Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Vulcoes Semi Porreiros

What is your earliest memory connected to music?

Sérgio: My earliest memory connected to music is a Christmas when I was about 7 years old and my parents gave me a small Bontempi keyboard. It was with that keyboard that I began to play simple melodies by ear, as well as others I invented, but it allowed me to grasp the very basics.

How did your passion for creating music begin?

Sérgio: I always liked listening to music and singing (at home, in the bath, wherever). I remember being about 14 and hearing R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.” I heard it on MTV, and for the first time I asked: “Who’s singing this? What’s this song called?” Until then I didn’t care much about the who or the what.

Everything definitely began with the ’90s Grunge scene: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Radiohead, Faith No More… that era was my emotional school—like someone had flipped a switch.

To this day it’s the style that gives me the biggest chills. That was the spark for “I want to do this.”

What’s the story behind your current music project?

Sérgio: Vulcões Semi Porreiros started exactly as the name suggests: something half cool, half volcanic, but without much pressure. We booked a session just to have a laugh, to see what would happen. We played 3 or 4 cover songs badly and thought it was so funny that we decided to do it again.

Over time the joke started taking shape: we began writing our own songs, improving, taking rehearsals more seriously… and before we knew it, we already had songs on Spotify, videos on YouTube, and live shows under our belt

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?

Sérgio: Imagine Rock fused with the ’90s Grunge vibe, with lyrics in Portuguese or English full of everyday stories and feelings. Sometimes heavy riffs, other times calmer and more melodic. Vocals that sometimes try to scream and other times just whisper. It’s alternative rock with a Portuguese soul: it has distortion, nostalgia, humor, heart, and a live energy that’s a kind of controlled chaos!

What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?

Vasco: The way that Flea (from Red Hot Chilli Peppers) pumps his bass! When I first saw him I immediately fell in love with that energy, presence and style. Such charisma definitely changed the way I play the bass, either being live or in the studio, and how I create music, since it influenced several of the vibes that I try to print out in our songs. I mean, in terms of feeling, energy and funk, it’s all there.

What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?

Vasco: We’re not very technological when we’re creating something. We usually take the same method: someone records an idea on a mobile phone. Then we work together in the rehearsal studio, with our instruments (voices, guitars, bass and drums) where everyone writes their sections and contributes with new ideas. Then at the end of each rehearsal session, we record the result on our phones again. When we finally complete a couple of songs, we use a computer studio recording software to track everything and later on we send all tracks to our producer, to edit, mix and master everything in a professional studio.

Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?

Vasco: Since basically I’m always listening to music, I never listen to the same artists for much time. Therefore, I have to name a few: presently I’m into Brutus (a rock band from Belgium) and I’m listening to a lot of Anna Calvi. I’m also revisiting Sonic Youth and Bloc Party.

How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?

Paulo: I think that everything that happens to us in our daily lives is a source of inspiration for creating music, especially when these events convey strong emotions, whether good or bad.

What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?

Paulo: I hope to positively influence everyone who listens to my music. If everyone is like me, music plays a fundamental role in my life, and I turn to it when I am happy and also when I am sad. Music comforts me and helps me every day. I hope to have that same effect on those who listen to our music.

What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?

Paulo: Believe

What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?

Paulo: Vodafone Paredes de Coura – The most incredible festival I’ve ever been to, with an amazing atmosphere created by people who really love music for people with the same taste. It’s fantastic.

If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?

Daniel: I would have liked to have collaborated with Pink Floyd, a result of their virtuosity, sound, and conceptual ideas that were so distinctive in their generation and still influence music today.

Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)

Daniel: Your listeners can follow us on Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

instagram.com/vulcoessemiporreiros/

facebook.com/vulcoessemiporreiros

open.spotify.com/artist/4n47T0cfr569dsYrMwu2Nw?si=ylqsjIOWQhy9wk4Y7KeEmQ

youtube.com/channel/UC9niVq6L82WEhv5PwKi_aIA?si=W-F0ILb7mUxjGOm1

We’re waiting for you!

Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?

Daniel: Our goal is to continue making more music and sharing it with as many fans as possible, wherever they are. We will soon be releasing 3 new songs, completing our second album. We would love to have more opportunities to perform live. And of course, to maintain our friendship, continuing to improve each day and becoming better musicians.

What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?

Daniel: Those who listen to us will realize that the friendship that unites us and our individual and shared musical influences result in a distinctly rock sound, with guitar riffs, bass lines, and powerful rhythms, but without forgetting melodies and lyrics with strong messages.

If you want here you can add a representative Youtube video to insert below the interview 🙂

Here below we added 2 Youtube videos, one in Portuguese and other in English. Please feel free to choose the one you prefer 🙂

Link

Music video with Portuguese lyrics: