Interview with Casa Murilo
Casa Murilo is an up and coming Oslo-based band led by two english lads; Chris Winfield and Dan Hesketh. I caught their gig at Mono the other day and was really impressed.
They’re great live, but they’re also quite good on record. I reviewed their EP a few days ago. The full EP is even free to listen to on their myspace page.
I met with Chris and Dan at a local café to ask them some questions about Brazil, the EP and the future.
How do you feel about the EP?
Dan: I’m pretty satisfied with it. It’s a fair reflection on who and where we are right now. We had a meeting with the guys at Spoon Train Audio before we went to record and I remember them saying “You’ll hate the record as soon as you’re finished with it because all you’ll hear are the mistakes,” which I didn’t really find to be the case. We certainly had high standards for our playing. Not that it’s perfect, of course. As for the songs, when we first started writing in November last year I’d always say to Chris that we should try to focus on developing the basics of our writing, that the Beatles had to write “I Want To Hold Your Hand” before they could write “Strawberry Fields”, Radiohead had to write “Creep” before they could write “Myxamatosis”. We’re now writing different kinds of songs, playing with structure more but I think this is a good collection of songs. I like them.
Chris: I agree, I’m happy with the EP and very proud that we have managed to come this far in a short space of time. It’s a strange feeling when you finally decide that you’ve finished a record. Suddenly there can’t be any more tweaking of songs, no more rearranging. It’s difficult to convince yourself that you are absolutely finished.
How long did it take to record it?
Dan: Originally we planned to do the whole thing- recording, mixing and mastering of 5 songs in about 8 days. That seemed to make sense having done a 2 song demo in an intense 16 hour session in June. It ended up taking 18 days total. And we worked hard every one of those. If we’d have done it in less we’d have been compromising.
What bands have inspired you the most?
Dan: There’s a pretty big three, I’d say, that inform who we wanted to be when we started writing. All we had was two acoustic guitars, a bunch of half decent songs we’d written before as individuals and a pretty solid understanding of what we thought constituted a brilliant band. We spent more time in the beginning talking about what we didn’t want to be than what we did. But there was a clear three bands that we’ve admired since the start. The National are unbelievably good. Chris used to play Alligator a lot when he first moved out. Matt Berninger as a singer and a lyricist is brilliant and there’s something about the production, the way they build things up, that’s amazing. The Arcade Fire have a passion and a kind of belief in their music that’s electrifying live and comes across on record too. We want to blow people’s heads off when we play live. I can’t remember what the third band is.
Chris: Well I think “the big three” is maybe more a “big two,” those being the ones Dan has just mentioned. There are a few other bands that take turns being the third in the list. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were a pretty big deal to us when we first started writing. The way they use simple melodic hooks, especially on their first record, to change the tempo and rhythm of a song is brilliant. Obviously, having four or five people who can sing in the band means that Fleet Foxes are pretty fucking inspiring, the harmonies on some of their tracks are mind blowing. The only record that I thought was better than theirs last year was Dear Science by TV on the Radio which, incidently, would be the final band I’d put on the list. Listening to that record should give you a clear understanding as to why that is.
In what direction do you see the sound of the band heading in?
Dan: Well, we’ve become a lot heavier as a result of spending time in the studio. The songs we wrote in the beginning were designed to get a good response at the first gigs we played. These were almost all at Chris’ flat for about 15 people. In their original state, the songs were all about two minutes long and had a pretty standard pop structure. It’s very easy to bore people when you’ve got two guys with acoustic guitars. Now that we’ve got a full band there’s just so much more we can do. There’s lots of big steps that we need to take involving looping and sampling and effects but that’s going to have to involve a lot of learning and experimenting. We’re going to do it but it’s not going to happen overnight. The songs are certainly changing. We want to start messing around more with loads of things inside the songs; structure, melodic patterns, rythms etc.
Chris: Yeah, I think that its important to just keep doing what we are doing. Our sound is developing naturally and the songs we are writing are doing the same. I keep going back to them but I’d say that TV on the Radio didn’t wake up one morning and decide to be completely fucking awesome and write one of the best records of a generation, It takes time. Quite often you can hear when a band is trying to do things that they are not yet ready for. For us there is no rush whatsoever, no pressure, I’m just enjoying playing in a band with five mates and seeing where the tide takes us. How fucking romantic.
Do you get along well? No fighting about how the songs should go?
Dan: We’ve been good friends since we met in Brazil. We lived and worked together a long time there before we ended up in Norway and it’s the times we shared there that inform our sensibility, I’d say. Our musical tastes are often different but it’s at that point they come together that we try to focus what we’re writing. Fighting is a strong word, but we disagree a lot. We’re both very ambitious and care so much about this thing that when one of us really believes strongly that we’re right then we are willing to work hard to convince the other of that. We also know how the other thinks. At least Chris is pretty easy to read.
