PECAS -

“BEAUTIFUL”

A stream-of-consciousness storytelling and collage-like  production.

Interview and words by Sophie C Kuebler 
Published 27 June 2023 

Hey Pecas, thanks for taking the time to talk about "BEAUTIFUL" and yourself. Can you tell us a bit about the making of this single?

Hi NSNS! Thanks for the interview. This single started with a session I did in Tepoztlan, Mexico with Wetbaes and Tuzeint. We went up to a house in the mountains there in 2020 for about five days and recorded a few experiments. This recording, which would eventually become BEAUTIFUL, really stuck out so when we returned from the mountains to Mexico City we developed the track more with our friend Fer Montiel who added layers of keys and synths. Then when I went back to New York I added vocals, edited it, and the rest is history…

The atmosphere appealed to me because "BEAUTIFUL" sounds like an erotic downtempo song that transitions into a dreamy, poppy chorus. How do you see the song and what references or influences did you choose for it?

The song is supposed to feel seductive and a little dangerous. It’s about being attracted to a situation, a person, that isn’t necessarily good for you but you can’t help being pulled in. When we produced the song we visualized something literally pulling you and then letting go and then pulling you back. The bass line and the ASMR vocals are the seductive elements in the verses and then in the choruses you get a little bit of a relief from the tension (the letting go), the song feels lighter and dreamy, before going back into the darker verses (the pull).  As far as sonic influences, I was really into Solange’s When I Get Home at the time. That album is dark, dreamy, sensual, and alien-like. I drew a lot of inspiration from that album, especially the sound of the synth bass, the stream of consciousness lyrical style, and collage-like production.

Speaking of the vibe, who is the crew behind the video and how did you guys come together?

I was back in Mexico City in 2022 and looking for directors to make videos with. A friend helped me get the word out through an instagram post and that post led me to Nata Failde, the director, who brought on Ponck from Proyecto24 and Oriental Films as the producers, and the rest of the beautiful crew.

I am interested in the the story within the video and the creative process between you and the director...

When I met Nata, I was still talking to a few other directors and trying to decide on who to work with based on who could come up with the best idea. I think a week or two went by after we first met and I hadn’t heard anything from her so I was about to go with another director. But late one night, Nata sent me a message, “Heyy I have an idea I really like.”

The next day we met up and she described her vision for the video. She had this twinkle in her eye as she described a slow motion, in reverse chase scene, a motorcycle crash, a purple creature that melts into hot wax, and me turning into an axolotl. I was sold.

I think the video was essentially inspired by the axolotl, a creature native to Mexico which can live in both water and land. So if you were to watch the video in forward motion you start with me in a cave in water (the axolotl) and then I get out of the cave and chase different versions of myself, the different evolutions — a purple creature, a motorcyclist, and then the final pecas – from the cave, to the forest, and back into water.


The creative process was super fun. It’s rare when you meet someone who is willing to dream bigger than you, and even rarer when those ideas are made real. A lot of times in the creative process people can get stuck in believing certain limitations and don’t move anything forward. Working with Nata was the complete opposite. Her vision is so big that the challenge was more in trying to reel it in. We had maybe one week of pre-production and 8 hours to shoot this and it involved a motorcycle stunt double, multiple ramps that had to be built, and a full-sized dummy version of me. It was wild!

There is an album upcoming. Is it your first full-length album? On your way to this moment, how did it come to release a full-length?

It started as a full-length but I’m going to release it as a 7 song EP, 23 minutes and probably release a few more singles and remixes afterwards. Making it was a long process because it was the beginning of a new phase – I was writing about a relationship that was very difficult for me and changed my life, while also experimenting with new sounds, ways of using my voice, learning to use Ableton, and working with new collaborators in Mexico. It was a lot of new things at once and a bit of a mess for a while, but I think it captures something very introspective and magical.

One writeup says it's about themes of longing, belonging, and accepting softness. Listening to your previous releases and "BEAUTIFUL," it sounds like it's your jam right now. Would you say there are some influences like books, music, artists, pieces, and life situations that led you to work in this atmosphere?

I’d say mostly life situations have influenced that. Growing up in Madrid and then moving to Upstate New York at a young age, as good as it potentially was for certain things (music and work opportunities), it really broke my ties with family and my roots. It’s been strangely hard since then to feel comfortable rooting myself anywhere and feeling soft is also part of that, probably. I feel like I’m softly floating through the world without an anchor.

The day I start making aggressive industrial bass is the day you know I’ve found my home.

Is there a quote (in whatever language) that guides you at the moment or that has influenced you recently?

My friend Vanessa always reminds me, “Si es para ti aunque te quites, y si no, aunque te pongas.”

Considering that you evolve as a person and grow every day, are there things in your music and as an artist (or even beyond, as a private person) that you want to explore and look into because you find them interesting, it just wasn't the time yet?

Yes there are a lot of things that I want to explore and feel like I need an extra lifetime for. Musically I’m starting to get deeper into electronic music and DJing, I’ve been selling off my instruments and buying VSTs. And on a personal level I’m going back to school soon to study design and a little programming. I think later in my life I’ll dedicate myself to things that involve more physicality, like gardening, maybe building a house, but right now I’m exploring things that are more aesthetic and cerebral.