665. BENNY BLANCO

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Home of the Save. Your audio is recording. Recording. Do it. Do you like doing it in English or Spanish, by the way? I find English more of a challenge. Because I want to practice my English. Your English is so good. Thank you, man. I appreciate it. Yeah, but sometimes it's hard to explain yourself in other languages really well. Yeah, sense of humor is kind of the thing that you mainly miss when you're in a room. Yeah, and sarcasm. Yeah, sarcasm. Yeah, it's hard. Yeah, it's funny. Yeah, I find that. Some people, they're like a different person in each language. Yeah, you feel like you're stuck in mud. Yeah. Like you know what to express, but you're like slower than you usually are. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, let's start with this podcast, and let's start actually with that team. You're making an album in Spanish called Hermoso. I am. Why the interest? How does it start? Okay, so Mike ran away. Mike ran away, yeah. My Mike. My Mike's here. My Mike's chilling. So when I was a kid, I grew up in an area where there was a lot of different cultures, okay? So, you know, everyone always asked me, they said on my last album with Selena, it was me, Selena, and the Marias. We did a song where I sampled Jeanette and Ojos Tristas. Yeah, yeah, I know that song. And everyone's always like, why, how did you know that song? And it was basically like. When I grew up, you get into your friend's car, their mom's playing that song. You know what I mean? And in America, a lot of Latin music would get really big on the radio in certain places. So like Miami, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and New York. Like that was like, if you were doing either like dance hall or reggaeton, like that's how it got big in America. Like those were like, and in Texas, it got big as well because it was close to Mexico. So growing up, I was exposed to so much of that music. And like, I grew up in an area where there was, yeah, there was like a very big, like Mexican, El Salvadorian population. So basically, it was just like in my blood musically. And even when you look at like a lot of my songs, like you look at my own song, like East Side, like the drums are just a slightly sped up reggaeton rhythm. So it's just. Yeah. Like, so. So I've always, like I always gravitated, because drums was my favorite thing about making music. And I always gravitated towards like the rhythms in Latin music. And there's so many different versions. You know, it's like, you know, a lot of times people think of like reggaeton, but they're not listening to like, you know, like cumbia or like regional Mexican. And it's awesome to listen to all those type of rhythms and be able to put them into sometimes music that's not necessary to bring it into pop music. And I remember I was, it was probably 2017, 18. And one of my favorite producers, a guy named Tiny, and I'm sure you know him. And he's, you know, basically like done so much. He's like probably the biggest Latin producer in the world. And done, you know, every single from Karol G to Bad Bunny. And I always. I always looked up to him as a producer in general. And I had just put out my own music. So I guess it was 2018. And he hit me up. And he was like, hey, I'm thinking about starting an artist project. And we talked about how he would do it. And I gave him advice on it. And he, his first song that he ever released as an artist was with me. So it was me, Selena. And. Jay Balvin and him. And it was called I Can't Get Enough. So we got to make that song. And it was such an honor to work with him. And that was like 2019. And then basically since 2019, I started making Latin music. And I was fortunate enough to have some like pretty big Latin records. And I guess I gravitated so much towards it because I feel like in Latin music, you can put. You can push boundaries a lot more and do things that are a little bit more interesting. And, you know, a lot of my favorite Latin music has like almost like a melancholy feeling to it. But it's still like moving and driving and and there's like a nostalgia. And I, I was really bored recently with like pop music. And. So I was. So I was just making Latin music. Not as an artist, just like on songs. And then, you know, Mike Towers was kind of the first guy who was like, yo, let's do one together as an artist. So then we did that. And then, yeah, I was fortunate enough to work with so many artists and like Natal Vega and like all these people. So I was I was just sitting there and I was like, man, I might as well just make one myself. So I started doing it. And I was like, I wonder who I'll get on it. And I just asked all my friends and it just like felt comfortable and natural. And yeah, how's the how was the composition and the song making process in this project? Because you like I know you very little, but I was watching actually your Sean O'Malley interview early in the morning. And you're like a really intuitive guy, like the way in that specific team that you ask the questions. You you you're up. You're a person driven by intuition. Yeah. What's your approach to song making into this new chapter of your career? I always like to I like to go into things where maybe I'm like an underdog and I like to see challenges and see if I can if I can I can get to the top in something like that. And I've always just admired, you know. All music and always put it into put my spin on it and for me it was cool and it felt comfortable. Sometimes I get nervous around like new people that I don't know, but it felt comfortable and some of the challenges were I guess so like my Spanish is not great and and obviously like being around you could deliver on their pressure being around. I'm not sure if I'm not a good singer. okay crazy yeah so how many 50 53 52 53 years so Jalen Brunson the guy who like brought it home he he said something the other day he said like the game starts at 8 30 but we don't really start till like 9 30 because they're always behind and they've always been the underdog and they win when their backs against the wall and for me I've always felt like I always win when my back's against the wall like you're here right now I have three days to finish my album okay okay I have three more days to finish my whole album I'm not even close to done like I have three days to finish the entire thing but I love that pressure I love I just like I'm not I could have six months to finish it and I won't finish it until the end because I love the feeling I feel like that's when I'm the most creative when I have no choice like I can't have time to overthink you know how sometimes you ever overthink yeah yeah but deadlines help me with that a lot like having a deadline knowing that's what I'm saying that's what I'm saying because I'll over think I'll just fiddle forever and you never finish yeah no I'll never finish unless someone rips it out of my hands like the album is done when the person literally comes in it's four in the morning and it's the last day I can finish and working with Kanye I learned that a lot like we would be finishing an album and he would have no vocals until the day it's due no vocals done just demo until the very last minute so I always I've always loved being under pressure this episode is brought to you by google chrome you think you know a browser but gemini and chrome that's new it can help you with practically anything on the web like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks gemini and chrome is here for it ready to make anything online make sense there's no place like chrome check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18 plus tammy regularly hauls stuff to her kids at college that's why she shops at bj's wholesale club saving up to 25 off grocery store prices beef jerky microwave meals laundry pods even they can't screw up have you met my kids and with bj's gas she gets there for less they call me the road warrior this is your home road warrior mom home of the save join for just 20 at bjs.