Principe Valiente

The Stockholm based band has in a short time gained a reputation for their live shows and are the subject of an increasing interest in their material in clubs and social networks on the internet. Their sound may partly be the result of a variety of elements inspired by the minimalism of certain post punk acts and the lushness of shoegaze, but is primarily characterized by an ambition to break new sonic ground. Here is an interview with Fernando Honorato for subexistance.

Let us begin with a discussion of how Principe Valiente  was conceived and originally formed. Can you discuss what inspired you to create out,and what was your original vision for the band?
- Well, I (Fernando) started the band back in 2005 in Stockholm with totally different members at that time, after I left my former band and other projects. At the beginning, some guitar players came and went and also some drummers left for longer university studies or just left town. But a time after the first EP in 2007-2008, we’ve been solid as a band.
I wanted to form something more personal than the bands I’ve been played with and not just regular rock & roll. I was also just playing bass in my former bands, so of course it felt a bit scary to sing too at the beginning, but it really was something I wanted to try. 

Putting you right on the spot how would you describe yourselves musically?I mean i listen to the cd and i would say you are an  indie -post punk band but that is my opinion.
- Yes, that’s the description most people has referred to and it’s quite appropriate. But we think it’s also a mixture of stiles like shoegaze and more indie acts. We love to experiment with guitar effects and the different stiles just come up naturally. But of course, the most clear influence is probably from the post punk-80’s sound.

How happy are yourself with "Principe Valiente " album does it come up to your expectations?
- We are very satisfied with the album. The whole process took a long time but it was totally worth it.I think we tried not to expect too much response before the first release in February and it was a good thing, so all attention around it more or less is a kind of a bonus.
The main reason to be satisfied I think, is that the result of how the songs ended up were very much the way we wanted them to be at first or even better. It’s very great to feel and that we did it by producing the album by ourselves and at our own pace.

Which are the main themes of your songs? Who writes your lyrics? Are there any particular films, books, etc. where you get ideas for your lyrics?
- Well, the main themes of the songs I think are things like love, disappointments, the feeling of not fitting in anywhere, desperation etc, but still without losing faith and hope. But some lyrics may also involve observations of everyday-life that doesn’t need to be that dramatic. I think you can express those feelings in a beautiful way without using a too advanced language. It feels more honest that way and in the same time still have a mysterious touch on it.
I (Fernando) write all the lyrics and what influences me are things in everyday-life and these things I named but sure a lot of movies and literature inspired us as a band as well, but not in the sense of the lyrics, more like in the atmosphere the songs gets.

Are there certain songs on the album you want to mention or tell something about?
- Hm.. In My Arms for example is a song about actually getting what you want in the end. Is a hopeful and positive track, although the frustrated feelings the song still has.

How has the media treated this album?
- It’s been treated very well actually. There’s not that much attention here in Sweden though like in the rest of Europe, but it feels great to know that the album is appreciated. The few words here are also quite good and also some nice reviews in New York and Latin America.

What represent the fact of being on stage for you? Is it the best part for a musician?What song from the new album are you looking forward the most to perform live?
- We love playing live and meet the audience, specially when they are a mixed type of people and some just stands and listen and others are dancing around with their eyes closed. If it’s the best part I don’t know really, but we really enjoy being on stage. In the studio is something else, more controlled but we like to have it that way and relax when we are recording and mixing. Is two quite different things.
Maybe “The Night” or “New Life”  are some of the songs we enjoy the most playing live, because The Night is the one that most people recognize and New Life because we play it with some small changes in the end, in comparison to the CD-version. But it feels great that the audience seems to appreciate it.

What do you hate?
- Well, I don’t know. Maybe that we want to tour a bit more around Europe and we still have to arrange most of it by ourselves and it takes time, but hopefully it can be different soon. But is not hate, just a bit annoying that those things can take time. So we are trying to get some contacts from bookers and labels for the next album and see what happens.

How important is the band for your lifes?
- I think is pretty important for our mental health. When we are really happy with a new song or something new going on in the band, it give us very much and we hope we can deliver and share it to the audience.

What is planned and what do you hope to experience as a band in the future?
- The plans right now are to play more shows around Europe but also in Sweden, hopefully we have some new European dates next year but not confirmed yet. And also to write new material for the next album. We have already new ideas and it’s going pretty well.

Would you like to add anything?
- Just that we hope our listeners enjoy the album.

Thank you for your time.

Kostas Sotiriou