| CROSSFADE | t Music Color Coordinated Indie-folk group Stillblue isn’t slowing down. BY MATHEW MESSA T ightly packed onto a futon and spilling over onto rolling chairs in their Hialeah practice space, the members of Stillblue look like siblings. The seating ar- rangement is an attempt to squeeze into the frame of a video call, but the familial vibe isn’t coincidental. For drummer and most recent addition Diego Gamez, the atmosphere is what drew him in. “It showed me a completely different side of life,” Gamez says. “I was able to play with people I was still meeting and learning about, and they were open enough to come over to my place and have drinks after a show or something, and it just bonded us. These are like my brothers and sister.” Before the current five members found one another, Stillblue lived inside singer and guitarist Enrique Rosell’s head. Although he played in a few high-school bands and then performed as a solo artist, entirely devoting himself to music was challenging, to say the least. Writing, recording, and performing alone, his music felt incomplete. His parents, Peruvian immigrants, urged him to find a sta- ble source of income. As soon as he graduated and secured a job in August 2019, he put up flyers around the Florida International Uni- versity campus. “I was like, OK, no more bullshit. Let’s actu- ally do this,” he says. Soon after, Rosell assembled Stillblue, al- though apart from Danny Estrada, none of the members of that first iteration stuck around. “I’m one of the original members of Still- blue. I take pride in that,” he says with a laugh. Estrada humbly describes himself as the band’s lap steel guitarist, but the oddly played Stillblue’s influences come from all genres and all parts of the world. “Yamil loves this Japa- nese band called Fishmans, and they’re crazy. They sound nothing like Still- blue. But their sound and song composition sounds so different and cool,” Ga- mez says. Subtle but vital to Still- blue’s unique sound, Yamil Granda’s basslines reflect his personality. He jumps in here or there, and while his comments are quiet, he is always synced in with the band’s collective con- sciousness. Finalizing the last two Photo by Steph Estrada instrument is a defining feature of most of Stillblue’s songs. It infuses the band’s folky guitar melodies with an otherworldly cry that almost acts as a second — or, in some cases, third — vocalist. “I bought a lap steel because I was like, Fuck it, I’m going to learn how to do this,” Rosell says. “I brought it over, and Danny tried it. Danny’s a virtuoso. He’s just a really talented musician. He picked it up super eas- ily.” Along with the ethereal sounds of the lap steel and Rosell’s vocals, a Stillblue song usu- ally comes with a helping of Sofia Soriano’s backing vocals. Resting a Daphne blue Tele- caster against her leg, Soriano strums the folky body of the band’s songs. “I genuinely love old-school country mu- sic, which confuses my parents so much,” So- riano says of her influences. She joined the band soon after meeting Enrique at a Halloween-themed open-mike event and bonding over Soriano’s Phoebe “I GENUINELY LOVE OLD- SCHOOL COUNTRY MUSIC, WHICH CONFUSES MY PARENTS SO MUCH.” Bridgers costume. As important as her guitar contributions are her vocals, which add rich contrast to Rosell’s voice. If Rosell sounds like a creek whispering somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, Soriano is a fern that sits along the bank — solid and confident in her vulnerability. In “Kick to the Chest,” where she’s aching from failure and still lending a re- assuring hand, her offer is firm: “I’ll be here as long as you need/Let’s be clear, I’m what I fear.” A love for Phoebe Bridgers and the New Jersey-based indie rock group Pinegrove are two common threads that bind the band to- gether, although their influences come from all genres and all parts of the world. songs on an EP set to be re- leased at the end of the month, there is a complete- ness in the air and comfort in the band’s ability to col- laborate in person after the pandemic loomed over its formation, fre- quently creating obstacles. Singles “Bluets,” “Kick to the Chest,” and “Song to Say Good- bye To” were completed remotely, with Es- trada, Rosell, and Soriano video calling and exchanging audio files to bring the tracks to- gether. Unlike the tempo of its songs, Stillblue shows no signs of slowing. The band began performing live shows in January, playing ev- erything from house shows in Coconut Grove to packed rooms at indie hotbed Gramps. The members recently announced they’ll join South Florida natives the Polar Boys on a tour in September, including shows in Orlando, Atlanta, and Nashville. “I think about it too much. I cannot ex- plain to you the levels of happiness in my head,” Rosell says. “Because it’s not just a three-year-long journey that we’ve been on. It’s like a lifelong journey to get to this point.” [email protected] 7/14/22* 16 16 MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 JULY 14-20, 2022 NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS |miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com miaminewtimes.com
