Electro: The musical soap opera album of the electro-pop rock world treks the US canvas as Love Star promotes its new album.
“I had to forget everything. Erase everything I learned and really open my mind. To open it to the possibility of love. In the midst of Hell, there is ice. The world floats in between them. I search. I search among my emotions. My stone changes into a thousand colors. I search. I search among my emotions. My skin now changes a thousand colors.” –Love Star
Off one of their top singles from their newly released album, Espectro, Love Star infuses their song, Busco, with such deep reflections of one searching for true love that it takes audiences to a whole another level of musical introspection and appreciation. With a number of music videos for the album already released, the original, electro-pop duo of Adriana Fernandez (aka Starla) who writes the lyrics, sings, and plays the keyboard, and Will Alves (aka The Doctor) who plays guitar, are working to complete their latest video for their single, Sola, while also touring the US entertaining fans from Kansas City, MO to Austin, TX. They’ll soon arrive to Los Angeles to greet spectators with their blend of retro-alternative, electronic rock that has captivated audiences since the group’s debut in 2009. After their release of their first EP, Happiness, back in 2010, Love Star has continued spreading their message of positivity and happiness gathering a loyal following along the way as their music takes to the air waves and digital streaming platforms all over the world. They’ve been featured on both US and Mexican television shows like Lanzate and El Shuffle showcasing their music and videos. They’ve played alongside other notable independent bands like Sons of E.D., Opinião Pública from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Murfila of Spain, and Pastilla and Vim Furor from LA. Now with the debut of Espectro, the electro-rock duo is working tirelessly promoting it on their “Turn Your Scars into Stars” US tour.
Espectro is Love Star’s first full-length album that was produced by 16-time Grammy award winner Thom Russo who has taken the group’s eclectic sound to new heights making each song individually unique resonating a retro feel that is reminiscent of the 80’s New Age sensibilities like Depeche Mode while infusing the rebellious alternative rock sounds of the current genre. Often described as an electro-pop rock band, Love Star’s music is far more deep than with what they’ve been coined. People en Español had described their work as “Happiness in musical code” while iTunes called it “a kind of retro alternative pop that refuses to be blue.” Musical Roots offered sincere admiration by highlighting their work as “a moment in space that validates beauty and a sense of one’s self with the universe.” All are valid descriptions undoubtedly. Moreover, Love Star expresses an artistic intelligence with a definitive, stalwart creative compass that directs their musical vision which invites fans to gather around and simply listen to the message the duo energetically communicates. Case in point. Espectro was designed to play like a 3-part soap opera telling the love story of a young girl who is feeling lost but trying to find herself, and she eventually does by the conclusion. It’s a musical journey of a character which sprung from Adriana’s imagination that she felt needed to be shared with fans resulting in an album that was divided into 3 chapters of a “musical book”, a book with stories of internal struggles and character growth. Sola, for example, is a song about the character coming to grips with the fact that happiness can be found in oneself and doesn’t require the company of another to complete her. The song chronicles her internal struggles dealing with the societal norms that dictate what defines the perfect life including the search for the perfect partner. Instead, the song concludes that such a search is mere folly and only threatens to waste her life away. Instead, it proclaims that she is ok being alone, and she can still be happy. The song’s message succeeded to connect with fans so much so that it has already been awarded the 2016 John Lennon Songwriting Contest and has received enough airtime play over the radio to push for a music video.
Other notable songs in the album aside from Busco and Sola are available that are also worth mentioning. Respirar, for instance, is a passionate song about first love and the passion that accompanies it. In it, the character proclaims her love for the one who has stirred her passions within and feels alive whenever she is around him. She can finally breathe in his presence and doesn’t want to let go. Taking a slightly harder pop rock edge, though, is Llamame, which tells the story of our young heroine enticing her dream guy to make the first move and call her any day or anytime. She’s so smitten by him that she anxiously awaits his response. On the other side of the spectrum, Casanova, Mejor Me Voy, and Lejos chronicles the young lady’s emotional struggles through heartbreak and acceptance. At first she doesn’t understand why she was treated so wrong and how distant they became in the relationship despite everything she gave him. Regardless, she felt betrayed and played. Nevertheless, she eventually accepts the break up and moves on with her life figuring she’s better off without him, and the only one who is really losing out in the relationship is he. As for the song, Waiting, this was a beautiful ballad which changed the pace a bit. It’s more of a reflective piece commenting on the societal standard of beauty and how it can stunt one from personal growth and maturity. We’re so consumed by physical beauty that we develop a wall that keeps us from sincerely being ourselves. The song posts the question of when will we finally let go of this crutch and just be comfortable with ourselves. “When will all our fears fade away?” The album as a whole is wonderful. Each song equally engages the audience with their positive message of love, acceptance, and individualism while still be edgy and preserving that rock element that keeps the listening experience so vibrant.
In short, to simply describe Love Star as just an electro-pop band is a disservice for all of the hard work Adriana and Will have invested to create this lyrical work of art. They’re traveling the country currently playing in different venues while juggling other projects that serve to promote their new album. In fact, time has been so elusive that conducting interviews along the way would seem difficult. However, they were so graciously accommodating, that they were able to speak while on the road.
How’s the tour going so far?
