The Red Skirts is the steadily growing, up-and-coming, indie-pop love child of SoCal natives Lewis Bustamante, Cris, and Randz Angelo.
Beginning in late 2021 by vocalist Lewis Bustamante – it took years of personal struggle, self-doubt, and insecurity, which prevent The Red Skirts from moving forward. But, with the momentum they’ve been putting forth, they’ve found a new element to instill within the indie genre.
Through lush guitar riffs and an eclectic flair that shines a light on The Red Skirts’ uniqueness, “We’ve Been Through This Before” is the latest single from their music catalog.
Dazzling from a brilliant warmth that radiates from the entire quintessence of this sincere ballad, the slow tempo sways you into a dreamy atmosphere rich in potent messaging.
The Red Skirts profess poetic songwriting that allows every word to nuzzle itself in your mind comfortably. Performing with a tender ease that branches out upon the hypnotic melodies visited, nothing feels forced as you take in “We’ve Been Through This Before.”
There’s a vulnerability behind the story as the narrative describes a relationship that continues to crumble no matter how hard the couple attempts to work at it. When Bustamante’s angelic croons whisk you away in words, “We’re getting used to this. I’d apologize, but nothing ever comes of it,” we’re taken to a place of familiarity and relatability as the level of the word with us in an extensive manner.
As the band comes together to indulge listeners in an elusive yet persuasive ether chalked full of heartrending rhythm and overflowing emotion, “We’ve Been Through This Before” encapsulates an energy you won’t want to miss out on.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, The Red Skirts! It’s great to have you chatting with us about your latest heartfelt release, “We’ve Been Through This Before.” With an abundance of detail professed through the songwriting approach, what moment or story inspired the creation of this song?
The inspiration for this song is very personal, and it’s something that I’ve never actually told anyone. People have asked me if this song is about me and who it’s about, but I never felt anyone else should know. One day though, I realized that there really are loads of people everywhere, probably feeling the same thing as I was feeling, so it almost felt like a necessity to write this track. “We’ve Been Through This Before” is a breakup song about me and an ex-girlfriend of mine. We’d often break up and get back together shortly after, and it was a very tiring experience for us both. One of us would call, and the other wouldn’t answer; we knew we couldn’t be together, but we couldn’t really help it, you get the point. Eventually, you get so tired you expect them never to leave because you’ve been through this before, so there’s no point in apologizing because nothing ever comes from it. All in all, not a good experience, haha.
Please shine a light on the creative process that brought this song to life.
Since I was a child, I have always imagined the songwriting process to be “grand” and almost commercialized, so I approach making our music the same way. Though, “We’ve Been Through This Before” wasn’t really written with that in mind. I remember being in my room a couple of years ago with my acoustic guitar trying to play what I felt. I want to write a humble and down-to-earth tune instead of the usual theatrical experience I try to give myself. There wasn’t much thought put into writing this song because the song really just wrote itself. I remember playing the main chord progression, recording the song, and finishing the song within the night. It was easy to write because this song is very much all me. This is probably the only song of mine that doesn’t have some sort of outside influence on how I was feeling at the time.
Do you find it challenging to tap into the mighty rush of emotion showcased when you perform? Is there anything that helps you get in that headspace?
I actually didn’t find it challenging to tap into my emotions at all, which is weird because I do my best to keep my emotions in check, so it’s not really often that I do tap into my emotions as I did here, so you would think that this would be a difficult song to write. At the time, though, I was having a bit of a mental dip, and my emotions were uncharacteristically leaking in a negative way. We all have those days, and all I wanted to do was vent without having to vent to anyone personally, so I let it pour out onto this track. I remember that day being a rainy, cloudy day, so I closed the curtains and did what I had to do in a dimly lit room. That is the atmosphere I felt the song had, so I tried to “become” the song in a way.
Taking on musical influences like The 1975, Beaux, Beabadoobee, and Pale Waeves, how did you manage to create a sound true to you all while paying homage to the musicality of these bands?
Much like my inspirations, artists like The 1975, Beaux, Beabadoobee, and Pale Waves have always found a way to make me feel personally addressed not only as an artist but also as a human. They have this quality of life and incredibly real mindset that I’m really drawn to and want to contribute to while allowing room for myself and the rest of the band to stand out. I know what their music has done for me and what it has done to me, and I’d like to be the reason people say the same about The Red Skirts, so I approach our music with that in mind. I’m not sure if that’s really considered paying homage, but it certainly feels like it.
What’s next for you?
If we’re talking about the near future, then I should be the one to tell you to expect more music very soon. From here, in the future, I’m hoping that we can continue to put out projects, grow as a band, put our names out there and be able to put out a full-length LP while also getting signed to our favorite label down the road. We’re working towards all that right now, and it’ll take time, but I’m sure we’ll get there.
