- What's up?
- I'm Gaby Wilson for MTV news.
I'm here with Cuco.
So glad-- - What's up?
- To have you here today.
- Thank you, I'm excited. - I've actually been
super excited to talk to you.
I'm obsessed,
kind of weirdly. - Really?
- [Gaby] With your music, yeah.
Since discovering it. - Damn, I appreciate that.
- So I'm really glad to have you here in this chair.
2018 is looking to be a pretty big year for you.
- [Cuco] Yeah, it's crazy.
- Bunch of new music, festivals
and probably still selling out shows that you headline.
How did you get started in music?
'Cause you only started releasing music like two years ago?
- Well I started playing guitar
when I was like, eight years old.
I went and had a couple lessons.
Definitely kind of saying to myself to keep doing music.
My mom, at first, was upset, she was like,
'cuz like I was thinking of piano lessons,
and you didn't like 'em.
And I was like no, I'm gonna continue the guitar.
So then, like, fast forward like 11 years later, like,
I've been, like, learning all these instruments,
and I got into like producing,
it's a trip because, like, I didn't really think
it was gonna go anywhere.
I kinda just did it because I was like,
"Yo, I just wanna make music for myself."
Then, my friend, like, heard it and she was like,
"Yo, this is really good."
And then more friends heard it, and they were like,
"Yo, this is really cool, like,
you should for sure keep at it."
So, yeah, I was 16 when I made, like, my first song.
- That's amazing.
- Yeah, and now I just like figure out all the software
by myself.
I was like alright, I think this works.
And then I just uploaded the song.
- So, a lot of it has been pretty DIY it sounds like,
and those like very, very first, sitting down and like
playing guitar, and teaching yourself how to play guitar,
- Yeah
- low key, is to tell your mom, like prove to her that like
okay, I can actually stick to something.
Right?
- Yeah.
I mean just coming from like a Mexican household,
especially from immigrants, it's like, they're like,
"Yo, like, you have to go to school."
There's, like, no way around it.
That's like the only way you're gonna make it.
If you wanna make it in life.
But then I started doing that.
I started like slacking in school.
I started to, like, ditch classes in college.
Like, on my way to class,
I would be on my way to my 7:00AM class,
At like 7:20, and I'd like swear to my parents,
I'd be like, "Yo, I'm on time."
(laughing)
But basically, once I got to like Santa Monica,
I would kinda go out, like walk by the beach,
and then like go back into my car, put on my computer,
and then like plug it in to like the,
'cuz I had like those little boxes where you could actually
plug in like the whole outlet.
- Uh huh
- So, I had that,
and I would just like produce on my computer.
- Was it a car studio?
- Yeah. A little mini car studio. And then I just went home,
and, like, acted like I went to school and everything.
(laughing)
- How long did that go on for?
- Like a year.
- A year?
So, at what point did you talk to your parents
and tell them that you were doing music?
- They kind of like figured it out by themselves.
Like, after a bit.
Like, once they saw my first, like, venue show,
when I met Doris, and she got me like hooked up with that,
and it sold out.
That's when my parents were like,
"Oh, alright.
Now we kinda see that you're like,
you're starting to make a living.
Making money off of this,
so like, if you wanna leave school, we respect it,
as long as you just like focus on it,
and treat it like a job."
- Right.
Seeing something like that, especially for like
an immigrant parent is such a sigh of relief.
Like, oh okay.
- Yeah
- Tere's some sort of security-ish in this.
He like really believes in it, and he's really gonna do it,
and do it to the fullest.
- Yeah, and then like once I started like helping them out,
'cuz like my mom started getting, like, sick,
and, so she's not working right now,
but like it's cool because now I can help her out
with like bills and anything she needs,
like I'm just here for that.
But, being able to just hook it up with whatever they need,
I'm just like, Yo, like here, if you need money
just let me know. You know?
- I'm very curious, because your sound is very unique
and eclectic.
What did you listen to growing up?
- Oh man.
(laughs)
My mom used to play like,
I feel like I don't actually mention this enough,
but I think it actually is super important.
She used to play like, like, a lot of those, um,
like, Mozart CD's.
- [Gaby] Hmm
- So, I grew up originally with like classical music,
and my dad played a lot of Opera music, like,
- Oooh
- Andrea Bocelli, was like one of the artists I grew up
listening to.
I don't know like, the songs by name,
- Right
- But like I've literally heard them all because
my dad just played 'em all the time.
But, he also played a lot of Spanish rock.
Enanitos Verdes, Hombres G,
and then the music I also grew up listening to like,
that was on MTV at the time, like, it was like 50 cent
and like T-Pain, so that was like, that was also
my favorite stuff too.
I was like, just super into that.
When I got into high school,
I always put on some bands like, Necrophagist,
- Hmm
- Um, Instant Death.
One of my friends who was a trumpet player with me,
put me on to like, Testament,
like, all these genres kinda like came into my life,
but I'm thankful that they did.
- Right. I mean you're your product.
Your music is a product of the things that you consume.
- Yeah.
- And have like come up listening to.
- Yeah and like it's weird too,
because like when I was a kid, I always like
imagined songs in my head.
Like, I don't know.
I always wanted to make the songs
Ive always wanted to hear.
- So, the first song of yours that I ever heard,
was Lava Lamp.
And I was immediately hooked.
And I think it's a good microcosm of all these different
influences of yours too.
- Yeah.
- How did that song come to be?
Did it start with a lyric or a melody?
Like, what was the origin story of it?
