Mint Field has been one of my favorite bands since their 2018 album Pasar de las Luces. Mint Field began back in 2015 and has come a long way since. The Mexico City based band (originally from Tijuana) can boast about playing at important music festivals such as SXSW and Coachella, as well as touring all over the world. Mint Field followed up their 2018 album with their EP Mientras Esperas in 2019, and their latest album Sentimiento Mundial in late 2020. We recently had the opportunity to talk to Mint Field via email, check it out!
Rapid-fire Questions
1. What have you been listening to lately?
Ana Roxanne, Eartheater, Cindy Lee, Sam Gendel, Deliluh.
2. What band has inspired you the least?
Maná.
3. If your music was used as a film score, what kind of film would it be?
A NatGeo documentary
4. Are the rumors of you releasing an english album under the name “Campo de hierbabuena” true?
No.
5. What are you favorite mexican bands right now?
Margaritas Podridas
Diles que no me maten
Lorelle meets the obsolete
To start things off can you introduce yourselves and give us your role in the band?
Estrella, I play guitar and sing. Sebastian plays the bass. We both write the songs together and we also play other instruments on the songs.
How did Mint Field start?
Mint field started out in Tijuana toward the end of 2014 beginning of 2015 when I first started to play guitar and I thought of starting a band.
What was the process like of being a local band in Tijuana to be a band that has toured all over the world?
It was a beautiful process. In reality when the band started we only played in Tijuana and San Diego for the first year. We really played the part of a local band. A year later was when we played Coachella and started playing in other parts of Mexico. It was until 2017 when we moved to Mexico City that we began to tour in the United States and Europe.
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Do you feel like everything happened so quick, or was it a long process?
Definitely everything was so quick, and overall very unexpected. I think that is what made the years go by so quick, because nothing was planned and was very genuine.
You’ve grown so much these past few years. You’ve gained success not only in Mexico and the US, but on an international scale. What do you think has attributed to that growth?
I give the music 100% credit, because as is was saying before nothing was planned and everything happened because of the love of music and the wanting to play live. Once we realized the potential of our songs we also began to take ourselves more seriously and dedicate ourselves to making music.
What were you doing before forming Mint Field?
I (Estrella) was in my last year of highschool and Sebastin was in university.
Was there a moment where you realized that you could have a career in music?
Yes, right after the first year of the band a lot of things started to happen. I (Estrella) had to leave school because I no longer had time to play and study and from then on I began dedicating all of my time to music. A few years later Sebastian also went through the same thing and now we both dedicate almost all of our time to Mint Field.
You started out in Tijuana, but moved to Mexico City. What has been the biggest difference between both music scenes?
I don’t think there is a way to compare them because Mexico City is enormous an theres are so many bands and venues. Tijuana at the end of the day is still a small city where all the people that make music know eachother. Its a small circle and there are very little places where you can play.
You’ve played in important festivals like SXSW and Coachella. Is that something you dreamed of, or even imagined when you were starting out?
We definitely didn’t imagine it , but obviously we dreamed of playing in different parts of the world.
The first Mint Field song I heard was “El Parque Parecia No Tener Fin.” What is the inspiration behind that song?
I wrote that song based on something I wrote on a trip to Mexico City before moving there. I was inspired by a walk I had on Amsterdam street in the Condesa neighborhood. I was walking and at that time I still didn’t know the city too well. That street is a giant circle so I walked around it twice without even noticing. All this happened while it was raining and during rush hour, everyone was in a hurry. I was listening to Slint in my headphones.
Talk to us a bit about “Sentimiento Mundial”
We released the album this past year on September 25th. We recorded it in London in the fall of 2019 and we produced it with Syd Kemp and Callum Brown on drums. They’re both members of Ulrika Spacek. On this album we had the opportunity to add a lot of string arrangements, sax, and other instruments with members of the Haha Sounds ensemble.
The album also has a connection throughout the tracks that talk about feeling alone and distant from everyone else in a world where we deal with the same weight of emotions and feelings.
What does this album mean to you?
We both feel that this is our best work to date. We are very proud of everything. It was a very emotional process to prepare to record and we were able to polish the songs and rearrange them in the studio. Also, while we were in London we met and collaborated with a lot of incredible musicians that made us feel very, very inspired during the entire process.
What were you listening to while working on the album?
Mike Wexler, Julia Holter, Tortoise, Thurston Moore Group, Aerial M, Do Make Say Think and Portishead.
The album is called Sentimineto Mundial (Global Feeling) is there a particular feeling that you want to transmit through your music?
All of the feelings that you are able to feel.
What inspired the album?
Everything that we lived toward the end of 2018 to 2018. Overall it was a process of adapting to a lot of internal things that we had to deal with in making the album and writing the songs.
Sentimiento Mundial has a different sound compared to your previous projects. How has Mint Field evolved?
I think that both we and Mint Field will never stop evolving. It may be that our next album is just as different or alike, but I think the essence of the band will always exist in our music.
Do you have any memorable moments that have happened while performing?
We have a lot, and every one is very special. One that comes to mind is playing Desert Daze 2017. We had a good time and the festival was beautiful, we had a wonderful time the three days we were at Joshua Tree. An incredible moment was when we finished playing and right after putting up our things we saw Thurston Moore Group play, and it was incredible. Something we will never forget.
What would you like to accomplish through your music?
I like the idea of leaving something in the world. In this case, music. Small fragments of life plastered in songs that will live forever. I like to release emotions that live in us and for that to connect with other people.
What can we expect from Mint Field in the future? We are going to release a couple of songs that are covers of some of our favorite songs. We are also going to record our third album in the summer.
And to finish up, do you have any questions for me?
What did mint field make you feel?
Mint Field made me feel like I’m walking outside in a field on a cool, foggy, autumn morning before the sun comes up. I had too much caffeine so I’m a little anxious, but I’m also excited of the unexpected things and I can see on the walk.
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