An Interview with International Singer/Songwriter Jose Gonzalez

On February 29th, Jose Gonzalez embarked upon a Green Tour of North America in partnership with Reverb (www.reverbrock.org), a non-profit
organization designed to educate and engage music fans and promote environmental sustainability. Gonzalez' is very conscious of the way individuals and collectives impact the world for good and bad, and as a citizen of Sweden, he is especially aware of the challenges facing the world in the form of climate change. This has led him to take steps towards revamping his touring practices to mitigate the carbon emissions the process creates.

His debut album Veneer sold over 700,000 copies world wide, and his latest release In Our Nature has won more critical praise and earned him appearances on Conan O'Brien and the Jimmy Kimmel Show. In Our Nature deals with many different themes, and is a result of Gonzalez' introspection in to what makes humanity act in the way it does. Gonzalez's Green Tour will drive thru Philly this Saturday when the artist plays the World Café. DigPhilly chatted with Gonzalez via phone.

Associated Content: You have a mixture of a Latin musical heritage and a Scandinavian heritage - what does each bring to your work?

Jose Gonzalez: The Latin music is pretty clear. I know almost exactly what I listened to when I was young, my dad had a pretty limited collection of different music from Argentina. All string guitar recordings from the '60s and '70s. I feel very nostalgic when I hear that type of music and it is very much part of my sound. It is also part of what I factor into the guitar, and when I add instruments it is always percussion. Swedish/Scandavian heritage is not a big part of my music. It is mostly things from the US that inspired me while growing up, and my teenage years. It is the hardcore and indie rock scenes, a sense of dramatic lyrics that really inspired me. Those are all inspirations that lead me to write Veneer.

Associated Content: For your mixed international heritage, I still find your music very relatable...

Jose Gonzalez: Yeah, I have heard that before, and it feels good to hear that. It was something I thought about a lot when I was writing my first lyrics. I showed it to people who speak English fluently; I was trying to be very aware of my pronunciation. No "Swenglish" , no bad pronunciation. Plus, there are more subtle aspects with the sound of recordings and the instrumentation. The fact that it has a universal sound, so many cultures have this kind of style, it makes it a bit more sense of familiarity

Associated Content: How important is it to you to break into the American market?

Personally. I don't bother that much about it. It is always nice to come to a new place. I is not important to me to make it to a more mainstream level. I know how labels think, they don't really don't mind if it sold more to a wider audience...But that is not what I think about when creating.

Associated Content: Tell me about your Green Tour....

Jose Gonzalez: When my manager presented the idea to me, I thought it was a really good thing to do. I wasn't aware that there was a company that helped your tour be more green.

Associated Content: Do you enjoy touring?

Jose Gonzalez: I enjoy parts of it. I enjoy going to new places and meeting nice people and eating new foods. But there is definitely parts I get tied of...Part of the touring has been kind of almost without my consent. Kind of like when they ask me to go someplace and it sounds really fun...Then I am stuck in some place that is fun on paper and it is not in reality...It's very different from tour to tour - some are very well planned and have plenty of free time and time to sleep...Some are not so well planned...

www.jose-gonzalez.com
www.myspace.com/josegonzalez
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