What’s the story behind the band’s name?
Chris: It’s pretty simple, really. We wanted a name that meant something to us and the people who had been close to us when everything kicked off. Murilo is one of the people who made all of this come together. He helped to make my time in Brazil the best days of my life so far. The guy is one of greatest people I have ever met. If you spent a night partying with Murilo Vilas Boas Nascimento you’d want to name your band after him as well.
What brought you to brazil in the first place?
Dan: That’s difficult to answer succinctly. I went because I felt I needed huge, drastic change. I chose Brazil because it was just about as far removed from where I was and what I was doing as I could imagine. Plus it’s Brazil.
Chris: Well, I was visiting a mate, Ross, who was working out there. Ross was living with Dan and Murilo and having what I guess you would call the time of his life. I had been back in England a week after the 3 week trip to Brazil when I got a phone call from Ross telling me that his boss wanted me to come back out to Salvador and work for him. At that exact moment I was standing on a cold dark street in the pissing rain outside an old Chinese takeaway waiting for my over priced and under flavoured chicken satay. It took me about 3 seconds to decide.
Can you remember a turning point where you just knew you had to start a band?
Dan: I do, yeah. Chris doesnt know this actually. Sometime in October last year I had kind of a “now or never” conversation with someone. It was a pretty big deal for me. This band is like the big thing I’ve been putting off for about 10 years. Chris and I put our heads together shortly after that and we havent stopped working since.
Chris: We had been talking about doing it before we left Brazil but it never took off. Then, when we got to Norway, we started talking about it again. It took a few months of thinking and playing Xbox before we really got our heads down. “Drunken Promises” was the first song we finished and it really gave us a kick up the backside, after that we started writing a song a week and kind of forced ourselves into the position where we had to start a band.
What’s the craziest thing that happened in Brazil?
Chris: My mum might read this so I best not say.
Dan: Yeah. No paper trail.
How did you end up in Norway?
Chris: There is a very good story that answers that question, unfortunately it’s also a very long story best told over a cold beer on a hot day so for now I’ll give the short answer; love and good luck.
Dan: Yeah. If I’d had enough to drink I’d add in fate and the universe. Hedge my bets.
You were originally supposed to play together with your friend Ross, what happened to him?
Dan: Ross, the poor bastard, is living in an apartment in Salvador that has its own swimming pool and bar. When he’s not flying around the world, that is. I have no sympathy.
Chris: I spoke to Ross last night actually. He was on his back from a weekend in Rio with his girlfriend. I think next week he is off to Canada and when he gets back from there he is off trekking in the Amazon. My heart goes out to him.
How do you feel about playing in Norway, instead of Britain or South America, what’s different and is it better or worse?
Dan: That’s a big question. When we lived in Salvador we only played for our friends. They loved what we did and they thought the music we listened to was great, but I think it’s fair to say it was mostly very exotic for them. People experience music very differently over there. It’s a very joyous and often spontaneous thing for them. Britain and Norway are much more similar. Chris, help me out.
Chris: I would say that playing in Norway is better. I think that Norwegians are a lot more willing to come out and see a live band, irrelevant of whether or not they are playing the “right” kind of music for that moment in time. In England, there is this attitude that unless you are doing what is considered cool at that particular moment then you’re not worth listening to, there is a huge “buzz band” culture and one week you’re hot then the next week you’re not.
What’s your favorite Norwegian band?
Chris: I’m not sure I can pick an out and out favourite but there are few bands that always spring to mind. Tommy Tokyo and Starving for My Gravy is one. We went to see him earlier this year and he put on an incredible show. The Little Hands of Asphalt are great too and Bård Watn is one of Norway’s best undiscovered artists. The man is a treasure.
Dan: I’d echo Chris’s thoughts on those three and add The Nomber 5s. Their new album is really good.
Do you still have plans to tour South America in a Camper van?
Chris: Who doesn’t? I’m pretty certain that we’ll get round to it someday, yes.
Dan: We came very close to buying one before I left actually. Good job we didn’t. Loney Dear just toured the North East of Brazil last week so indie musicians from Scandinavia can do it. I doubt he did it in a combi though.
Do you plan to stay here?
Dan: Yes. This is home.
Chris: Ditto. Unless someone builds me a mansion in Brazil, in which case I shall divide my time equally.
I thank Dan and Chris for a great interview, as well as you for reading it, and I wish Casa Murilo the best of luck in the future. The photos featured in this article are taken by Kasper Landmark at the band’s gig at Mono.