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months open soon limited time offer new members only bj's home of the save that's crazy because it's like a way to like like taking the like the analogy from sports it's like a way to emulate game time because you know that you have to deliver on that specific date because no other tomorrow no i know that's how i like to live my life yeah every day like there's just like no tomorrow and i love to be you know it's like anything anything can happen at any moment like a friend of mine passed away yesterday like he was like he was an artist that like had such a bright future ahead of him and he died in a helicopter crash you know like so it's like at any moment you're like oh my god i'm gonna die i'm gonna die i'm gonna die i'm gonna die i'm gonna die anything can be taken away from you so i just try to every day just go as hard as i fucking can you know what can you tell me with with all the experience you accumulated about the intuitive part of of a song because you you know you don't only write songs there are songs that connect with hundreds of millions yeah or even billions of people yeah what can you tell me about this intuition that you developed on when a song is good or when a song is bad or yeah yeah okay so i never will go into like i never go into a session trying to like make a hit song like anytime i ever did that in my life like it never works uh i go in and i always know that when you're writing a song the best way is if we feel like we're just hanging out and then all of a sudden six hours later we have the best song that's like the goal so it's like for me i always set it up like chill environment good vibe and and when i make a song once i feel i get this feeling every time it's like a like you just got hit by a car you just kissed someone for the first time like you're about to get hit by like you know when you step in the street and you're like oh and you like step back and you get that feeling or like right when you like kiss someone for the first time or right when like uh uh uh you get you get like butterflies in your stomach so i get that feeling and i know if i get that feeling then at least a few other people will get that feeling and i try to make a song you know everybody will take a song and put their own twist to it like when you hear a song you'll be like oh they were talking to me you know what i mean and you try to put your own life you project yeah you put your own life into the song and it's like you know when we're all kids you're sitting there listening to a song and you stare out the window like you're in the music video and and so i always try to make songs that will resonate with me and sometimes they're really personal but about things that we all go through and i try to make songs that will resonate with me through you know what i'm saying like so i always try to make a song that's true to me in that moment sometimes a happy song sometimes it's a sad song and i think if i can do a song that like pulls that emotion out of me with taking like hits and stuff aside i think it will help other people so like sometimes i make a song because i'm like damn i want to dance like i feel like i need to dance right now sometimes i'm happy and i need to dance sometimes i'm sad and i need to dance so i'll make a song like that or sometimes i'm like damn i just broke up with someone and that sucked so i'm gonna write a song about it and because people are just looking you want to listen to something that's gonna make you feel something yeah that's why we listen that's why we keep listening to songs because they make us feel something because they make you feel happy sad content that revenge song like like i know i know when um you know like big sean put out that song that's like i don't with you you little stupid like and i know like everyone listens to that song and they have a person they're like know exactly what they're talking to so it's like if i can give you that feeling that you need when you're listening to music then my job's done because that's what i'm looking for and do you think that the the best way uh for you to create that feeling is to create uh an environment where the recording process feels like yeah yeah that happened because it's it's interesting that like you can't control the the distribution of a song and how big it will go but you can control your everyday life and if you make your everyday life enjoyable yeah that process of recording the song even though it's not a big hit it was worth your time because you had a great experience of course sometimes i go in the studio with someone and we don't do anything like i went in the studio with like phineas yeah okay i went in with phineas like maybe six times before we ever even made a song we just would go in and talk and then that would be over and we did nothing and then sometimes you go in and it just comes sometimes like i've worked with okay like take phineas for example we were in the studio we made a whole song okay end of the day song's over and i'm like ah i'm like yo phineas i don't want to make like an up-tempo song i want to make one of those ballads like can we make a ballad and he's like i gotta go and then we started talking for a second and then we sit down at the wurlitzer and within 45 minutes you know we wrote lonely justin bieber like and we started talking for a second and it's like those moments just happen sometimes sometimes you come up with the idea like teenage dream for example okay i was traveling i drove across the country i get to la i'm exhausted i go in the studio they're like we want you to come in we finished the album so by the time i get there they said the album's already done okay so i'm like so they play me two songs they play me a song called the one that got away and a song called and so i go into the lounge and start making beats and people start coming in start laying some melodies and then we have like a little bit of a demo and then all of a sudden the first two beats and two demos we made were california girls and teenage dream okay then we listened to them we were like oh they're cool we went to bed we came back the next day we're like damn teenage dream is crazy so we start writing that song and the lyrics took seven days okay we rewrote the song like seven times okay but we knew it had something in it and finally after seven days then we worked on it for like another 10 days We worked on that song for like 20, 30 days. So sometimes it takes an hour. Sometimes it takes 30 days, you know? So you never know, and you just got to chase the feeling when you have that feeling, you know? And how do you professionalize that? Like, do you right now have like a volume of published work? Yeah. Or how does it work, like writing for other artists? Oh, yeah. Sometimes it's so much. Okay, so take Animals by Maroon 5. We started that demo eight years before it came out for B.O.B., the rapper. Like, that was like an idea that they, like, you never know what's going to happen. Or like Dynamite by Teo Cruz. I was waiting for Flo Rida to come to a session, and I came up with that idea after the gym. I heard it and recorded it on my cell phone, came up with the, the beat of that idea. So you, like, never know what's going to happen. And you don't, I feel like you just always have to be open to, to the creative process. Like, sometimes I'll have a song that's, you know, Cold Water, for example, by Major Lazer, okay? And Justin Bieber. We, I started that song with Ed, and it was 30 BPM. It was 30 BPM slower, okay? And it was just like a singer-songwriter song, and it was like slow. And then I was with Diplo, and he was just like, yo, do you have anything? And I played him that one, and then we sped it up like 40 BPM. It was like so much faster. And then the song came to life. So it's like you never know what's going to happen with an idea. So I keep every idea always in my head. I remember all of them, and you'll come back to them. Like, my friend just sent me an idea, literally this morning. I was listening to it on the way here. Or yesterday. Yesterday. I was listening to it in the morning on the way to the studio yesterday. And it's an idea we had from like five years ago. And he dug it up, and he said, I think this idea could be sick now. And he started like a new little beat to it, and it fully had a new identity, you know? Yeah. So like a great song. Rick Rubin once told me something. He said, if you have a hit song, it can be played. Or he didn't say a hit song. He said, if you have a great song, it can be played on any instrument in any time period with any beat, and it's still going to be a great song. So if you know you have a great song, you just keep it there. And then when it's the right time, it will present itself. Yeah, there is something about music that eventually becomes like a classic or a hit. Yeah. That transcends time. Of course. It's relevant. What do you think, or where do you think it lies, that element? Like it talks to the human nature? I never know. If anyone told, like if you asked me, if you asked me in 2007 or 2008 when I was making TikTok with Kesha, if you were like, that song's going to stand the test of time, I would have, you know, we said drinking a bottle of Jack like in the morning. Brushing our teeth, you know what I mean? Like you, you, you never know. You don't know. I don't know what song's going to stand the test of time. I wish I did. I wish I knew, you know, I make music all the time. I'd say 5% of what I do in a year is something you'll ever hear. Like I have so many songs that you'll never hear. So it's like, I wish God was like, like March 3rd. And I was like, what? And they were like, March 3rd's the only day where you're going to make a good song this year. Because that's really what happens. I don't make a good song every, like people think you like make a good song every day. Like it's so hard. It's hard. It's hard to make a good song every day. It's impossible. And how does the, like, how do you find all projects? What's your, like your indexing structure? How do you revisit like something you made eight years ago? I try to, I remember, most of them, like, I'll remember the idea. But occasionally I'll open something up and I'll be like, damn. That was good. I forgot. Yeah, it was funny. I was, I was actually talking to Phineas the other day. I was cleaning out my old hard drives. And him and Billy came over and worked at my studio when she was like 15, maybe. And we were like, I was just recording them and we were coming up with like demos and they had played me something they were working on that we didn't, that we like worked on for a second, but then it just like didn't happen. And it was the beginning idea of Haley's Comet, which was on her second album, which was so many years later. So it's like they, and I, I, I texted him and I was like, dude, I just found this demo. And he's like, cause you have little bits and pieces of ideas that you'll just kick around like the indexing. And it's kind of eat, like if you write songs, you always have like little things you come back to and like, and you'll always find yourself playing them. And like, if, if I keep coming back to it, I know it's something good. So I like have it. I don't have like a great indexing system. Like it's kind of like a mess, but I know where everything is kind of in my own way and in my own head. So like, I'll come back to it. Sometimes you forget though. You'll be like, damn, this shit is hot. This is hot as fuck. And then like, sometimes I sample myself and like turn it into a new thing and like flip it up and flip it around and change it all up. Yeah. Especially with audio that it's, it's, it's more difficult to index. You need to remember like maybe a vibe or a, or in, in, in how many studios do you usually work? Mostly at my, my home studio. I just thought of an idea right when you were here. I swear to God, right when you were here. You want to record? No, I'm finishing. I'm finishing my album and I was trying to figure out the outro of the album, but then I just thought, I was like, oh my God, we did this other song. And I was like, maybe if I slow it down and stretch it out, it could fit at the end of this song. Yeah. That's interesting because the creative process mainly, well, that's my opinion, but it's a lot of like good ideas don't come, they like interrupt. Like when you're in the middle of watching a series or having a conversation, like the gatekeeper of your. Of your thoughts. Of your thoughts, it's like distracted and, and an Eureka moment pops up. It literally, I literally just thought of it right now. I'm literally going to try it right when, right when you leave. And it's the, yeah, it's the craziest thing. Like I can't tell you how many songs have come to me when I'm like in the shower, like taking a shit or something. Like it always happens at the time you don't want it. Or sometimes I'll be with a person. Okay. They're telling me like a crazy story. It's like really emotional and sad. And they say something and I'm like, and I'm like writing a lyric down that someone said. So many times in my life, I've come up with like amazing lyrics for ideas, like for songs by something that someone says, like, and I'll just have to be like, cause I don't want to interrupt them and I feel bad. But sometimes it just, yeah, it hits. Or like, it'll be like the middle of the night and like say I'm sleeping next to Selena and I'll have to like move over and I'll make a voice note and I'll be like, okay, four minutes. We're going to, the beat, the beat's going to be like, and I'll be like, okay. And then the baseline is going to be like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And then like half the time though, you listen back and it's like, and you have no idea what the fuck it is. But it's such an important part of the creative process, having the ability to actually document and encapsulate inspiration because then it fades away. I know. It's really difficult to remember because you can write an idea, but you need to be descriptive enough to remember how you feel when you, when that idea haunted you. So many times I've lost it. Like I've, I can't imagine how many songs I've lost. Like just like ideas or, you know, and a lot of places bring it out of you too. Like when I'm on vacation, it always hits me. Like it always, it always hits me when I'm like on like a boat. And you want to go back to the studio to work. I know. I know. I know. Yeah. It's crazy. It always happens at the weirdest times. And I can't, people will always say like, oh, like how do you make a hit? Like all the time. And I'll be like, bro, I have no idea if I knew how I could make a hit, I wouldn't be tortured all the time by like songs and melodies and shit just in my head all the time. Like sometimes it's hard to listen to music. Cause I'm thinking about like how this. Yeah. How they make, like sometimes it's hard to listen to like songs of other people because I'm like dissecting it so much that it's hard for me to shut off that part of my brain. Like most people can just like listen to music and they're not thinking about it. They're just thinking about the song. I'm thinking, I'm like, why'd they not go back to that part? Or I'm like, why'd they put the, bring the drums in there? Or like, why'd they