Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Doombia
Doombia singer/guitarist Brendan Deiz interview
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My dad playing guitar and piano as a kid. Writing songs seemed like a normal, natural thing to do in my household.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I was always interested in music and art and when I discovered that playing music came more easily and immediately to me than drawing or painting, I leaned into guitar playing. It also seemed like a viable career option when I was a kid in the ‘90s and saw new bands debuting on the radio and MTV almost every day, most of whom went on to have lifelong performing careers. Unfortunately, that infrastructure was mostly gone by the time I got to the age of the artists I grew up listening to.
I love music. As a kid, nothing took me out of myself the way music did, and I always wanted to create something that would do that for others. The only thing that feels better than listening to amazing music, is playing music, especially with other musicians. That’s why, even though I have never attained significant fame or money from music, I have continued at it for over two decades: I don’t know what life would be without music.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Doombia is based on the concept of mixing groovy, Latin cumbia-inspired rhythms with heavy doom metal riffs. It has since expanded to include influences like salsa, reggaeton, psychedelic rock, and post-punk as well. Doombia began when I was teaching guitar lessons to a student that wanted to learn doom metal. I liked the music the student showed me and wanted to write some of my own doom metal, but after a decade of playing in Latin music groups, I subconsciously wrote metal riffs with a clave. I thought, “Oops, I just invented ‘doombia’!” After that, I continued developing the idea, eventually recording an album and recruiting a band to play it live. We just finished mastering our second album and are now querying labels about helping us put it out!
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
Cumbia + doom metal = DOOMBIA! You could also describe it as ‘Latin doom’ or “Latin psychedelic metal’ maybe. Heavy riffs, groovy rhythms, makes your hips shake while your head’s banging.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music? Afro-Latin polyrhythms.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process? Electric guitar with lots of effects pedals! Doombia tends to get fairly psychedelic. Live
drums and hand percussion are crucial for those groovy polyrhythms, as well, of course! And you can’t have cumbia/doombia without heavy bass!
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Die Spitz are an awesome new punk/doom band that I can’t get enough of right now. Every song they’ve put out so far kicks ass. J. Graves from Portland is a really killer punk/post-punk artist that we’ve played a couple benefit shows with. Tropa Mágica and Son Rompe Pera both mix cumbia with punk and are big influences of ours.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision? I am mixed race, and I believe that growing up with more than one culture that I belong
to has made it more natural for me to combine and fuse different genres of music.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work? I want Doombia to make people feel the way I first felt when I heard bands like Jane’s
Addiction, Black Sabbath, Tool, Nirvana–music that took me out of myself and transported me somewhere more pleasant than this cold, cruel dimension.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
That it’s a truly universal language that everyone can speak, albeit to varying degrees of proficiency.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Lollapalooza maybe? Does the Reading Festival in Europe still happen?
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why? Jimi Hendrix, maybe? It’s really impossible to pick just one!
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
doombiadoombia@gmail.com
@doombiamusica – socials
YouTube
Bandcamp
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
We want to tour the entire US, as well as Latin America and release our album on vinyl!
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way? That Doombia was the thing they didn’t realize they’d been missing all along, but now
they’ve found it!
