Introducing ELISA MONTES and SlowKiss. “Things have changed a lot in eleven years, but we always keep going.”

WITH a Chilean influence but a home and heart firmly rooted in the northern Spanish Basque heartlands, alt punk, garage band SlowKiss are currently midway through a short German tour, having recently finished recording album number three.

“I was born in Bilbao, a very important city for me, but at a very young age we began to move around the world with my mother and then with my sister when she was born,” said SlowKiss founder and lead singer, Elisa Montes. “We arrived in Chile when I was ten years old, and at fourteen I began my artistic career with my first professional band.

“Now after many years I have returned to Spain, this time with SlowKiss, to be closer to Europe and be able to tour where there is more of a ‘rock circuit,’ and where the distances are much shorter than in South America. The foundation of the band is me and Richi [drums], and at the moment we have a special lineup with Monchi on guitar, and Paco on bass. We’ve had a lot of members and things have changed a lot in eleven years, but we always keep going.”

Perhaps somewhat erroneously likened to Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins and The Pixies, the sound of SlowKiss is nevertheless varied, and along with lyrics covering a myriad of topics, the band have drawn praise from far and wide.

“The truth is the labels in music have always seemed super weird to me, but it gives the impression people need them to be able to introduce themselves to the bands and know a little about where they are going. That’s why I think the most accurate definition for SlowKiss could be ‘alternative’ more than anything because the concept can include many styles and has more space to experiment. Our band is very difficult to label, that’s why I feel deep down we don’t belong to any circuit 100%, but at the same time that gives us freedom to play with different types of bands.

“Anyway, punk will always be a base for us because I think it is a genre where the message is of vital importance, and although sometimes ours are a little less direct, our social message is always a priority, and we have just finished our third LP we recorded in Spain which we hope will come to light this year – so far, we have released some singles, a homemade demo, two EPs, and two LPs.

“And we try to have at least one ‘soft song’ in each record so as not to leave aside our sensitive side. I also like them a lot and they are a special part of the shows where a more intimate atmosphere is created, and people can take a break from our resounding repertoire that is generally very aggressive, fast, and energetic, but the truth is we have such a range where we walk through almost our entire discography, rescuing the songs we like the most so that the public that has just joined the band can enjoy a walk through that history and our different times.”

Sometimes dark, sometimes angry, occasionally mellow, but always intellectual, Montes appears to write songs with ease, but does she prefer to begin with anger or compassion when penning new material?

“With SlowKiss I broke many paradigms I had with my previous bands where maybe I had more limits when it came to composing, but now I feel free and I’m not afraid. The songs we make don’t seem to be in the band’s line precisely – because there is no defined line. And our lyrics are like life itself, one day you are up, the next day down. Anger is an engine that we use to try to change or create awareness about those things that we do not like about our society, but without leaving aside or forgetting love. That is the universal feeling of which we should all nourish ourselves, enjoy and practice empathy to make a better world. It’s not that it’s easier for me to compose from anger, but I think I consciously use it more to express myself and get the message we want, the struggles have always been gestated from anger and activism.

“Music is an experience that can change lives, it can make you travel to the past and can abstract you from the present. You can find shelter, company and understanding in it. You can feel represented, you can expand your consciousness, connect with many people and you can find messages that change your vision of the world around you. In bad times it can get you out of the hole, and in good times fill you with euphoria. You can go through all the moods, it’s wonderful.

“When we see the reaction we cause in the audience when they see us live, we feel we connect a lot with people, and that makes our music make sense. People are so alone in these difficult times, if someone feels a connection with us, it is what gives us the conviction of wanting to continue at all costs.”

But aside from the music, the band – like the majority of their contemporaries – must also find time for those perpetual, life-draining, all-encompassing PR duties.

“Exactly, think that we are a band born in Chile, in the last country of the southern cone, super far from everything and with a musical circuit that since the beginning of the digital era and streaming, especially to play music and rock in general, was very damaged.

“Although we have had the support of small labels such as ‘Inhuman’ of Switzerland, and ‘Gunner’ of Germany, they act more than anything as dissemination channels and editorials, all the rest of the work comes from us. Recently, we have a booking agency, but it is also a rather ‘DIY’ system.

“I think the same thing I mentioned about the digital age has forced artists to become multifaceted to the extreme, tending to know how to do everything to survive, and I not only see that in SlowKiss, but in most of the independent bands where you have to in addition to composing, making songs and rehearsing, you have to do advertising, hopefully know graphic design, know about finance, production, social networks and the damn content creation.

“You have to know about sound, marketing and merchandising, know how to do magic with small budgets. You need emotional responsibility with your colleagues, to have a lot of discipline, and a thousand other things that should be left out of me, because it’s really a twenty-four-seven job – especially if you want to leave your city, and take your music further.

“Currently the SlowKiss staff consists of the four members of the band, plus Florencia our photographer/audiovisual – who is also very good in public relations – and ‘JT’ our right arm who is in charge of driving the van, a road manager type, making contact with the promoters, helping us on stage, talking to the sound technicians at the venues, taking care of us and our things, and also illustrating our posters, the merchandising – it’s crazy.

“We have the best team we could wish for, we are all friends, and we take care of each other, and we hope to be able to add more professionals over time so that each one can enjoy our roles more and not have so many worries and responsibilities.

“But the next project is to release the new album and do everything that entails, video clips, promotion, more tours in new places – including hopefully the UK – and continue to give it everything as we have been doing for more than a decade until one day, maybe, we manage to have a bigger team, better deals, and more shows around the world.”

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