: be able to get to. So who knows, Like we
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: were just going into the unknown as we always are.
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: It's just a new unknown YEA, Like everybody talks about
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: the whole it's not what you know it so you
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: know thing. But in the music industry that's particularly relevant.
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: A like you could be the best paying in the world,
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: but until you meet those few people that are willing to.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: Help you and get behind you pushing it up.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: Ill That's absolutely right, And I don't think I'm exaggerating
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: when I said this, so from from Music Awards which
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: were in August, I believe we've got as much traction
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: in the last three months as what we have in
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: previous six years locally, And I don't think I'm exaggerating
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: by saying that.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: He really has accelerated it.
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: And you probably haven't done anything different aside from meet
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: the right.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: The best levels just gone fucking down band.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: It's fucking sweet.
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: You've so far released the three EPs and you're going
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: on to the album next year, So why is now
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: the right time to branch out from the smaller EPs
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: into an album?
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: Well, we none of us like EPs, like until until
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: we made music, none of us body, it's none of
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: us collected EPs. We've got fucking between us. We've got
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: fucking th thousands of albums, not one of them albums.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: Of fucking EP.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Like we don't give a fucking like we just did
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: it because you kind of like pay your due diligence
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: and then you try to move on. But we're all
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: just so ready even if we've not got the big
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: enough fan base, like we don't care where we feel
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: like we've we've got a body of work to put
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: out now that we need to put out, and we
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: need to stop sucking around with all those favorite bands
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: they've they've all they've all got albums and they're not EPs,
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: you know, and like we're just going to try see
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: what happens.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: We're just sick of them. We're just sticking doing five
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: and six tracks on records.
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it seems to be the way of the world
• 5:31
  Speaker 4: these days because people's attention spans are getting less and less.
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: But I'm the same, Like I'd rather listen to a
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: whole album, you know, take an hour at each time
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: out instead of twenty minutes here and there, and just start.
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: Finished.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: That's it, And I think we're all guilty.
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: As attention spans have gone down, we're like social media
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: and into that much shit being pumped our way, Like
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: everyone's attention span is getting lower and lower. And someone
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: fucking someone mentioned that TikTok videos are like six fucking seconds,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: and like, what the fuck can.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: You get into?
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: Because we can't write a song lo fucking shorter than
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: six minutes. Everyone's well, yeah, I'm saying I'm a bit
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: short on attention as well, but not with music.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: I'm not.
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  Speaker 2: I'm saying as soon as I'm not gonna if it's
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: a good EP, I think, well, why have you put
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: that fucker out? Why you just chuck another four on?
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: Im?
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  Speaker 2: Just going I always think that I don't know why
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  Speaker 2: EPs are a thing, really, and I don't.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: We just don't like them.
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: We just we conceded a few years ago to making
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: them and we've done with them.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: Fucking Ben Ben the EP.
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: So what what lessons I guess did you learn from
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: making those EPs that you're going to take into the
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: the bigger picture.
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Well, we we've always been mindful that we're like, so
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: let's say the first one we first started, that first
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: thing we've ever made. We did have any idea what
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: we're doing, and I think to an extent we still don't.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: You know, we're always learning, but we know a lot
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: more than what we did when we started. And I
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: think it's having Like I think planning, we've learned it.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: We need to be as planning. We need to be
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: as good as planning before and people as we can.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: That's something we better at now. So I would say
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: that we know we know eighty percent of how it's
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: gonna look and sound and feel before we've even got
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: in there, so we've.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Got better at that. That's experience.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: I've only just recently, probably have the last two years,
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: been happy with how I record my vocals. I've never
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: actually been happy without they've come out, not necessarily a
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: delivery or a take. It's I've just been finding like
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: what affects to you and like what layers and stuff,
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: And that's something that I've only just come to terms
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: over the last couple of years. It's been a good
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: bit of a breakthrough moment. So that's definitely one We're
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: doing a lot more with vocals now. We're doing like
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: vocal layering, and there's a lot of counter melodies, and
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: then we've got like a lot of stuff like floating
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: around atmospherically.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: It's so I guess that's part of this new chapter
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: as well.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: We we're a bit better at production, we're a bit
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: more we've got a bit more a signature sound.
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: Now I think, yeah, well.
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: That's a bit of a segue into the next person.
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: You've don't go there without now on it.
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: But the press are also refers to the band's evolving
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: sonic world. So is that a fight us to the
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: band to sort of try and change things up or
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: is it more n.
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, I think it's natural because I know I
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: know what the strategy has been for a long time,
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: or the band's strategy, and every EP and single there's
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: been like a route and I remember walking down that road.
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: So to me, it's I'm not saying we've watched in
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: one straight line, but generally we are going in the
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: same direction. There's not we don't veer off too much.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: There's no like wild genre changes. It's just we've just
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: added little bits we started that probably has probably purely grunge.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: I think I don't think there's anything else in there.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: And then as we've developed we've kept them grungy and druggy,
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: like guitars in and stuff and grungy vocal, and then
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: we've added little bits of post punk. And there's little bits,
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: like I said earlier, bits of probably britpopping there nineties stuff,
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: and we've just chipped away adding little bits. But I
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: think if you listen to everything in chronological order, you
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: can you can see and hear the direction clearly.
