Today we’d like to introduce you to Luis Aguilar.
Hi Luis, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Vaya Futuro started in Tijuana playing small venues and pretty much jamming and trying to sound like bands we admire, specially the 90’s shoegaze and noise rock scenes. The first record came out in 2014 after we were supposed to split up. A friend of ours was studying sound engineering in San Diego and our record was his final project in order to graduate. After that, the band started to gain unexpected new life, after all, the “shoegaze revival” wasn’t a big thing yet, especially for a Mexican band. After that the band started to get more serious and between recording and producing other Tijuana bands, we started to record our second album “Perro Verde y Triste” with a much bigger range of styles. The album was released in 2015 with the band now relocated in Mexico City. This same year we won a contest to travel and record to Iceland. We recorder two songs the first one being Congelar produced by Justin Douglas who would produce our third record two years later. The second song was produced by Ben H. Allen (Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley, Christina Aguilera).
On 2016, we played some festivals outside of the continent like the Liverpool Psyche Fest, and some festivals in the US like LAMC and Ruido Fest. In 2017, we recorder our third record “Tips Para Ir De Viaje” with a more optimistic approach. It was released after the earthquakes of September 19 which we think affected the release. In 2018, we played Vive Latino and other festivals. But the band started to get stale and some tension started between members.
So, by the beginning of 2019 the band almost splits just a few days before starting the recording of our latest record “El Peso Del Mundo”. That ultimately didn’t happen and we started the recording process. We knew this record was going to be the most ambitious and difficult to get right, so we decided to re-build the home studio where we recorded our first two albums and just record every day for a whole month. We started experimenting with modular synths and stuff like that, and we left with just drums, bass and synths. Then we recorder orquestal arrangements and vocals in Mexico City. The result, we think, is our most honest work to date..
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Not really, while still living in Tijuana we never felt 100% accepted. Tijuana is a rough but very formative city. After that, we really struggled in Mexico City, at first three of us lived in a hotel room for nine months, barely eating and stuff like that. Missing our family and pets haha. But we knew we were doing this together and started to be closer than ever. And just before recording the last record each member was REALLY struggling on a personal level. Also, I’ve been having some health issues that stopped me from exercising which resulted in me getting more depressed. We’ve lost members along the way too. But we are strong and healthy now. Healthy in a literal way haha we cut off much of the alcohol and replaced it for a healthier lifestyle. The thing is, we released our record in the middle of a global pandemic, so, there’s that HAHA.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m Luis Aguilar (singer, guitarist, songwriter of Vaya Futuro). I think we try to incorporate very different styles in the same band, and in a very emotionally honest way. For example, in songs like “Talión” i talk about very personal stuff, like my father being kidnapped in 2008, and sexual abuse and just really dark things. It’s really hard sometimes to put yourself out there like that but we try to do it anyways. And those are the type of songs I’m more proud about. Like “Las Muertas” which talks about the women getting murdered in Mexico and Latin-American. Or even songs like “+&+” or “Sosiego” that are more melancholic and following this “dream logic”.
What makes you happy?
Dogs, because they’re so pure. Also cats. And spending time with my family and mi girlfriend. And writing new material is so exciting.
Pricing:
- You can buy our latest record on vinyl on BANDCAMP ($17)
Contact Info:
- Email: vayafuturocontacto@gmail.com
- Website: instagram.com/vaya_futuro
- Youtube: Youtube.com/vayafuturobanda
Image Credits
Cynthia Blanco, Miguel Ahuage.