do, you know? And then sometimes I listen to a song and I'm like, damn, I'm jealous. Yeah. When someone puts out a new project, like there's a few artists where i like always listen to it and get so inspired like there's probably like five or six artists that are really popular that like do that for me like anytime i know they're putting out a project i gotta listen to it like in its entirety you know does that only happen with music that you can that you're like too obsessed with details or also with movies or other art forms yeah movies uh movies it happens a lot uh because i like direct i like i edit and direct a lot of like my like music videos and content and stuff like that and and i and i write stuff so it's it's yeah i see it in movies not as not as much though music is definitely the number one like i can enjoy movies very easily like it's not i don't know enough about movies but like yeah and then once you see what goes on you're like oh my god i'm like oh my god i'm like oh my god i'm like oh my into it you realize how hard it is like when i'm like damn they work they must have worked so hard on this song or like you know i do like i act sometimes in like tv shows and so i'll see i'll be like oh my god that scene must have been so hard to record and like getting to see selena like go through you know because she's like an actor on like the highest level so like getting to see her like make a movie and and see everything that goes into it like it's so many days waking up in the morning having to memorize so much like it's most people just go and they're just enjoying it they're not thinking about all the other stuff behind it but i can slip away it happens and i love when it happens yeah yeah it's and it's like that's a a reflection that your mind is really into music all the time because when you're when you when you're so deep into something you develop a sensibility and it's so hard to turn it off yeah yeah like when you're watching like a podcast are you like why did they do that why did they set up the camera when i was watching your show i was how did how did they do that like oh oh you liked it yeah it was it was like a really bizarre uh format yeah we we tried to really change oh man i'm so i love the camera angles you were sitting down in the counter yeah that was really really good oh i'm so glad like because yeah i wanted to do something different that that um that was like because i like there's 10 times but i can already tell you're 10 times better interviewing people than we are but i was like what can i do that brings like the sensibility where you feel like we're just like chilling with people yeah and and with like all the camera angles and stuff it's very hard to edit but yeah your money was telling me about it but i like being the underdog because that's another thing like in like podcasts i never did it before and i'm still learning and we fuck up all the time like so dumb we interrupt everyone like we're like just learning how to make it all work you know yeah but but it's it's also a big part of it is enjoying the moment of the process that you're living right now like i i like also the the being in this underdog position and i and i like learning new things that i suck at it because i enjoy being bad at something and then getting better every day yeah there's something really satisfying about about that yeah yeah of course so yeah enjoying every step of the process i think it's a it's a key element uh what what was a challenge in this new album that you didn't anticipate it this episode is brought to you by google chrome you think you know a browser but gemini and chrome that's new it can help you with practically anything on the web like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50 page restoration blog or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks gemini and chrome is here for it ready to make anything online make sense there's no place like chrome check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18 plus tammy regularly hauls stuff to her kids at college that's why she shops at bj's wholesale club saving up to 25 off grocery store prices beef jerky microwave meals laundry pods even they can't screw up have you met my kids and with bj's gas she gets there for less they call me the road warrior this is your home road warrior mom home of the save join for just 20 at bjs.com and save 10 cents per gallon for six months open soon limited time offer new members only bj's home of the save um okay so about four days ago so we had a song like kind of done um uh with the maria's okay and about four days ago maria was like this song feels too happy and she changed all the chords okay so now we're back to just like a guitar with brand new chords and i have three days to finish it so i have the challenge and there's elements that i like about the other one but there's but she was right she was right so i have to find a way to kind of put the two ideas together and stuff like that happens a lot at the end like um we did that with a natan song we completely changed all the music and i recorded like a full live band and and last minute and it's awesome i love it and i love those challenges and then they were right both of the times they were right and sometimes you do it all and it and it's not right yeah um another challenge uh working on this so far is okay so uh we had this song with uh bb tricks and we did a music video and the end of the music video has this like insane moment that happens and the day we were recording the music video i was like okay so basically at the end of the music video she gets shot by like a million fireworks at her body all over it's like very dangerous okay and we were practicing and i was like fuck i don't like the music over that part i want it to be like brand new music that feels like aggressive and intense so that day we were shooting i was like okay we gotta take out all the music like mute all the music and have her just jump to no music and i'm gonna rebuild to change the music later blue later so we did that and then we had to rebuild the music to her jumps and change the tempo and when things happen so that was really hard and we're still working on it but it's finally starting to sound good but those creative things that happen to you have to try them and that one happened to work there's been so many that haven't worked where we try it and we're like oh let's go back but i love those challenges when when people push you when everyone's pushing to make the greatest possible thing they're not just you could settle for anything like maria could have been like yeah we'll keep it the happy way but she was right and i had that feeling too but i had never expressed it but because it wasn't fully in the front of my mind but i'm not afraid i'm not afraid for someone to say like no that i this idea is better no matter who it is no matter if it's like a person on the street a an assistant in a studio if it's the best idea it's the best idea like i had a song one time um called ass back home with gym class heroes okay and it was it was a big song in america and we couldn't figure out the end of the song okay the end of the chorus we had everything except the tagline okay and my friend that isn't a song writer producer anything he's like my friend's manager and i've known him since i was 12 years old i was like fuck we can't figure this out and i was drinking uh like a tea in the in the kitchen of my old like loft in in new york and i'm like we can't figure this shit out and then he was like what have you said ass back home and i'm like and then we did it the song came out and now he's like a writer on like a big ass song and he never wrote another song ever in his career and he got like a got money and but it was his idea he came up with the idea