The Siamese phenomenon: indie rock-pop with the aesthetics of Japanese anime in its DNA

With an exact blend of electronic and indie pop guitar at the same time and a careful image heavily influenced by Japanese anime, Stoltz (vocals, design) and Piano Blakk (piano and synths) put Siamés together and gave – almost involuntarily, but with genuine merit – with a product that has been able to enter the honey of success on streaming platforms and social networks.

Finding a space of comfort within how to draw the guidelines of a contemporary project, the Siamese group writes its own story and little by little it becomes very interesting to get closer.

The solid concept they developed led them to tour several countries and to have huge success in Mexico and Chile.

Stop the rehearsals

Now, as they prepare their third album, Clarione spoke to Piano Blakk during rehearsal of his show on Saturday 18 June at the Vorterix Theater (AllAccess tickets), New Year’s Eve in his native Buenos Aires.

-How does it feel to finish the tour in Buenos Aires after a tour abroad?

-After shooting in both Mexico and Chile, it makes a lot of sense for us to end the tour in Buenos Aires. It’s the tour of homeour second album and Buenos Aires is our home, apart from the fact that several members of the band don’t live in the country.

It is very special to close here, where we did the first shows of this tour in Cordoba and then at the Broadway Theater, which was our first big local date.

Then Mexico and Chile arrived, and we decided to close this stage in Buenos Aires so that each of us would then return to our respective cities, Barbie in Germany, Marian in Mexico and me who are between Barcelona and Buenos Aires. Aires. The tour will later continue on another stop through Spain and the United States.

-The combination of indie rock-pop with Japanese anime aesthetic might seem like a strange combination at first glance. Why do you think this mix worked so well in the Siamese proposition?

Because it is part of who we are. Especially Stolt, who is our singer and designer, a big fan of Japanese anime. I’m also a huge fan of Miyasaki and everything he has to do with indie rock and indie pop, from the fact that we’re an independent band. We are our own label looking for the sound of the indie movement of the 2000s.

It is also not that unique, because there are bands like Gorillaz and others who have incorporated anime into their clips, but in this case it worked because we felt it. It wasn’t something driven by success or formula, but it’s in our DNA.

-You have a product that is very attentive to both aesthetics and sound. Are the artistic movements of the group to be planned a lot?

-Yup. We plan where to go, in each song, in each video or even in the live proposal. There is nothing to leave to chance. We are very detailed, this is one of our identifications. Sometimes this gets a little boring, as is the case with The wolf, that we spent a year before finding the right chorus, what we were looking for, the one that represented everything the song told us. We are like that also with regard to aesthetics, graphics.

We are not a band that leaves the first thing that comes out: we take advantage of that first impulse to continue working on it and achieve the result that leaves us really satisfied.

Tour of Mexico

-They went on a successful tour of Mexico where they sold out at the Indie Rocks forum. How would you define your relationship with the Mexican public?

-The first show we did in Mexico was at the Indie Rocks forum in 2020, which to our surprise sold out. There was a lot of public from Mexico who wrote to us and asked us to go. So on the first US tour we added this show and it was unforgettable. The relationship with the public is probably the strongest we have today. We feel very supported and after the shows we stay talking and taking pictures with people.

The last time we played it was at the Lunario, which is like the B side of the National Auditorium, an absolutely emblematic place. We ran away again. We have added dates in other cities and in Guadalajara we have also sold out. We feel adopted by the Mexican public. The relationship is totally intrinsic, as if the Siamese were a Mexican group.

Towards the third album

-The third album is often what defines a project, what expectations do you have with your next album?

-We also think that the third album is very important in the career of the bands. This is where the message ends. This album that we are finishing, of which we have released three singles – we will release more during the year – will be released when we are very happy with it.

Expectations have to do with continuing to grow. When we released the first one it was more a personal desire of Stoltz and me, a desire to make music that represented us, that we liked.

Then came the boom, the viral explosion on platforms, so for the second album we had more responsibility. We already knew that there were many attentive people, we had to double the bet. Raise the bar on sound, composition and lyrics, because being Argentinian we always focus on making the lyrics well crafted. Things we evolve into in this third album, which is part of a trilogy along with the first and second.

-How is the compositional process of the next album?

-It’s pretty much the same as the second album. The first was something we did more for ourselves without knowing how far we could go, and the second was with the awareness of the audience we had, thinking about the fandom. So let’s continue with that pressure to improve ourselves, to live up to it.

There are many people for whom music is a salvation, a place where we are safe, where we can feel understood, understood. And this third album has a lot of that. The first was quite long-suffering, it was related to pain and depression – which is why it impressed many people -, in the second we were more positive, he has a more confident approach. In this third we combine a little of all of this.

There are still influences from soul, funk, pop, rock. We try to feed on many styles. We will always stand up for being eclectic.

-I am a band that grew up with a close relationship with the public through social networks and streaming platforms. Could they defy the maxim that all times past were better?

-Undoubtedly we have grown in a very close relationship with the public thanks to these resources. And we don’t think every time passed has been better.

This relationship with people grows as we release new material, more songs, more animated videos. But in reality the relationship with the public becomes closer through live shows. When you put a human face or emotion on those relationships you already have with songs or videos, the relationship grows a lot.

We are very grateful and sensitive, we always stick with people after the shows. It happened in the United States and Mexico: it’s good that they know us and see that we are not just two people who make music locked up.

the next show

-What can the public expect from the show on the 18th at Vorterix?

-You will have the opportunity to see us after the tour of Mexico, Chile and our interior. It will be an opportunity to pog, dance and jump, unlike the Broadway show, where we did another stage show. We felt that people really wanted to get excited. And more now, after the pandemic.

We will present new songs and there is one of Barbie – who contributes three of her songs to the next album – which we really like. We believe they shouldn’t be missing because it will be a very exciting moment, they always are.

It will be a “See you soon” because in the rest of the year there will be no more shows in Buenos Aires, so we will go for that moment of good energy, friendship and music that represents both us and the audience.

INFO: Siamés plays this Saturday 18 June at the Vorterix Theater (tickets via the AllAccess system)

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