My first Twin Tribes concert was around 2 years ago? It was at the gremlin and I recall seeing them again at Cine El Rey this past year. I remember Tigers Blood @purotigersblood shooting me a message with a song link to check out the band. Hearing the first song I stopped myself to hear more at the concert. What had me intrigued was when I was told they're also a local band from Brownsville! Hearing something new, the dark synths, the vocals and those lyrics. Each time, was a great time.
Twin Tribes takes the stage again Sept. 15th as they invite you with a delicate hand in the realm of the unknown as a fog filled void entraps you with their tools of choice, their sounds of choice. Twin Tribes, takes the stage starting their tour at Cine El Rey this Friday.
In the band we have Luis Navarro (vocals, guitar, synth, drum machines) and Joel Niño, Jr. (bass, synth, vocals) and before we begin the interview the band has a few words to share as ask what they've been enjoying as of recently?
Luis: I’ve been enjoying spending time in the studio, tweaking our live rig, watching soccer, playing Fortnite and spending time with my family.
Joel: Recently been super into playing Baldur's Gate 3, running my little record shop: Beso De Muerte Records, and enjoying my time with the family before we head out on tour.
Ram: I've been digging into Baulder's Gate 3 and every time I'm going to progress I end up listening the little worm in my head to keep exploring!
Do they have any shout outs they'd like to give out?
Luis: A shout out to all our fans, friends and family in the RGV that have supported us from the beginning.
Beginning the interview I ask how would they describe their band Twin Tribes along with the sound played? If they could come up with a name for the sound, what would it be and why?
Luis: Twin Tribes is a sonic mix of all our favorite genres which include Post-Punk, Darkwave, and Cold Wave.
Joel: I always hear, and read, people comparing our sound to bands like The Cure, Clan of Xymox, Drab Majesty, etc. I'd like to say we have a little bit of all of that rolled into one. Labeling it is a futile endeavor for me, so I leave that to the listener.
Ram: I remember seeing y'all at The Gremlin and what captured the sound and the feeling of it all was the fog. I felt like the fog blurred it for me creating a space for myself and the sound. Entrapped by the red overshadow looming over me due to the lights. That was something that had me in the moment of the show. While people may have words for genres, the feeling is totally something else.
How did the band come to be? How did y'all meet and did both of you have an idea on the sound you wanted to play?
Luis: The band started in the summer of 2017. I had just started attempting to write Darkwave songs and had a few demos but I didn’t want to do the project alone. I reached out to Joel, whom I knew from years ago from playing in an indie band and he loved the demos. Once we got together to write, everything clicked and we wrote our first album that year.
Joel: That first demo Luis showed me was of Shadows, the title track of our first album. I absolutely loved the song, and instantly knew I wanted to be a part of it. I told Luis if he ever needed a bass player to pursue the project together to contact me. A few weeks later he did, and the rest is history.
Ram: Oh so the band has been around for hmmm maybe 6 years? From Shadows to a range of songs and tours! Crazy how one thing can lead to another. Shadows was actually the first song I listened to and I stopped there because I wanted to listen to the rest in person. I wonder if any of the demos made onto the first album.
It must be crazy going on these tours, from a show in Mcallen to different locations around the country. Even including "rest of the world booking" such as Mexico for example. Even Brazil and Columbia in 2024! How does it feel to be able to play/revisit locations? Did you ever imagine anything like this?
Luis: It’s very surreal. We’re very lucky music has taken us to so many cities in the U.S. and overseas. We will also be visiting South America and Mexico for the first time very soon. It’s a beautiful experience.
Joel: One of the best parts of being part of Twin Tribes for me is visiting all of these different places around the world. Meeting the people, getting to know a bit of their culture and their food. I remember walking around a city in Germany, and just listening to people speak the language. It just brightened my day up and is an
experience I look forward to having again soon.
Ram: I remember when the international tour got released and that was super cool! My friends would talk about because it's just a big step. Even when our local bands go play in San Antonio or have any tour of their own, I love the support the community gives onto their local bands within the scene. It's just amazing.
Germany though? I can only imagine the food y'all had.
Looking through your bandcamp you mention "Dark melodic sounds, synthesizers,
lyrics about the undead, the occult and parallel universes" is this what you personally enjoy? As in what you put about yourselves interests into your music. What about the "dark melodic sounds" and the "undead, the occult and parallel universes" calls to your attention? How do you feel you evoke this through your music? Could you also give us a song(s) example
Luis: The tag line definitely describes our interests and the way we sound as well. Our entire first album was inspired by the occult and the dark 80’s. The song “Shadows” was inspired by the movie “The Hunger” and the song “Talisman” was inspired by the witch trials. These are all interests that we enjoy reading about and had never tried writing lyrics about these topics until we got together and it worked for us.
Joel: Transporting fans to different worlds, and telling those stories through music is a large part of what we do. I've always believed that we aren't the only ones in this universe, and that particular curiosity is both exciting and scary. In addition, I am fascinated by the thought of alternate dimensions and the infinite possibilities that one's journey in this lifetime could be.
Ram: I remember during The Gremlin show, I try my best to collect CDs of the bands I see live. I got the Shadows CD because it was recommended to me. I played it in my car during the drive home. The moon, the darkness, the drive on the expressway back home as the album really set the mood. As Joel mentioned it really put me into another dimension. The way music can create these spaces, these energies, can create a vision in your mind as you can imagine the imagery created by the sound/vocals is just wonderful. I just love that personally when listening to music.