if that happens like bro i had a song a long ass time ago my manager in there he's not a professional musician at all i he had a good idea he played guitar on the song you know like he played guitar yeah i don't give a fuck who it is like like if someone comes up with a good idea they come up with a good idea i don't care i don't care like some people they're like well that's not a song they're not professional i don't give a fuck you come up with a great idea you're on the song baby and and how's that like the element of maybe persuading you it's a good idea like the storytelling aspect of of why that creative choice choice was made is it important to you or it's just like you said something that resonated with you yes okay it's all about the feeling and what resonates with you and it's like yeah i've had an entire song written and then someone says something and it makes you completely switch it up and you make a brand new idea for something and it's it's it's you can't be so rigid a lot of times when people get in the studio they're so rigid it's like we're coming in we're writing the song it's not like that sometimes you may write no songs and then the last day you write the best song sometimes you don't even know you wrote the best song i've written so many songs and just thought they were okay and it took somebody else saying they were great to give me the courage to like work on it more put it out that rigidness at the beginning was was it there is it is it something that you eventually lose no you i was never rigid yeah because i didn't i worked hard work really hard but i wasn't i'm not classically trained i'm not very good at playing any instrument i'm not incredibly i'm not a good singer i'm not incredibly good at lyrics i just like have ideas and sometimes they're good a lot of times they suck a lot of times my ideas are so bad yeah like they're really bad but i'm not embarrassed to say them and if you have a good room where you shouldn't be like you shouldn't be embarrassed to say any if you're in a room if you're creative out there and you're listening to this thing and you're in a room where you can't say your idea because someone's going to make fun of you that's not get in a different room yeah you know yeah because even a bad idea is useful by contrast yeah and it can lead to a good one okay we don't want to do that it's useful like you're giving information about what you want and what you don't want exactly in in that in that search and does the relationship with the song changes when you interpret the song? When you're like the artist singing the song? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It changes. I definitely think about songs a little differently. Like, because when I'm writing a song, for someone else it can be about anything. But, you know, with me. Do you always write with a face in mind or with an artist in mind? Not always. But a lot of times, a lot of times. And a lot of times I'm writing with the artist. Back in the day, we wrote songs and then we pitched them to people. But now. That's how you start, right? Yes, yes. But now, usually, I'm writing with the artist. Like, if I'm writing a song with SZA, I'm not going, all right, SZA, here's the song. Like, it's like, she's incredible. I'm just like sitting there like, glad to be in the room, you know? So, and sometimes I'll come in with an idea for a song. And I'll say, oh, maybe the song should be about this. And then maybe that is what it's about. Maybe sometimes it leads us to the next idea of where we should go and what we should do. But, you know, you can't really have expectations when you come in. Like, when you're writing the song. Like, finishing? I have expectations. I have to finish this album in three days. But when you're writing the song and you're doing the real creative stuff, I don't think it's good to come in with all these expectations of what you want a song to be and what, because you never know. Like, a lot of times I'll come in with what I think the artist wants. I'll like make a lot of beats that sound like the artist. And they're like, I don't feel like making that. I want to make something like this. And I'm like, oh. And then we have to start from scratch anyway. So now it's like, I try not to anticipate anything. I try to just go in with an open mind. How does this play into with the deadline? Of the career, like, how do you make those two things work? Usually the writing process, I'm a lot more laid back. And the finishing process is when, like, it's a little bit more rigid. Like, I know I have, you know, eight or nine songs on this album. I know that I have to finish them by these three days. So it's like, so I'm still going to be really creative, but I'm aware of the deadline. And it doesn't stunt my creativity, but it helps. It helps me find it quickly when I need to. Like, 'cause the songs are written, all my songs are written. Now I'm just finishing the production on them. 'Cause I always leave them a little unfinished till the end. So that every song has like the same vibe, you know? So it's cohesive. So, so you commit into a deadline when you already have. When I have the songs. Yeah. Yeah. So like I have all the songs. They're all like the songwriting is finished and the vocals are done. So except for, uh, two songs. Yeah. Two songs. There's still some vocals that we're doing. Like, it's like, we're getting one, like literally. Okay. So, um, I have a song with Mota on it and he has to record another part of the song and he was supposed to send it yesterday, but bad bunny is doing his show and one of their computers went down, so Mota had to bring his computer so they could use his computer for the show, uh, for the show that he was performing at. So he was like, I can't record the vocals today. So he's recording it tonight. And then basically I have tomorrow to finish the song. I haven't even heard the new vocal part that he did because he changed it. He was like, ah, I don't like it. I think I could do a different type. I could write a quick new one. So there's like a new part. I haven't even heard yet that we have to fit into the song and finish in one day. That's crazy. But you enjoy, like you drive under pressure. Yes. But I'm trying also not to think about it cause I'm scared. Yeah. Yeah. But, but it's, it makes it exciting. Yeah. It's exciting. I have no, no, you told me a couple of minutes ago or a couple of, yeah, that, that you were, that you were kind of getting bored of doing the same thing. Yes. This keeps it fresh. This keeps it like fresh, right? Yeah. Yeah. I'm scared. I'm scared right now, but in a good way. I'm scared if I'll finish it, but I know I will, but I'm scared. I won't. Yeah. And I like that pressure. