12 Questions with San Pedro’s Vision
NSGs Ella Holden & Sophie Turkman Spoke to Liverpool based psych rock band San Pedro’s Vision about their new release, how they formed and what inspires them.
Ella&Sophie: We’d love to know how you came up with the name of the band?
SPV: Our old singer and guitarist came up with the name when we started back up after a few years of not playing. San Pedro is a cactus that can be prepared to make Mescaline. It has been used as a traditional medicine for thousands of years.
Ella&Sophie: Your style has really metamorphosed since your initial debut – what inspired this change?
SPV: I guess it was just a natural progression of things. We started off as a blues band years ago and as our tastes evolved so did our music.
Ella&Sophie: How did you form the band and how long have you been playing together for?
SPV: A few of us have been playing together for years. Me, Sam and Stu have played together since we were kids. So nearly 10 years now. Alannah and Chris joined after members left and shuffled about, Stuart who plays the Synth used to play the bass back when we first started.
Ella&Sophie: Your songs appear to explore philosophical ideas to do with consciousness and the workings of the mind. Did you find yourself making music about this because of an interest in the subject or did the interest for these ideas come from music/ general psychedelia?
SPV: We’re all into psych music and it’s many offshoots. The idea for the latest 2 EPs came from a concept of wanting to elucidate the psychedelic experience of the mind. Elysium which is our latest EP is a follow up of our last one and delves into the post trip moral code and the difficulty you have implementing any lessons you have learnt.
Ella&Sophie: What do you think will happen for the future of psychedelic music and do you think that electronic production is likely to be used more within this genre rather than instruments?
SPV: I think it will always be the same. You have stuff like trance and psych-trance that use electronic production and that’s as far as it will go in my opinion. Stuff like psych rock and prog will always use the normal instruments you’ve come to be used to. We use a synth but synths have been used since the 70s, the gear will become better and more hi-tec but I imagine the general idea behind the instruments will stay the same. That being said we’re open to anything that can make a mad sound or production easier.
Ella&Sophie: Would you consider your style to be niche in the current climate of contemporary music production?
SPV: We’re drowning in a sea of shite indie. I have nothing against it as a genre but it’s everywhere, so yeah I think any band that doesn’t play indie rock is niche in the current climate. You have some awesome bands out there that would have been huge pretty quick in the 60s/70s but they’re very un-marketable today.
Ella&Sophie: Where do you derive your inspirations? – literature, film, artwork etc?
SPV: I think a lot of us take inspiration from the music we listen to. We also use snippets Terrance Mckenna’s lectures in our music, the guys a genius if you haven’t already, I think you should go listen to him talk on YouTube.
San Pedro’s Vision
Ella&Sophie: Did it take long to find your sound?
SPV: It’s been a natural progression into the sound we have now and I’m sure that it will progress again. Where? Who knows, it’s gonna be fun finding out tho!
Ella&Sophie: What is your songwriting process?
SPV: We just like to jam. Normally we take things from rehearsals or occasionally someone will bring in an idea and we will play it and expand on it and get a good base to springboard off.
Ella&Sophie: What songs are each of the members of the bands’ favourite songs to play live?
SPV: Bottle – The Nerve Centre, Sam – The Nerve Centre, Alannah – Reflection, Stu – 14:22 or The Nerve Centre, Chris – Rabbit Hole
Ella&Sophie: What would be your dream venue to play?
SPV: We’ll play anywhere.
Ella&Sophie: Do you believe, as consumers of contemporary culture, we have become complacent with modern forms of music distribution? (Spotify, youtube etc)-has this been debased by these mediums?
SPV: I think Spotify is the devil. First of all, they made music very accessible which is great but it’s kinda a monkey’s paw deal, they made it *too* accessible and *too* cheap and now bands are struggling to make any kind of money from their labour. Less than a penny for a stream and you can easily put close to a grand into tracking and mixing alone. The system is rigged and we can’t do anything about it, if you want your music heard you have to use them or you’re fucked. You can release a Vinyl or physical release to ease the monetary hit you take but it’s a gamble because most people will consume any music through these mediums and not bother with a physical release.
Ella&Sophie: Thank you so much for your time, we wish you all the best! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
SPV: Our new EP came out on the 18th of March for streaming and we have a limited run of 12” vinyls released via Loominance Records. Support music and grab one. Feed us. Sales Link: SAN PEDRO’S VISION – ELYSIUM
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