What are your names?
Derek and Fabian Silva
Give us a little bio about you as a band and as individuals.
Mantra Love started as a recording project for me (Derek) but soon after my brother (Fabian) began writing with me. Naturally, we decided to team up and we have friends of ours play live to help us bring the recordings to life.
How did you meet each other?
It’s a very fuzzy memory… Probably because we were babies.
What is the message behind Strawberry Milk?
The simplest way to put it is that most times our own personal insecurities and negative feelings are usually projected onto others.
What was the writing process like?
Fabian actually showed me the beginning chord progression. I instantly thought it was pleasing to the ears so I just took those first four chords and built on it. The rest came about pretty quickly after that. I demo’d it out in my room and soon after we re-recorded it.
What was the recording process like?
Recording was chill because we do it ourselves so it’s just a bunch of hanging out really. Afterwards we took it to Ty Robins to mix and master.
Your DEBUT EP has been released tell us more about it.
That was our first release ever back in late 2015. We basically toured all of 2016 with that EP. It was our first try at doing the whole band thing and it really gave us a taste of the life we wanted to create.
What was the recording process like?
Super DIY. I didn’t know any “proper” recording techniques so we just kind of went for it. The result was Lo-fi AF.
Will we see an EP or Album this year?
Well we have a lot of material put away. We just don’t know how we are going to release it exactly. I would like to at least release another single or EP this year.
If so what can you tell us about it?
I think i’d like to say it’s very eclectic. We really want our sound to be as “Mantra Love” as possible… if that makes any sense.
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Do you have any gigs or a tour coming up?
As of now we have a couple Texas gigs coming up and we plan to do heavy touring in 2018.
Do you play any instruments?
Drums, guitar, bass, keys and vocals. A jack of all trades, master of none kind of scenario.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Well I heard this really cool quote once that went something like, “Artists wait for inspiration and professionals just go to work.” That really stuck with me. It made me realize that the opportunity for inspiration to arise is a lot more probable if you just start creating.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
Think about why I am not doing music.
For anyone visiting Houston, where would you recommend them to go?
Satellite Bar, Walter’s, Arlo’s, Secret Group, Barbarella’s, Lil Danny Speedo’s Go Fly a Kite Lounge, Avant Garden. Those are all some pretty cool bars/venues to go check out and maybe catch some live music. Menil Park is always nice to chill at too and you can check out the Menil Collection or Rothko chapel while you are there.
If you could collaborate with one UK Artist or Band who would it be?
New Order
If you could collaborate with one US Artist or Band who would it be?
Julian Casablancas
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
“Only you can prevent forest fires.”
You work with the Planetary Group how did that come about?
We probably bugged them a lot but I’m definitely glad they took us under their wing. They have been a great help to us for sure. Shout out Brittany!!
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
