Recently I was able to catch up with lead vocalist, Angel Marshal, of the Latin-infused alternative rock band called Los Saints. In this interview, I asked him about the band’s core influences that they put into their new EP called Welcome To Confusion, how the band does the majority of their songwriting, as well as a fun question about the albums that shaped who Los Saints are as musicians.
Thank you for your time today! Let’s first talk about your great new single called “Lost You.” What went into both the writing and recording of this track?
This track was actually a track that I composed in about two days! It was around the time when I told myself I would finish a song 100% before moving onto the next, which is something I was doing a lot at the time in 2020 when I made the instrumental composition. The lyrics however, were written a year later which was perfect timing because, since I wrote them a week after my first breakup, it was really easy to connect the emotions that I wanted to emit through the song, which is the feeling of losing someone over the fear of love.
Did the on-going pandemic affect your timeline for releasing your new album, Welcome to Confusion?
Not at all. These days, with or without the pandemic, a lot of things, even in music, are done remotely or online, except for most of the recording process with Dear Boy drummer Keith. Carl Bahner, for example, mixed and mastered our EP all the way from Pennsylvania and I communicated with him via text, phone calls and Zoom calls. The result? Five beautifully mixed tracks exactly how I imagined them, and better than that! No delays either. It was the same way with everyone involved in pushing out the EP!
Who produced the new album, and how would you describe the direction your band took on this latest release?
Keith Cooper, the drummer from Dear Boy, produced it. I had a really clear idea of what I wanted this EP to be before we went in. Lively, since it was our first time recording music as a band and we could each showcase our strong points in composition and “signature tones” piece by piece, but clear, punchy and bass-y like the tracks we already had out on our Spotify at the time (“Let It Out,” “As Bad As The First,” and such) to make it sound like us. With this, after we played our tracks live in front of Keith live at the studio, now it was his time to add that ear candy and layer our instruments to give all the tracks that final spark. His work is especially noticeable with my vocals.
Every band has a story to tell in their music. What do you hope your fans will take away from listening to your band’s music?
I’d just like for people to feel like they know us and that they can connect with us emotionally. I absolutely love putting in the lightest and darkest emotions in our music so you can cry and laugh and cry again when you’re listening to us. I want us to be like a friend that you can basically vent to without having to say anything. That’d be an awesome takeaway.
Have you been able to tour much recently? How would you describe your live performances?
At the moment we’re lining up some shows for after July! We’re already working on more new music so after we’re done with that, we’ll be on a tour frenzy. When we play shows again, prepare to see some new faces!
What are 3-5 albums that have been key to your growth and development as both people and musicians?
This is a really tough question, but if it had to be narrowed down for me, it’s Social Cues by Cage the Elephant, Good A.M by Mac Miller, and Starboy by The Weeknd, and for Emiliano it’d be LA Woman by The Doors and Darkside of the Moon by Pink Floyd.