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's. It's, it makes you feel alive, right? Yes. Like I'm thinking right now, well, you're here. I'm like, fuck. Okay. What am I going to do today? I'm like, which things am I going to finish today? Cause I, I have to, you know, I'll put up a whiteboard today and I'll have all the songs and all the things I need to do. And then I just start crossing them off and I get down the list and it's like, yeah, I got to finish it. I'm like so nervous to finish it, but in a good way. And, and the, the, like the creative. Uh, intuitive, like, like the creative, uh, or the final cut of, of projects, is it something that is really important for you to have? Yes. Yes. I do everything down. I mix the records. I like, I'm so into the track list, making it flow together. Um, and I wait until the end for all of it. Cause, cause I don't know what it's going to be till I finished the songs. I don't know the order of them. And then once I find the order. I try to figure out like as the listener, like, how do I want, cause I like listening to albums. Yeah. So it's like, how do I want it to like, you know, you said you've interviewed Billie Eilish. Like I love the way her albums flow. You kind of like, don't know when one song starting and ending. And I try to do that with mine. So I have to, I have to have the songs kind of done ish to know the order. Like I just figured out the track list. Sometimes I switch around a little bit. Cause when you finish it, it feels a little different, but I have the track listing. So now I have to start working on them to try to make them cohesive. Yeah. Yeah. To find them. The narrative between songs. Exactly. Cause you can't have a song like this song doesn't go right coming after that. And like some songs are chill. So you're like, fuck that song is too chill to come after this. Cause like where you hear a song and an album can give you such a different feeling. Like you might be like, if you hear it after this crazy fast song, you might be like, Whoa, this song is like slow. But if you hear it at the right time, it gives you the right context. You know? Yeah. I, I, I'm also a big, a full album listener and I appreciate those, those kinds of transition. Do you think that that whole album experience went away for, for a while? Yeah. I think some people just listen to singles and stuff and that's okay too. And they don't want to take in the whole album. But I like, I love. Like, there's nothing better than being on like vacation and taking in like, like I'm going to be like in the South of France, like I'm going to be listening to like Stevie Wonder and it's like nothing like taking it. Like I still remember where I was. I was in like the Hills of Italy when Frank Ocean's blonde came out and me and my whole family listened to it all the way through her drive and through listen twice in a row. And we were all crying and my mom didn't even know who Frank Ocean was. And it's like to be able to experience an album in a place at a certain time in your life. You'll never forget that the first time you listen to something. Yeah. And that's what's crazy about music. Like you can't control the context that you're going to be listened to. Exactly. Because you may write a song that means something to you, but somebody in someplace of the world listens to it in a specific context that amplifies the meaning. Of course. And it's, and it's something that you can control as an artist. Oh my God. Like people think songs I have are about different things that they're not even about. But it's like, I don't ever talk about my stuff after, but it's so funny that like, it's cool. Like it'll resonate with people and they'll think it's about something and I'm like, that's cool. Like, that's not what I meant, but that's cool. Do you enjoy visiting like your previous works and analyzing what, what you meant and what event and how it aged or? Sometimes I get embarrassed. Like if they play my music and I'm outside. And it's like, I get embarrassed, like if, yeah, if like, I don't know, or like, yeah, me feel weird sometimes but i do enjoy some sometimes i'll hear a song that i made like years later and i listen to it and i'm like whoa it's interesting to see the decision you made like i'm like oh i use like those hi-hats did you forget and you change of course you change and you forgot that that was the bad that you took in that oh my god of your life i've been in restaurants and heard something and been like oh and shazammed it and then it's my own song i've been like oh i like this and i shazam it and i'm like oh shit i made that song yeah like well because i've been doing songs for like 20 some years so it's like all like an old song you know some of the songs i made are like 20 years old you know so this episode is brought to you by google chrome you think you know a browser but gemini and chrome that's it that's new it can help you with practically anything on the web like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50 page restoration block or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks gemini and chrome is here for it ready to make anything online make sense there's no place like chrome check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18 plus hank joined bj's wholesale club the day he became a father of 30 i coach football now coach hank saves up to 25 off grocery store prices 30 pounds of pasta three cases of protein bars 75 sports drinks and that's just pre-game he knows teamwork and bj's knows savings this is your home coach home of the save join for just 20 at bjs.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months open soon limited time offer new members only bj's home of the save it's crazy how do you choose new projects right now like what drives your decision in that aspect it's gotta move me it's gotta move you i don't care if it's a big artist small artist like i remember i remember um like bb tricks when she put out her first songs i was like this shit is fucking crazy i gotta work with her you know and she wasn't a big artist or anything and then like you know yeah like like the maria's like i i i listened to them since 2018 and it's like now they're getting so big but it's like right when i first heard them i was like i have to work with them they have like such an interesting sound and and i love i don't know i just i'm i'm i like working with big artists too but i like working with new artists like my whole the whole beginning of my career was working with brand new artists and and then i got obviously i was fortunate enough to work with you know people like rihanna and stuff and eminem and like that's so cool that's great and like those are people that i like looked up to you know i'm just like a fan of music so if i'm sitting in the room recording and like the weekend or someone is singing i'm still like oh shit like it's like you know that's why i think i can make good songs because i'm a fan just like you guys are you know like i'm i'm just like oh shit you know when i hear sZA say like a line in a song i'm like fuck that shit's crazy you know like i remember sZA sent me um when she made the demo for kill bill she sent it to me she was like uh i just made this while i was waiting for someone to come to the studio like uh what do you think about this and i was like i got to listen to it and i was like oh my god this is so cool it's the best song you got to put this out you know so it's i love still being in that position of feeling like a little kid because that's that's why i make music because it gives me that feeling and it's like i i didn't even know you could make money from music when i first started making music i was just a kid i loved it so it's still that kid when i'm in the studio and i'm still pinching myself every day that this is like what i get to do yeah it's interesting that you say that because i i really believe that creativity is like a connection you make with your inner child like you have a monologue conversation throughout your life and and if you continue to pursue that conversation and you grow up you eventually manifested in in in new ideas uh and in and in that sense i i i'm like i i agree with you you need to to to continue to pursue things with emotion and innocence like if you were a child because that's i think that's the purest approach you can do or you can you you can use to to make new stuff or art in general how how do you protect like that inner innocent creative voice from all the other distractions like or not even not even distractions but all all the other things that surround the industry like awards recognition fame how do you protect that that approach at this level i think i try to sometimes like you know i'll talk to a lot of my friends where we'll go back and listen to our old songs and we're like damn it was so good when i didn't know i didn't