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: I think, is all, I know, a good Sonnic representation
• 8:55
  Speaker 4: of where you're headed.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: I guess it is. Yeah, it is.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: It's with the singles that we're going to release. We
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: always right, we've got this like band slogan. I guess
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: it's like we always record honestly and release strategically. So
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: I think in terms of singles that then this is
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: pretty much what we're going to be sounding like.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: Then the last couple of years have been pretty busy
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: for you guys, mate, like you being over the UK
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: for your first show, as you've done a trip to
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: the US. So how do they go in out of
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: the overseas, fellow, you're overseas yourself obviously, but take to
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: you guys, Yeah.
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: Really good, really good, and each time as well, like
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: we are. We spoke about this. We when when we
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: got back from UK, when we got that experience of
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: being like, because when you when you're on a tour,
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: there's no there's no day job. That is your fucking job,
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: you know, there's no there's no arguments, it's we're we're
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: full time musicians for that tour, you know. And it's
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: when we got back from that first one, after feeling
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: like that, we actually felt like the real deal, and
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: we like walked and talked a bit different and we
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: felt different because we knew we could do it. But
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: it were a fucking the first one. It were just
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: a holiday with some music. Know, that's how we just
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: good time and we just learned what we needed to learn.
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: We didn't even know what we needed to learn. But
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: when we got back, we're like, yeah, we had no
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: fucking clue what we're doing. And then America last year
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: we did south By Southwest and we kind of learned
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: that network environment at them showcase events, which is something
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: I'd not really considered but until I got there and
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: realized that I can talk to anyone and have.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: A good communicator.
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: But when when you've got to go there and mingle
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: with a purpose and like put your put your actor
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: across as a brand and stuff. That's something that's a
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: skill in itself, you know, it's a and that's something
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: that we learned. Who got better at two? So these
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: next ones we're open to get back to Austin again
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: in March. We've left the gap in it's to a
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: calendar for that and then we're hoping to get back
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: to south By, Southwest London in June as well. So
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: we went just did big sound and everything. Everything we've
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: learned from them, things we're going to take into next
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: ones and I feel like we're a lot more equipment
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: to deal with them. Them environments we can we can
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: be useful for ourselves.
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: Now you sort of pretty much answered the next question
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: with that, But I want to got a bit daper
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: like chores, did they give you a greater clarity I
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: guess of what you want to do with yourself and
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: with your music, Like a lot of bands go over
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: and like you said, it's just a lead stripping.
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: You have fun, but there's a bigger picture to.
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: Take out of it too, like you're sort of learning
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: at the same time and back home with a with
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: a more direct focus isn't you.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: Well, the first one we allowed ourself to have a
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: good time. You know, we're not We've not done anything.
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: We've just focused on getting banned to a standard. We
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: were all proud of it and good enough. That took
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: probably five years. So that first one we allowed ourselves
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: to just go and just have a good fucking time
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: and just just whatever. And that second one we went
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: with a lot more purpose. And then we've got like
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: a direction. Now we know what we want to do,
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: we know where we want to go. We just had
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: to meet a couple of people that could could help
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: get us there. And that certainly come from that. That
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: us one. This this year, I felt like a fucking
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: absolute rock and roller. And when I got back, I
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: felt like a good one as well. Oh yeah, it
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: has helped us, definitely has helped us. Like when we're
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: approaching people, now we know what we want to approach
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: them with. Whereas people were just like please help me
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: like a fucking like a poor black with his fucking hand,
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: that we know idea what we would ask him for.
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: But now we know what to ask for and stuff,
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: which is helpful, you know, because people can they know
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: if they can help you or not, you know.
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and I guess so it's one thing that a
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: lot of people wouldn't realize.
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: But you're you're selling yourself while you're over there.
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: But it's really hard for you to walk up to
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: someone you don't know and say, listen to my band,
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: we're fucking awesome.
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: Ye, coming across like a dick, but you can't do it.
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: But you just got to learn the right ways to
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: do it.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: I guess yeah, and I've I'm very confident.
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: I'm boardline cocky at times, but it went until these
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: latest tours where I've actually been like, you know what,
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: I actually do feel like I'm confident enough to be like, listen,
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: we're actually a good band now. And I say that
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: because we've been a bad band and it's a different
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: feeling to how it feels now.
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: Could make a documentary for a young bands. Brothers is golden,
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: the ship coming out of your mouth.
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: We have a good time with it when it's cool.
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: So like we do, we're very aware of these little
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: things that go on.
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: Yeah, go and help, but at home home shows in Australia,
• 13:02
  Speaker 4: you've got any of them played?
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: Yes, We've got Australian tour which will be announcing. I
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: think we'll announcing that mid December, and that kicks off
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: late January. And you know, Australia is a big fucking
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: country to get around in it, so we're going to
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: like stagger it so it last over a couple of months.
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: Actually, there's a good chance you'll be kicking it off
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: on January twenty four for twenty six leaving.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that is a chance. Yeah, that's the inside track.
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: Anyway, Very good man.
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: All right, well thanks for your time that I Ben,
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: it's been pleasure chatting with you as always, bro Like,
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: we're definitely keep in touch with good luck with a
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: single and we'll catch you for a beer very soon.