Unfits – Satisfy Me

By starrymag | April 2, 2020

By: Courtney Groom

 

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound and would you say as a newly formed band you’re still experimenting to find it out?

 

A) Our sound is best described as dark alternative pop. Our two major influences are The Weeknd and Saint Jhn. We love that whole retro wave aesthetic and are inspired by lush dark pop and visceral lyrics.

 

Q) What was the inspiration behind your song “Satisfy Me?”

 

A) It was influenced by Mick Jagger. I was listening a lot to “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” but I felt it didn’t really apply to my generation as much. So, I wanted to write something I deeply resonated with that had the ecstasy of Dionysus and the euphoria of unmet desires.

 

Q) You got to collaborate with Grammy winning producer Emile Haynie on the single. How did that collaboration happen and what was it like getting to work alongside him?

 

A) I wrote “Satisfy Me” in less than ten minutes in the back of a tour bus while drinking tequila. I didn’t think it was anything really… I sent an iPhone demo on acoustic guitar to my manager. My manager passed it along to Emile Haynie and my phone rang. Emile was like, “I like the track. Let’s go drink wine and see how we vibe.” I’m thinking, “If the criteria for our vibe is drinking wine then we are going to get a long just great…” We discovered we had a mutual interest in vintage wines and classic soul music. After that we spent time at his house listening to records and ultimately went to Charlie Chaplin’s old studio to record the track.

 

Q) What were any challenges you faced when writing and recording “Satisfy Me?”

 

A) Unfits are a group of four musicians led by frequent collaborators El Sueño and Vince Prince. Making all our separate sonic visions fit in one track is nearly impossible, so every song is usually a settlement with one of us having a stronger vision for it than another. Adding Emile Haynie was another incredible element to the equation because of his work with Kanye West and Lana Del Rey. We learned so much from Emile and were equally inspired by many of the “breakout sections” where he showed us how he built beats like the one from Kanye’s track “Runaway.”

 

Q) The music video for the single is really fun and different to what other artists are doing. Where did the idea come about for the music video being shot around seven different countries?

 

A) El Sueño directed and starred in the music video… It was inspired by a conversation I saw with Elon Musk where he said, “There is a billion to one chance we are living in base reality…” Essentially, what he meant by that was that we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation…

That got me thinking…“If I accepted the thesis that we live inside of a real life video game, how would I act?” Ultimately, this question led me to meet with many top inventors and secretive entrepreneurs working on neural implants. Elon Musk’s company Neuralink and also, I went and met with entrepreneur Brian Johnson’s Neural company called “Kernel.” Both Brian Johnson and Elon Musk’s companies had a very simply goal – namely the development of ultra-high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers. After researching how your brain could be artificially stimulated to have “experiences,” I started directing the video for “Satisfy Me.” In the video El Sueño is inside a simulation server room and AI sentient humanoids are implanting “experience chips” into his brain to give him experiences with his friends across various reality playground locations. We went to so many countries to film it, including an active war zone in Ukraine and shark infested waters of Moorea.

 

Q) Who are some artists that you would love to collaborate with and why?

 

A) Saint Jhn, Saint Jhn and Saint Jhn. The songs are so good. It always starts with the song for me. I usually want to hear a melody played on a simple piano or acoustic guitar. If you can hold someone’s attention on an acoustic guitar you can easily build around that with great production.

 

Q) You managed to amass an unbelievable amount of Instagram followers overnight and quickly gained more than 1.2 million streams on “Satisfy Me.” This can be quite overwhelming for some. How do you guys keep yourself grounded and look out for each other during it all?

 

A) I think the song is approaching 2,000,000 streams now actually? It’s all very surreal. Nobody has any idea what is going to connect with people and get them excited so it’s a tremendous honor to be able to entertain people and have them like what we do.

 

Q) Will there be an EP or full album coming in the near future?

 

A) Absolutely, we are going to be announcing some of our dream collaborators for the EP soon.

 

Q) Aside from the singing you are very involved with fashion and style and will be releasing your very own clothing line. What can you tell us about the sort of clothes that will be released?

 

A) Yes, I love Virgil Abloh and how he went to school in Chicago for architecture but found his tapestry in design and fashion.  Our style is very influenced by that whole Belle Époque era with a mix of street minimalism. A lot of our ideas and influences are in the movement we created called “Omertà Cortex”…You can check it out on OmertaCortex.com.

 

Q) How long have you been working on the clothing line for?

 

A) A few years and we have designers on a street called Melrose that are constantly sewing and helping us with realizing the sketches and influences we like. It really all started from a personal need to wear things that we couldn’t find anybody else making. Every time I play the Assassin’s Creed video games, I just want all those outfits.

 

Q) What are some current fashion trends you’re really into at the moment?

 

A) Everything from Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri and, obviously, Olivier Rousteing.

 

Q) If you could design clothes for anyone artists who would you LOVE to dress up and why?

 

A) Abel Makkonen Tesfaye because he isn’t held back by any preconceived identity. Liberation and a chameleon perspective are essential to reinvention.

 

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of your music so far?

 

A) We just love being able to create and are deeply honored if anyone chooses to vote with their time and check it out. Also, I want to encourage our fans to stay unfit. Unfit is a lifestyle that you don’t need to be uniquely qualified or chosen, just go do whatever sets your soul on fire. And don’t be a little glitch.

 

 

All Questions Answered By Lead Singer El Sueño