know that like a song is supposed to start like this and end like this and it was just that blind creativity and it's uh you never get that back like there's some things where i just didn't know and i was like why did i make that chorus so long or why did i make this verse so short and but what i try to do is i try not to get caught up in that shit like i don't care yeah i don't care about awards i don't care like obviously i obviously it's cool if your stuff's big and people love it but at the end of the day i'm making music for me so i make it for me and what i like and what my inner child likes so sometimes that stuff's in the back of your mind but i try to let like like all the recognition this stuff but i try to let that inner child be a louder voice like i try i try sometimes sometimes sometimes you fail i try not i try not to i try not to yeah yeah that that's what you like everybody tries to to be that person they want to be but we're all still human yes uh yeah but but it's it's it's interesting the the way it works uh is there any song that you're particularly particularly excited about this album like coming out how do you how do you view the spanish-speaking market like in i'm excited about all of them because each one is so different um you know because i'm not you know there's so many artists on the project i can bounce between a bunch of genres so it's really fun to be able to you know have like a cumbia song like sandwiched in between like a reggaeton song and then like a regional mexican song and then like also to have like so many artists from different places you know and and it's like you know i got i got like bb you know she's from spain and then right after it's like a mike tower song he's from puerto rico and it's really fun to be able to dip my toe into all different genres and you know just because i i just like i i just love making music and i love how like futuristic yet nostalgic latin music can be and how you can put so much feeling into a song and i think in in latin music also i feel like listeners are down to take a journey you know it's like when you listen to like a bonito record like it's like he's taking you from like in one song it can it can be like an electronic song then all of a sudden it's all like live instruments and like that inspires me to be able to have like fluidity and not be so bogged down to one thing and i feel like yeah i feel like in in latin music the listeners are so open to to take a journey you know and and i think they are in pop music too and but but it's just i feel there's like i really like melancholy stuff and stuff that can feel sad and emotional and i feel like latin music really has that it's not like bubble gum you know it's not like like pop like it's hard to explain but yeah it has like a sad undertone yeah do you think life has a sad undertone like we're all gonna die yeah we are all gonna die i think i think it's i think it's beautiful but also sad i think yeah i think there's both at the same time and you can you're allowed to have both yeah and i think you can have one without the other yeah you definitely can because speaking about deadlines we have a deadline we literally have we don't know when it's gonna come but we're gonna die someday of course and that gives you like a sense of urgency to make something happen yeah make sure it happen fall in love with the person you love tell them you love them make the song you want to make quit your job if you don't want to do it you know find something that gives you that passion you know i always urge people to follow their dream you know like my mom didn't get to follow her dream she just did whatever she was told to do And I was talking with her and I was like, why didn't you ever follow your dream? She was like, I was scared. You know, a lot of people are scared or embarrassed to fail, you know. And it's like, I mean, you started this podcast. You weren't scared to fail. Maybe you were, but you did it. You did it and you went through. And I feel like those are when you take those big swings are when you can hit it out of the park. Sometimes it's scary. Sometimes it's like, how am I going to make money to survive? How am I going to do this? How am I going to do that? It's like I didn't come from some family with like a gajillion dollars and tons of connections and stuff. I built my shit from the ground up. You built your shit from the ground up. And it's like it's taking those risks, you know. Yeah, it's taking those risks and believing in yourself and your voice and also learning from your errors. Of course. Like having mistakes, but learning from the mistakes and don't ever make the same mistake twice. And just being in a constant process of improving yourself and learning and learning. Yeah, I feel every day people are always like you make a hit song every day. And I feel every day I fail to get every I feel constantly, but I'm not I'm not afraid of it. I kind of have like amnesia to failure. So like it's like I might fail and then I wake up, erase it off the board. And then I'm like, all right, let's go again. You know? Yeah, I'm reading this. I'm learning to play golf. And I'm reading this book about this. It's like a sports psychologist or a golf coach. And his approach to the game is really interesting because he has like this idea that you should make like a highlight reel of your best moments in the course or in whichever career that you're into. And even though you fail, you know, you're capable of achieving those great moments. So stick to those memories because everybody has mistakes. Everybody loses, like even the best players, the goats of the discipline in training, they get beat up. It's just remembering what what you're capable of trying to be in the best conditions to achieve that. And of course, and it and take the leap of faith. Of course, it's all about your your head. Golf is like one of the biggest sports for that. If your head's not right, you're fucking done. You're done. You're done. You can't get in your own head. So like, I try not to beat myself up about anything like no failures. It's like, OK, it didn't work that time. What did I do wrong? Let me try again. Let me. OK, so people don't want a song like that. But I think they do. But maybe I just the approach was a little wrong. Yeah. How how like speaking to you and learning about your process like you are you are a really important part of all the process. Like if you're sick or if you're feeling under the weather, how do you like do you play injured or how do you. Yeah. Yeah. I have to. I have to. I have to. Right now, I'm so tired. I'm so tired. But. But I have to do it because I know. What I'm capable of. I know I'm capable of making something awesome. So it's like I don't want to deprive myself of that. I don't want to deprive the world of that. And then it's like. But it's about finding that work life balance. You always sometimes you got to work extra hard and then but you always got to replenish yourself. You know, so it's like, OK, right now I'm working really hard. But then I'm about to go on vacation. So it's like. Got to do both of those. Do you find any spiritual value in your work? Like, does that fulfill that element of your life as well? Oh, my God. Yeah. I mean, for me to be doing what I what I'm doing, there's got to be a higher power. Like, I don't even understand how I do it. Like, that's why it's like people. It's so funny. There's all these memes where where they talk about me, where they're like, I say, like, I'm like, we went in and I ate a sandwich. And then all of a sudden we had a hit like people always like make these jokes. And it's like it really is sometimes like that. I don't even know. Sometimes. Like, I don't know. God is just like gave it to me that day and gave let me channel what I was