Will Alves: It’s been great so far. We’re really tired. (chuckles). As you can imagine. We’re actually driving through New Jersey right now.
How long is the tour going to be? Will it extend beyond the summer?
Will: Right now. We’re going to be doing New Jersey, DC, Charlotte, then Memphis. We’ll head home after that. We also have a couple shows in LA. One is at Mal’s Bar. Then we’re going to do a few shows after that before the end of the year.
What was it like working with producer, Thom Russo?
Adriana: It was amazing. Just working with him, we learned so much. It was a lot of fun too. At first in the beginning, we were a little nervous because we didn’t know what to expect. You wouldn’t think so being we’re this independent band with all this experience but when you meet him, he’s the type of person that you owe him all this respect. The experience was great.
Would you consider working with him on future projects?
Will: That’s definitely a possibility. For now, we’re about promoting the current album, but it is in the back of our minds for what’s coming up next. It was a great experience working with him.
How would you describe your music? Is there a style that describes your brand of music? Would you consider your style very eclectic?
Will: The word that kind of got coined a lot that you might’ve heard is the word “electro-rock” or “electro-rock pop”. I guess in a nutshell that would be the closest the way you can describe our music. It’s definitely eclectic, but as a rock thing.
How did you guys start? How was the group formed?
Adriana: Well, Will and I met in LA. We were in another LA band. We were both in a different band. When neither of the bands worked out and they broke up, we still remained friends. I ran into him at another club playing in another band. We decided to start Love Star because we have the same taste in music.
How did you come up with the name Love Star?
Will: That was a painstaking and terrible process actually. (chuckles). It was literally weeks. I don’t know. However long it was to get the name down and talk to different people. Trying to figure it out, “Ok. What’s going to be the band’s name?” I always hear stories of bands whenever they get asked, “How did you come up with the name like ‘whatever?’” Had we known how long of a project this was going to be, you would think about getting your hair combed and what not. We narrowed it down to Love Star. It kind of encompassed the music we wanted to write and the direction we wanted to go in. So, that was how it went down.
I understand you write your own songs. Generally, when you write them, are there any central themes to all your songs in each album you produce?
Will: What we’ve done so far is about happiness. It’s kind of central. Yeah. When we write we kind of had a central theme in mind like happiness and more positive type things. Sending a more positive message if you will. On the next album, we’re definitely going to think along those same lines. We’ll throw up some ideas and choose which will fit together and all that kind of stuff.
Are there any central themes to your album, Electro, or is it just about a love story? Basically, what’s the album about?
Adriana: No. It’s more than that. What we did for this album is that we divided the album into 3 chapters to tell a story. It is a love story like a soap opera from beginning to end. It’s about the main character and what happens to her in the story and what she ends up finding. In this case, it’s herself. It’s more a story about a young girl finding herself. It’s more about losing yourself and finding yourself.
What other upcoming projects do you have in store after the tour?
Adriana: After the tour, we’re going to go back to Sun studios. A few years ago, we started recording our EP there, but we never finished it. So, we have plans to go back and finish that up so that we can hopefully get it to the audience by this Christmas like a little gift. So, that’s the next one, and right now we’re already writing songs for the next album. So, hopefully after that we can get back into the studio to restart work on it.
Are you going to produce a new music video for the album or you’re not there yet?
Adriana: Not yet. Before we left for the tour, we started filming “Sola”, which was the current single that we’re promoting right now, but we ran out of time. So, we’re going to finish that up as soon as we get back to LA. We’re hoping to get it out there by next month before the release of our album.
I’ve seen a couple of your videos. Very nice!! I really enjoyed them. Creatively, do you think the overall concept of what you envisioned in your songs translated well into your music videos?
Will: We definitely work really hard to try to figure out visually what’s going to match up with the message of the song. Like Dame, it was a really good representation of the story we wanted to tell. We did our best to shoot and edit it so that we could make that work.
Where can fans check out your other projects, events, or concerts you’re about to do? Is there a website or a Facebook page they can look for?
Adriana: They can go to our website, lovestarband.com. From there, it’ll link them to our Twitter and Facebook page and Instagram. Those are the three we use the most. They can find us on lovestarband. That’s our handle.
Espectro was released on May 2016 online and is currently available on Love Star’s website and on iTunes. It’s definitely worthwhile to check it out. If you’re anywhere near any of the towns where they’re performing live, then you would definitely be in for a treat. In sum, Love Star will keep you engaged either through the digital airwaves or in person. For information on Love Star’s upcoming concerts, please refer to the following dates and locations:
“TURN YOUR SCARS INTO STARS” TOUR 2016
July 23 – Roxy Bar – Kansas City, MO
July 24 – The Elbo Room – Chicago, IL
July 27 – Don Pedro – New York, NY
July 28 – Volume Cafe – Turnersville, NJ
July 29 – Tree House Lounge – Washington, DC
July 30 – Petra’s Bar – Charlotte, NC
July 31 – Hi Tone Cafe – Memphis, TN
September 2 – LA County Fair – Los Angeles, CA
September 10 – M Bar – Los Angeles, CA
November 12 – Sancho’s – San Antonio, TX
November 13 – The Lucky Lounge – Austin, TX
