Policias Y Ladrones Interview

Rapid-fire Questions

1. What have you been listening to lately?

Pavement, Divino Niño and 100 gecs.

2. What was the first concert you ever attended?

I was in middle school when I went to see the Misfits and The Adicts in Tijuana.

3. What band has inspired you the least?

Molotov

4. Could you beat them up in a fight?

Not really, hahaha.

5. What is the worst advice that you can give me?

You can stare at the sun, no problem.

6. Who would you like to collaborate with?

Cola Boyy

7. What has been the best thing that's happened to you this year?

Putting our new album out.

8. Make me cry.

Listen to Elliot Smith’s Either/or album

9. Favorite album of 2021 so far?

Drug Store Romeos - The world within our bedrooms

10. What other Tijuana bands should we check out?

Parque de Cometas, FI&JI, and La Virgen Animaría

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To start things off, can you introduce yourselves and give us your role in the band?

My name is Alonzo, I sing and play guitar in Policias y Ladrones. Luis plays drums, Ivan plays bass and Andres plays guitar and synths.

How did you meet, and how did the band form?

We met in elementary school, and Ivan and I started playing covers for some time. We then started meeting again to play in punk bands in middle school and high school, even though we're not in the same school anymore. Years later, when we were in college we started Policias y Ladrones.

What were you doing before forming the band?

I was living in Mexico City, eating quesadillas and drinking guava Boing juices.

I don't know if it's been going on for a while, but in the past few years I've noticed a lot of artists coming out of the northern part of the country. Mint Field, Bratty, Señor Kino, Ed Maverick, you get the point. Why do you think that there's been a boom in those musical scenes?

I think it helped a lot that in previous years and during the rise of those bands there were a lot of events in those cities. The "scenes" were very active.

How do you see that music scene currently?

It's difficult to know because of the pandemic, but I think when its finally over we're going to have to thing of new places to play because some of the venues we originally used to play won't be there anymore.

There’s a difference in sound between your previous album Flores, and you latest album Nubes. What has attributed to that change in sound?

Different experiences in life, I guess. I realized we were putting too many obstacles in expressing who we were because we wanted to sound like no one else, and therefore, we discarded a lot of ideas. With Nubes we tried to be as spontaneous as possible.

How has the band evolved since you first started?

We've learned to understand that everyone has a role in the band. That help the process of making flow better.

Your last album was released back in 2016! Are you excited to be able to release a new album after some time?

Totally. We wanted to release it in 2020, but the pandemic made it difficult. We feel like releasing this album is like a new beginning for the band.

Can you talk to us a bit about your newest release, Nubes?

Nubes touches on themes related to self-growth and has quite a nostalgic feel overall. We wanted to make songs that were catchy and engaging without leaving room for experimentation in the sound.

What was the process of recording Nubes like?

We recorded it during the worst months of the pandemic, probably. So it was a little bit scary to go out to the studio. We would rehearse two or three songs, then go to the studio to record them, and then we would repeat that process. That way, we were able to really focus on each of the songs since we recorded them in groups of three.

What were the inspirations behind the album?

We were inspired by the idea that we wanted to make the music that we would like to hear.

Were you listening to anything in particular while working on the album?

There are a couple of artists that are always in the background for us. I do not know if they are evident inspirations for our music. Sonic Youth and Pavement are some of them. Another artists would be Charly Garcia.

My favorite song off of Nubes is Mi Spot Favorito. Can you give us some background on that song?

That song is inspired by the beaches in Baja. I feel like here in Tijuana, a special spot for everyone tends to be facing the pacific ocean. That idea of having your favorite spot needed to be somehow in a song.

Can we expect a US tour anytime soon?

That’s what we are hoping for. We’ve played at couple of places in the US and its always very exciting for us.

What would your ideal tour look like?

Touring with a band that I admire.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Making music, and balancing it with other things in life that come up as time passes.

What can we expect from Policias y Ladrones in the near future?

Some live shows, a new music video and new music sooner than later.