- Uh, it was the beat.
I made like the chords
and added like
the drums, or like, 808's.
The hook was totally like accidental.
The "Someone" that like came out of me testing out
a microphone.
- Hmm.
And that was like first time, you stuck with it?
- Yeah.
- Wow.
- After that, like that rough draft,
was the final draft too.
- Wow.
- And then, like, I just like made the hook, and everything
the hook, the verses and everything,
that was like more planned out and everything.
But it was still in my bedroom,
and then I played like the trumpet parts.
And, like, it was just so weird, because like
you would think like will all like those bases,
and like the 808's, just the way, like, they punch
because like I like how tramp drums,
and trap like, bass hit, especially when like,
it's a really ignorant song,
(laughing)
I like it to just be like annoyingly there.
- Yeah.
The new song that's dropping the top of this year
is Sunnyside.
- Yeah
- Talk to me a little bit about
the origin story of that song, and what you're doing
differently with the new music, versus like songs for you.
- I don't feel like I'm doing anything, like, differently.
I feel like it's kind of like my same process of
making music.
But, I'm definitely exapnding more out there as to like
genre bending, I guess.
- Hm
- A bit more.
And working on my production a lot more.
Because I feel like there was a lot of growing
that I needed to do,
before I even put out music again.
It was like I need to really mature the sound of like what
I was working on.
'Cuz it's like it's cool I can make everything bang,
and make it sound like the way I usually make it sound,
but I like, I just like got to a point where I was
experimenting, like I need to like, level everything out.
And not, like, blot my speakers, you know?
- Hmm.
- Like, if I wanted it to be like a more emotional song,
then, like, I don't want it to be so powerful
- Hm.
- I mainly wanted to like level it down,
and then have the guitar and all that stuff over take it.
Like, everything, I feel like every song that I'm working on
for the album,
is, like, really different.
Like, they're all like, - From each other
- Yeah
- or from previous work?
- From each other.
Like, it's already different from the previous work.
But, it's already, from each other, like everything's just
so different.
Like each song has, like, its own thing.
- Hmhm
- I don't know.
I want people to just be like tripping out
(laughing)
listening to this, and be like, "Yo, what just happened?"
- What else is, like, coming up for you this year that
you're really excited about?
I know that you're doing Coachella for the first time.
- Yeah.
I was about to say that.
(laughing)
Coachella. That's kinda wild.
Um, I've never been to Coachella.
I never really cared about Coachella.
I'm not big on like events like that.
I literally don't.
I could care less about stuff like that.
But,
- I'm sure like being from Southern California too.
It being like right there.
- Yeah it's like everything
Everything is just kinda there.
Like, it kinda like, overplays itself.
But, once you're an artist,
and you can say you're at Coachella,
I feel like it kinda likes validates you a lot more.
As like a artist.
Because you're like,
like whoa, you play Coachella?
- Right.
- So, that's, I mean that's cool.
- It's an immediately recognizable
- Yeah
- stage.
- Yeah.
It's cool and,
it's crazy, like, Governor's Ball too.
I feel like I'm more excited about Governor's Ball
because I'm gonna see like a lot of my favorite artists.
Like, Travis Scott and um, I want to see Pond.
- Hm.
- Pond is, like, so dope.
So, I'm mostly excited because of the artists
I'm gonna see, I guess.
- Yeah
- Not really because of, like, how proud I am
(laughter)
Like, I'm proud, obviously I'm proud of myself,
but like, I don't know.
- Right.
- I just want to see my favorite artists play and stuff.
- Well, I mentioned you were working on new music too.
How much more music can we expect from you in the new year?
- I don't even know, to be honest, like,
I could finish my album, like,
but I could also have nothing
for like the rest of the year.
(laughter)
Maybe just a bunch of like videos.
- We'll just see.
- I have, like, a clothing line too.
So like, my focus is like, all over the place.
I hope I can put out a bunch of music this year.
But if I don't, it's because like I don't want to
put anything that I don't feel
- Right
- is complete.
Anything I don't feel proud of.
- Well, I personally would love to see a Cuco music video
this year. For sure.
- Yeah, no.
Yeah, absolutely.
Actually, no yeah.
I think I can, like, announce that.
Valentine's Day, the Sunnyside video's gonna come out.
- Oh, nice.
- Yeah, that single, is like, I guess we're pushing it.
But, that's the first music video, like officially,
that I did.
- So, what's the creative concept for the music video?
- Just weird stuff, like,
I honestly, just want to make it, like, weird.
But, it's also like a dreamy video.
We work with this director, Ambar.
We had rented equipment, but since the next day,
Monday, we had to return it, because it was a holiday,
so they had like that day, to just use a bunch of like,
equipment, for an extra day.
So, they were like, yo, we should film it this day.
We have this equipment.
So, she came in with like a bunch of like, this like,
backboard and everything.
And, we had a green screen, as well.
Like a really big one.
It was like a big wall.
It was just a green screen.
And then like they covered it with this like green
like cloth,
- Uh huh
- So that it's literally like our heads are hanging.
- I was just, it's gonna be an interesting video.
(laughing)
- Yeah. I don't even know how it's gonna come out.
- You don't? You haven't seen it yet?
- No, I haven't.
- Oh, amazing. Cool.
Well, I can't wait to see it.
(laughing)
- Yeah, me neither.
- Well, thank you so much for coming through,
- Yeah, no, thank you. Thank you for having me.
- and for talking. Yeah.
- It's kinda crazy. MTV.
(laughing)
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