Meet Haute Tension

Ohhh yeah! You all know who it is! The head shaking, swamp-tastic rock band is back. It is the one and only Haute Tension. You may remember these fellas from when we did a review of their self titled album. That can be read here. If I remember correctly everyone was pretty jazzed about what they were laying down. How could ya help yourself? Just look at those shades up there. Perfection, pure perfection. Anyway enough from me. Lets get down to the interview!

Would you rather Run at 100 mph or fly at ten mph? What on earth would you do?

Monica: I would fly. Because of the "bird's eye view" perspective, like pigeons. I love pigeons. I wouldn't be on earth. I'd be flying. 
Alex: I would probably run at 100, I like the idea of getting places fast.

Nabedi: I'd be flying and just soaring through the clouds and appreciation all the views, good and bad, at 10 mph.

How long have you been making music together? 

Alex: Overall the project is 3 years old. We started as a duo then added a drummer, Cody Mentelos, who recorded our debut album with us. Last year we started playing with our touring drummer, Nabedi Osorio.

Where do you draw your inspiration from? 

Alex: I draw inspiration from a lot of different things; books, movies, records, life, current events. It all ends up meshed together in the songs I write. I was always really into surf music and punk growing up in the Bay Area in California which always found a way into my music. I was also exposed to a lot of R&B and soul. More recently I've been influenced by Caribbean music and Afro-beat. 

Monica: Light and shadows.

What was the intention with this Haute Tension, Debut Album

Alex: It's our first album so I would say it's an introduction to the band. We wrote these songs in a 3 year span since the band's incarnation so it shows the listener how our sound was established. We've released self-produced demos and were going to release a four song EP but decided to wait and just come out with a full LP and put in on vinyl. It was worth the wait because we were approached by St. Petersburg, FL studio, Yoko Phono Recording, to record in their all analog studio. We released the album first on cassette via their label, Viva La Records. The owner, Alexander Charos, had seen us play and wanted to work with us. So I'd say we got lucky to have an opportunity to make something worth listening to.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be (doesn’t need to be music related)?

Alex: I would love to have the ability to control/stop time. There's never enough time.

Nabedi: The superpower of persuasion.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Alex: Just wanna thank the Family Reviews for being awesome. It's great to see a family share and enjoy music together while helping artists. Also to anyone not from Florida I'd say take a moment to dig a little and check out some of the local bands out here. It's an often overlooked state but that's where the gems tend to be! 

Nabedi: I'm always gonna thank my mom 'cause she's my biggest supporter. And my family, and all the people showing their love and support.

Monica: Yeah definitely want to thank all of our families, and the friends and fans we've met up to this point. We're grateful to have played alongside some incredible bands recently like Herbie Hancock, Ty Segall and White Fence, of Montreal, Thelma and the Sleaze...The Sh-Booms....it's been a whirlwind and incredibly exciting that this has all happened in Miami. We'll be getting out on the road so keep an eye out for Summer/Fall tour announcements. Our schedule and album are online at hautetensionband.com. Until then, if you ever find yourself in Miami on a Wednesday, come to our free Happy Hour party at Gramps Bar in the Wynwood Art District. There's live music from a different featured guest, every week.