I wonder what kind of movies they can see their music play in or if they could write the score of a movie what kind of movie would it be?
Starting the tour at Cine El Rey on Sept. 15th, what would you say is the significance of starting the tour in The Valley?
Luis: It’s important to us to have a show in the RGV at least once a year. We usually start our tours in McAllen and then head out. It’s important because our fans, friends and family get a chance to see us and send us off with the best vibes.
Joel: I couldn't agree more. Being able to play for our family, the local fans, and bring some top notch acts like MVTANT (from San Antonio) this time around and Wingtips (Chicago, IL) the last time we played McAllen is an amazing feeling. The RGV is, and always will be, home to us.
What are you most looking forward to from this coming tour? Anything you really want to see along the way?
Luis: I’m looking forward to sharing the stage with our talented friends and looking forward to going back to Cold Waves festival in Chicago. Last time we played this festival was in 2019.
Joel: We have some new cities that we haven't visited, such as Carbondale, Indianapolis, and Ann Arbor. Looking forward to some new sights to see and fans to meet.
With Ceremony, Shadows, and Altars in your discography. How do you feel you've
grown through the release of each album? If possible could you share a bit about each of these albums in terms of what they mean to you.
Luis: I feel like after every release, we have grown as individuals and as a band. When we released “Shadows”, we had nothing in mind. All we wanted was to release our album to cassette and see what happens from there. For the album “Ceremony”, people already had expectations. However, the album was another evolution for the band. It was no longer a search like Shadows. Instead it was the sound we were looking for. For the album “Altars”, it was a compilation of remixes of our tracks by some of the most talented musicians in the scene. The artists made the songs their own and sound so unique. It was surreal to listen to our songs in a
different way by artists we love.
Joel: Shadows was the beginning, us trying to find ourselves through music by exploring different sounds and telling different stories. We wrote this with the freedom of not having any expectations of us. A feeling that won't be replicated again, I don’t think. Ceremony was us knowing exactly who we were, digging in and pulling more from real life experiences. It was way more personal, on purpose. Altars was an amazing compilation of remixes brought forth by the pandemic, that brought together some of our favorite artists in the scene to give their takes on
our first two albums. It was a welcome burst of creativity, and love, in an otherwise gloomy period of time in our world.
Ram: I was just listening to Altars, these remixes ummm I didn't realize I entered an alternate dimension , the different possibilities that were mentioned earlier. These guys know exactly what they're doing. I literally double took at my Spotify tab because these are just so unreal especially knowing its different artists giving their take on the first two albums. Amazing. With the release of Ceremony and Shadows, what comes next?
Since Altars being released in 2021, do you currently have anything in the works you could share? What could we be expecting?
Luis: We are currently working on the new album and stay tuned for more info very soon!
Joel: It has been two years since Altars, and four years since Ceremony which was our last album of original music. We can't wait to share the new song we have been working on with the world.
Ram: Will the new song play at the concert this Friday? You'd have to be there to find out.
Is there anything you wish to evoke from the listener when it comes to listening to your music?
Luis: I prefer that the listener enjoy the album and whatever evokes within is welcomed.
Joel: All I can really hope from the listener is an honest listen to our music. Give it a chance. It may, or may not be, for you. If it is, welcome. We've been waiting for you.
Ram: I agree, I mean either blindly go to the show or run Shdows/Ceremony on Spotify. There's a lot of music out there, whats wrong with stepping out your comfort zone and listening to something new, if you haven't.
What sort of feedback have you received after shows from those who have witnessed your sets. Anything that has stuck out to you that you remember?
Luis: We’ve heard so many good things. Whether it is our outfits, our gear, our sound, our lights or visuals, it’s usually a good thing and it means the world to us. We work very hard to perfect our craft and when people notice it, it means a lot.
Joel: Our live show is very important to us. We want to give the fans all they deserve and more. If they are taking the time, and paying their hard earned money to come and see us, we owe that to them. One beautiful moment I can remember is when we made a stop in Warsaw, Poland. A fan came up to us, and as she held back tears, let us know she had been in the hospital through some extremely hard times, and our music had gotten her through that horrible experience. All I could do was give her a big hug and tell her it made me happy that our music could help her in such a time of need. I turned around to see if I could grab something from our
merch table to give to her, and when I looked back, she was gone. I'll never forget that moment.
Ram: I remember after the show at The Gremlin ended, the long line, LONG LINE of folks who wanted to talk to both of you, take a picture and to buy merch. I was in line for a CD lol, but I remember as soon as y'all announced you'll be by the merch table everyone shifted over there basically.
To those coming out to the show Sept 15th is there anything you wish to say to them?
Luis: This is our only RGV show for the year! We hope to see you there!
Joel: We can’t wait to see you, and share a beautiful night of music with all of you!
What are your thoughts on the local music scene in the valley?
Luis: The Valley has a great music scene. So many great things are happening in The Valley, we’re happy and proud to be a part of it.
Joel: Ever present. It’s fluctuated from big to small, depending on who you ask, but the hunger and fire for original music has always been present here. For some of us, music was our only escape. And throughout the years, I’ve been privileged to have been a part of this scene.
September 15th at Cine EL Rey, Tickets --> https://www.eventbrite.com/e/twin-tribes-tickets-647727549537
Photos by Photo by Valeria Rodriguez // @plaguepop
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