supposed to do. And I definitely believe in spirituality. I believe in karma. I believe in like paying it forward. Like and I believe. And like treating people with like respect and kindness and and all all that goes into your music. Some people, it's funny, like like Ed Sheeran, he's got all these like rituals. So if he starts a song, he has to finish it, even if it's bad. And I'm like, why are we working on this song that's bad? And he said and he's like, if we don't finish it, maybe some of this bad song will get into the next song that's really good. So I'm like, bro, it doesn't work. Like that's the whole make us finish the entire song, even though it's not even though it sucks. It's never coming out. Do you have any like superstitions or things that you're not like that? No, no, I have. No, I have no super because all my songs are so different. Sometimes I'll have a song and then I'll take all the drums out like the day before it comes out, you know, or I'll take the bass out. No, I never have my I have no superstitions. I don't. I don't care where I am. I'll make a song on the laptop. I'll make a song in a studio like some people like have to be in this or I don't give a fuck where I am. You don't have you need to be on your studio. No, I don't give a shit. I've made some of my biggest songs like in a hallway, like just sitting there like I don't care about that. I didn't come up working in studios making like studio sometimes get me nervous. Like I'm just in here because I needed a bigger space because we need to be in multiple rooms like big studios make me nervous. This studio. Happens to be really cool and like there's a lot of history. So like sometimes I like the history and like it's like, oh shit, Jimi Hendrix recorded and you got to make some good shit, you know? And so so how how's your ideal day at work? Like in your home studio right now, you enjoy more studio life than than no, I like regular life, regular life. Yeah, because you can't. You can't come up with a good idea. Unless you're living life like it's so funny like artists will make an album and then go on tour and then they expect them to come back and just like make a new album and then they're like, how can I make a new album? All I've been doing is promoting this. I need I need to live life. I need to get experiences. I need to write down what happened. So it's like to me. It's all about a balance, you know? I want to work hard, but I also want to play hard. Yeah, you know, and I want to chill and I want to just have fun. Yeah, you want you give yourself experiences to write about. Exactly. In your next project, right? Exactly. What are you looking forward in life in the next couple of months, years? Is there any specific project, adventure, trip that you're looking forward to? I kind of just try to. You think you know a browser? But Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50 page restoration block or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18 plus. Beef jerky. Microwave meals, laundry pods, even they can't screw up. Home of the save. Join for just $20 at BJ's dot com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer. New members only. BJ's home of the save. I'll get an idea and then I go with it. And then if that idea works, then I. Go with it more like for me. I always had a little voice. It was like, oh, I wish I could write like a cookbook or something. And then I was presented the opportunity. So I went with it or like. I never thought I was going to act in anything at all. But then my friend was writing a show and I helped him on it. And then he was like, oh, let's do that. So then I did that. You know, I never thought I was going to be an artist again. But then it happened and I'm an artist. So I try to just like. Not have any expectations and be open, be open to the thoughts that come into my head and chase them if I really like them. Do you have any. Any fear or any doubts from how music business and music composition in general is going to change in the in the in the next couple of years? Yeah, I think like I think it's. Definitely changing so much all the time. I've already been through one of the changes like the streaming era didn't exist when I started and now it's now it's so big and I kind of just I'm always floating along with what happens and I'll adjust and. But I'm also OK with not knowing and working with people who are younger and better than me and just like learning from the new wave, you know, like I love working with young, talented people like I'm not. I don't know everything at all, you know? yeah is there any experience like in the in the last year or or or so that has changed your way of approaching your work or your life yeah like working with someone like bb tricks is such a perfect example she's so young and like she goes in there and she comes in with like her friends and then like all her friends are kind of writing the song with her and she's like chilling it's kind of just a party and we're like just have a microphone we're not even in a booth or anything and then all of a sudden like the song's done and it's like she has such a good fresh approach that like i've definitely been like using her approach of how she does it and it just feels like she doesn't give a fuck yeah and like in a cool way but she really does care but she like doesn't at the same time and it's i i try to take little things and bits and pieces from people that i work with and i definitely found like the experience of working with her so fun yeah so you have like a toolbox and you apply certain ways of of collaborating with others depending on their personality or yeah yeah yeah on yeah yeah i have a little toolbox and i open up and then i have certain things that i always go to well uh ben it's been a pleasure talking to you uh good luck on your on your release on your album uh i know you have a lot of work to do so i will leave you to continue working on on the project and we invite the people who are watching or listening to a podcast to listen to hermoso oh my god you're the best this was amazing this is like one of my favorite podcasts i've ever done brother nice to meet you i appreciate you you're so good man especially in in the conditions that you're right now you're with a release in in in sight what do you mean you just you you gave me the idea i might you literally use the idea i wouldn't have had that idea if i didn't do this interview and i think that's probably how the song is going to end now no i'm glad i'm glad an idea of this podcast and i appreciate your time thank you uh to the people of this studio for hosting us thank you good luck on your on your next album and i hope we could talk uh later let's do it my g thank you so much gracias do you hear that that sound right that means that summer's officially here it means that grown adults just sprint into the street for a frozen dessert shaped like a cartoon but this summer mint mobile has a better tree every plan including unlimited is fifteen dollars a month and unlike a ice cream it won't uh drip down your wrist or look nothing like the picture does anyone have any cash give it a try at mintmobile.com switch upfront payment of forty five dollars for three months ninety dollars for six months or one hundred and eighty dollars for 12 month plan required fifteen dollars per month equivalent taxes and fees extra new customer offer for initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy see terms still wearing those old cargo shorts if your wardrobe's due for an upgrade but you don't know where to start you need stitch fix your stylist learns your size your style and your budget then sends a box pick just for you they always nail the fit no store no hassle no subscription required get started today at stitchfix.com that's stitchfix.com