Q&A: Exploring the Visual and Musical Harmony of “Tan Grande Nada” With Diles Que No Me Maten
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY SAMANTHA SORIA ☆
Photo by Melisa Lunar
COLLABORATION CREATES BRILLIANCE—In film and music, planned collaboration can create amazing outcomes. The same thing can be said when collaboration is unexpected and coincidental. For Mexico City-based band Diles Que No Me Maten, coincidence came at the right place and right time for the visual backdrop behind their song “Tan Grande Nada.”
The song, which was featured in Mexican Summer’s compilation Sitting on the Moon, was a stand out amongst listeners, showcasing the band’s raw talent and artistry.
Founded in 2017 by brothers Raúl (drums) and Gerardo (guitar) Ponce, the band, now complete with Jerónimo Elizondo-García (guitar, clarinet), Andrés Lupone (bass), and Jonás Dérbez (lead vocals), not only share a mutual love of krautrock but are making an impressive name for themselves.
In an interview with The Luna Collective, Diles Que No Me Maten frontman Jonás Dérbez delved into the behind the scenes of how the visuals for “Tan Grande Nada” came about, creative instincts, band dynamics, tour memories, and much more.
LUNA: “Tan Grande Nada” uses footage from Mauricio Sanchez Arias’ Super 8 film Imágenes Cristal de Nuestra Ciudad. Can you talk to me about how this inspiration came about and the decision in selecting his work to represent as the visuals for this song?
JONÁS: Well, it was actually a coincidence. I went to film school with him. We were in the same year, but he was one or two years before me. Since then, for a long time we didn't see each other, but then we ran into each other at a concert and we started to work together for another reason. It was to book a festival; I booked a poetry and music festival in Mexico City. It's independent and self organized. We did an experimental film display. I asked Mauricio if he could choose the specific short films that were going to be displayed in the festival. And he did, and one of those was his work, and I just saw it in the film festival and I was amazed by it. I was like,”This is just perfect!” I asked him if we could use it for a song of ours and he was really happy. It was the easiest video I have ever made.
LUNA: The reflections, color and grain evoke nostalgia but also the rhythm of everyday life. How intentional was that connection between the film’s visual language and the song’s lyrics?
JONÁS: I found it to be perfect when I saw it, especially the idea that you can see through the window and at the same time see the reflection of the window. You're always seeing these two images at the same time. Those kinds of images are all over the video but also images of the beautiful sky in the reflection of a crystal building. It was all the delicate things that you can see if you pay attention. And the song for me, it’s a little bit like that. The song opens with the phrase “Otra vez fumando en el departamento / hay grafitis en la ventana (Once again smoking in the apartment / there's graffiti on the window).” So when I saw the first images of this [film] was also with graffiti on the windows, it made sense.
LUNA: It’s very reminiscent of people watching where you’re just standing or sitting and you’re watching the world around you and appreciating every little detail, you know?
JONÁS: Yeah, exactly.
LUNA: In terms of Mexico City, its texture and vibrancy, how do you think it finds its way into your sound?
JONÁS: I think it's kind of inevitable. I mean, we live there. We have been living there for so many years. It's just there when we play and when we're on tour, like right now, we change a little bit of our sound. I’ve noticed that it depends where we are and when we’re in Mexico City, it feels like a lot of everything.
LUNA: In lightly editing the video, what did this video project teach you about music but more specifically, creative instincts?
JONÁS: It's a good question. I think I had to make this video really quick, because we wanted to put a video for this song that was already out. So I was, like, in my head going around, and suddenly, when I didn’t take control anymore, the perfect video appeared just in front of my eyes.I barely had to do anything. Like Mauricio did all the work without knowing he was doing a video for us. I slightly did three cuts in DaVinci Resolve, and I just put it together to make sense with some drum fills. So I think that the lesson that I learned was that there is a lot of beautiful, accidental teamwork and you just have to open your eyes to what is around you.
LUNA: “Tan Grande Nada” has reached new audiences since the compilation’s release in August. What has surprised you most about how listeners connect with it?
JONÁS: Well, I think it's a new song for us. We have never done a song like this. In a way it’s like a light song. I'm just happy. It’s so much different from the stuff that we already do and people like it so much. I'm glad they are keeping up with us when we are changing our style. So yeah, that just feels great, you know?
LUNA: I want to talk about band dynamics. Is there a guiding philosophy or unspoken rule when you're all creating together?
JONÁS: I'm not sure if we all have unspoken rules or guided philosophies. We talk a lot between each other about everything. Even about improvisation—I know improvisation is such a weird animal, you know? It makes you learn a lot about the other person. So if you mix that with long talks, you end up having a mixture between doing your songs and putting your heart in them; being friends with all these wonderful people and keeping up with life with them for so many years that everything mixes and blends into the song. That’s kind of what's happening. It's not that it’s an unspoken thing, it's just what we constantly live in.
LUNA: In showing appreciation for your other bandmates, what’s one thing that each member brings to the table that you admire?
JONÁS: Well, I’ll start with Raúl. He knows how to relax, how to be chill and that's kind of hard for me, so I'm always learning how to do that from him. His brother, Gerardo, he’s resilient. Like yesterday, we had left the keys inside of the car at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. We adapted and it was really cool and I’m grateful to him for that. Andrés is the best person you can talk about your feelings to and he’s like my best roommate and on tour that’s really important for me (laughs). Jerónimo is just like the coolest guy you can ever meet, he's really talented. And Sandy, who's in front of the house, she's just amazing.
LUNA: I know you guys have been on tour since September. What has been the most memorable or surprising moment so far?
JONÁS: I guess for me it's gonna be different from everyone in Nashville, we went to this river. There was nobody and we took a nap beside the river and that was so beautiful. We have a lot of different memories, like playing at Public Records in New York with so many people there. To be able to play in New York for whoever is amazing and that concert went really well.
A couple days ago we played in Los Angeles, and I was shocked about how many people there were. It's been a year since we started touring the U.S., and now we have so many important friends, like lifetime friends that just began. And for me, that was a crazy moment so maybe that one too. I mean, we have several!
LUNA: You all share a mutual love of krautrock. If each of you could recommend one song to introduce someone to this genre, which song would you suggest?
JONÁS: I think for me… it’s not quite the most krautrocky, but I will go with “Tango Whiskyman” by Can.
Photo by Melisa Lunar
