THE CUDAS, Alien Vacation

The Cudas  ➡ es una nueva banda del más puro power pop.

La música afortunadamente no tiene fronteras, así que esta vez dedico mi post a esta banda. Descubierta hace un año de la mano de Angel Snap de Snap Records.  

Su compositor sudafricano, más concretamente de Ciudad del Cabo, Reinhard van Biljon mezcla armonías y ganchos pop con acordes potentes y difusos con sintetizadores new wave. 

Todo un descubrimiento. Acaba de sacar su último EP  Alien Vacation. 

Su música está siendo la sensación en las radios americanas y los podrás escuchar en Plástico Elástico amenudo. Pero para que lo conozcáis un poco mejor he podido contactar con él muy amblemente y le he realizado una pequeña entrevista para vosotros.

Como sé que sois casi todos políglotas os la pongo en su idioma para que no haya problemas de interpretación.

Who are The Cudas? Whenever I talk about the The Cudas, I say "we", but it is really just a one-man band from Cape Twon, South Africa. The reason for the band name is basically because my own name, Reinhard van Biljon, is just a bit long and The Cudas is just easier to remember! Also, if I do put together a live band, I don´t want the other musicians to feel like they have to be playing under just my name.

How do you consider your music? When asked to label their own music, I know a lot of songwriters are allergic to the term "power pop" but I don´t mind it at all. I think The Cudas falls some where between power pop, maybe a bit of pop punk, some new wave and a surf rock element here and there.

I was surprised by a band that comes from South Africa. How is the current music out there?  There is an active independent rock scene here in Cape Town. There are also quite a few instrumental surf bands I enjoy, but I really started releasing music myself at a time when the lockdown period was about to start. So most of the people who have listened to my music are from the US, UK, Spain, Sweden and a few other places. That was mostly through discovering it online and on radio shows and podcasts. So even though there is a vibrant, interesting scene here, I am on the outside of it really. It´s great for me that it doesn´t really matter anymore where you are. Someone on the other side of the world can find your songs just as easily as your neighbour who hates it when you plug in the guitar.

What bands inspire you?  Oh I could give you a super long list, but I think the most immediate ones would be Weezer, The Cars, Fountains of Wayne and The Beach Boys. Of Course, I´m also a big fan of Cheap Trick, and what I consider their modern offspring-bands like Fuzzbubble, Tsar and Marvelous 3.

You have release a new project these days, tell us about it. Yes! The new EP came out on 4 June and it´s called Alien Vacation, it´s got four more pumped up, loud power poppy tracks on it. If you like big guitars and stuff, it might be up your alley! I recrded them all in my living room like I usually do. As the guy who made it, though, my favourite part about it is the artwork. The artist is from Spain and his name is Mario Feal. He is incredibly talented, so I´m thankful for the great visuals he added to my music. I think it goes perfectly together. I hope to have soon news soon on a possible vinyl release in the near future-so stay turned for that!

Do we hope to see you in Spain one day?  I hope so! I have had a few people asking me about that from Spain, and also the US and Japan. So it´s something to consider in the future, definitely. If I can find a way to do that, I definitely will. I have never been to Spain, but I really want to go. I know the type of music I listen to is quite popular there, and I´m also a big football fan. I won´t say which Spanish club I like for now...So Spain is very high on my list!

Eso espero que venga pronto por aquí y poder disfrutar de su música en vivo. Aquí tiene muchos fans.

Olly_Silvia