The downhearted vocal abysses and inconsolable string arrangements found within Cesar Saez's Musical Catalog shouldn't come as surprising.
The Mexican-born psychedelic soulster has been sparking up lighters and waving his hands and shedding tears to the melancholic throb of his own heart since his Debut from 2016, "Perdido." It was a phenomenal Extended Play and one that would stand as a stanchion for his melancholy-heavy Baroque-pop aesthetic for years to come.
This year, on that same heavy-hearted path, his most recent brokenhearted escapades—"Canción Triste" translating to "Sad Song"—render up as the first presentiments of the saturnine landscape we can to come off his Autumn-set LP, "The Splendor of Sadness."
Here, in the exordium of "Canción Triste," Cesar's melancholy fueled sonic swan-dive is motivated by somber string orchestrations while the warbling intonation oozing from his infatuating "Ooohs" and "Aaah" chaperone us through the resoundings of gospel choirs, softly oscillating keys, and mystifying mantra-like echoes that spill over the edges of this emotional plunge.
As this heart-sick Ballad treads-on, the air around you suddenly starts to magnetize, raising the hair on your skin like static—as if to foreshadow something more consequential developing from within the shadows.
Before you know it, Cesar Caez plunges you into an apex of anthemic eruptions of stimulating electric guitars and vintage-hued drums that crash over tom-toms utilizing theatrical grace. With his subtly reverberated voice and unrelenting words, "life is very sad, I have no doubt, find the joke and love madly," guiding us through the blindingly cherubic boomings thundering in the backgrounds, it's almost impossible not to lose track of time and space.
The testament and uprise of the Gospel vocalists evaporate into the flourishing atmospheres of the newly incited Motivation Anthem, making it feel like you've just had an epiphany. And as if it all happened so naturally, the undivided playing back starts to impart an after-glow that feels like a sonically induced trance by the time you reach the hastily dissolving fade-outs that mark the end.
Hello Cesar and welcome to BuzzMusic. How did you fit "Canción Triste" into the cohesive narrative behind your upcoming album, "The Splendor of Sadness?"
I think if there is a song that ties everything on the record together this one is it, this is one of the first songs I wrote in Spanish. Although the song is sad it has a positive twist at the end I wanted to create a journey that would culminate in a big wall of sound that shined and I think this is one of the songs that helped get to the album title.
The entirety of this single plays like evolution through contrasting emotions. Was that the intention behind your playback, and can you tell us more about how the song's climaxing portions came to fruition in the writing process?
The song came to me in a flash one of the fastest songs I've written. It was something buried in my soul that needed to come out a lot of songs can be that way for me. I always knew I wanted to do something big with this song and through hard work and help from my friends I was able to bring my vision to life. I wanted a gospel choir and string arrangements to illustrate sonically what I'm saying in the lyrics. I was influenced by the English band Spiritualized. When I went to one of their concerts here in LA they performed with a Gospel choir named DC6 Singers after the show I contacted them and they agreed to work with me, they completed my vision for the song.
What was your experience like traveling between Mexico City and Los Angelos for your upcoming Album, and how did Luis Ros and Luis Aguilar help you facilitate this record's creation?
I travel to Mexico often as a lot of my fanbase is from there not to mention how much i enjoy going there Ros and Luis are really good friends and we have very similar musical influences it was a lot of fun getting to make a record with your friends and I couldn't have done it without them.
If you could give your listeners a few words that would act as a Prologue for the experience they can come to expect in "The Splendor of Sadness," and in this leading single, what would you say?
The Splendor of Sadness is a sonic and emotional journey that will take you through feelings of melancholy, nostalgia, heartbreak, passion, but ultimately ruled by love. Each song brings something different to the table with each listens you might uncover a different layer on any given song.
What has been keeping you inspired in 2020?
It has been a tough year for all and at times it's hard to have hope or feel inspired but I always try to look at the positive side. I like being hopeful or what would be the point of being here otherwise. Hope has been keeping me afloat and motivated to do more. All the people that take the time to send me a message regarding my music is also a big inspiration for me.