Diandra Interviews Carlos Cros: Keeping The Fun of Creating Music
Carlos Cros has always had an elegance to his music, and La Major Defensa, his newest work, is a step into further sophistication. For a man that sees his songs in a cinematic scope, La Major Defensa plays like a man observing fun like a movie. In our interview, I got to see what inspires him to sing on life like a film reel, and also get some good advice for artists struggling on how to embrace music as a business.
Diandra: Having so many years between your first and second album, how did you maintain your faith and creativity in your art?
Carlos: It is something that I find very interesting. The path to anything, but, in this case music, is always complicated. It is very easy to lose that path. You find strength in yourself by remembering to have fun, and using your music, first and foremost, to express yourself. If you do not have high expectations for this path, then you do not have space for frustrations. This allows you to give yourself the time to find fluidity in how you walk your path.
Diandra: There have been artists, like yourself, that left a record company or label. How do you deal with the artistic clashes between the musician and the music industry?
Carlos: The image that the media or mainstream may portray of you is not always going to be what you like, but, in the end, you have to leave behind stupidities. You are here to do what you do, and that is music. You are her to compose, record, and perform. There are going to be people that see your record and will know what to do with it, and those that could ruin it and your career. What you have to do is figure a team that will play for “you.” And, to find a good team for yourself, anywhere, from the independent artist to someone on a label, is always complicated. So you always have to be looking and pacing yourself.
Diandra: Would you say then that “La Major Defensa,” in being an artist, is to have fun?
Diandra: I think you need to have fun in every aspect of your life. I believe that we never stop being kids, and making music reminds you of that. You pick up the guitar, you go out with friends and play, and you create songs. A person should never lose the vision of said fun, and the joy that is making music. If someone loses that then they are a sad person. There are some people in the mainstream that lose that vision, and they become miserable.
Diandra: So, when it comes to protecting your love for everything, especially music, how much have you learned about love, itself?
Carlos: So Much! Through and between albums, I have had relationships and break-ups. Still,
the album talks about love in various forms: love for life, love for friendships, love for creativity. As musicians, we cannot help to talk about love because it is a theme that encompasses so many virtues and grabs us.
Diandra: Do you think artists have a greater understanding of love because art is seen as a reflector of humanity?
Carlos: I do not thinks so. You can get somebody who has had a long, wonderful life and a great marriage, but has never written a song or even liked the arts; he can still be filled with wisdom. I think people, perhaps, who paint, write, sculpt, or do the arts that, yes, we might be more sensitive to the topic, but I do not want to say that we are wiser. Because, when you think of it, a scientist could be very sensitive to humanity. She can be looking for a cure or vaccine to a fatal disease, and she is doing it out of love for humanity, and you need a potent sensitivity and sympathy for others to do such a job.
Diandra: How did you see yourself grow as a musician when creating this album?
Carlos: I always try to write songs according to how I imagine stories. So, stylistically, this album is an umbrella of many rock influences. You have eras like, the 70’s or even locations like, Italy and Britain. The umbrella of styles for every album will grow. For this record, I surprised myself because I composed songs that I never thought I could create or style in such a way. I think that is so important as an artist to surprise yourself. You need to make things that you never thought you could make, and, in there, you find the fun I mentioned.
Diandra: You talk about imagining your music as stories. Is it something you see like a film in your head?
Carlos: Yes. I studied films. I love films. So, when I style a song, I really think of the narrative, and feel out what is the sound and message that I want people to see in the end.
Diandra: What is one film that inspires music in you?
Carlos: Cinema Paradiso. I love that film, and what it says about humanity. It is a marvelous film about growing up, and Ennio Morricone is a genius composer, and he did the music for the film.