A cinematic spectacular, Scotch Mist’s ‘Cabo Blanco’ is at once irresistible, immersive, and utterly enchanting: A sweaty, seductive fever dream of 21st Century funk and indie rock charm ready to sweep us off our feet and drench us in stunning sound.
Stream: “Sink Into (Your Love)” – Scotch Mist
Scotch Mist’s latest record doesn’t just start; it immediately blasts off in a fury of sweaty, seductive funk.
Within seconds of pressing play, Cabo Blanco takes ahold of the senses, transporting listeners to another world: One of soul-stirring beats and dazzling riffs that echo off the walls as emotive vocals drip with passion, purpose, and heat. A cinematic spectacular, Cabo Blanco is at once irresistible, immersive, and utterly enchanting: A fever dream of 21st Century funk and indie rock charm ready to sweep us off our feet and drench us in stunning sound.
There’s a look in your eye
When you tell a lie
I never take good advice
And its no surprise
Stuck in a dream
I suppose whatever happens happens
Caught in between moon and sky
I’ll fall into those eyes and drown
Sink into your love
I’ll go a second time around
And sink into the corner of your love
Independently released August 1, 2023, Cabo Blanco is a mesmerizing display of Scotch Mist’s singular musicality, as well as a powerful embrace of the visceral, intense fires burning deep within us all. The trailblazing New York City-based trio of Venezuelan-born lead singer Ed Zighelboim, Brazilian-born bassist and producer Gianluca Girard, and lead guitarist Fern Souza, Scotch Mist have been been building out their uniquely spiced brand of indie rock for the better part of the past decade. Through four phenomenal studio albums – each one another world unto itself – the group have crafted a distinctive sonic identity that sets them apart. No single genre or description can hold them; they are natural shapeshifters, avid experimenters, and sonic explorers.
“This album is a sort of sequel to the previous album crybaby (released in 2021), which was about the death of lead singer Ed’s girlfriend Lydia Touchton, who died suddenly in her sleep in 2019,” the members of Scotch Mist tell Atwood Magazine. “That record was about grief and beginning the process of healing, and the music reflects that: it’s a somber indie rock record with very reflective and romantic lyrics about love and love lost.”
“The new album Cabo Blanco was made under opposite circumstances: It was a true joy to make this record. Where Ed used to bring a majority of song ideas to Gianluca and Fern, the three of us began to collaborate in a way we never had before. It felt like a metamorphosis, creatively. All of us felt so happy to meet at the studio and write songs together. That joy can be heard in the music: sonically it is a warm, groovy summer record, and the lyrics reflect it too.”
“We wrote and recorded 35-40 songs together between late 2021-early 2023. There wasn’t a vision at first,” Ed Zighelboim explains. “I think we just wanted to write as many songs as we could together. Songwriting can be like going to the gym; we were writing every day and strengthening those muscles as the months went by. We ended up scrapping the first 15-20 songs we made, right around the time we wrote ‘Breaking Someone’s Heart Again.’ Even though we really loved those songs, it just felt like we had found an awesome new sonic direction.”
We’ve never made a better piece of music in our lives. I wholeheartedly believe we made a timeless album. We’re all really proud.
Zighelboim describes the new album as lush, groovy, and psychedelic.
“We really struggled to name the record when the time came,” he reflects. “Cabo Blanco is the title of a song Gianluca wrote with our close friend and collaborator Julian Picado, a brilliant Costa Rican musician. We did an exercise where we went song by song and wrote out the themes of each one to see if things tied together in such a way that we could name the record after that theme or thematic symbol. When we got to the track ‘Cabo Blanco’, it just seemed like it was in front of our faces the whole time. The record is about escapism in a way, and Cabo Blanco is an island in Costa Rica none of us had ever been to. It just made perfect sense.”
While it’s natural for a band’s latest record to be their favorite, Scotch Mist are particularly assertive that their current era is their very best.
“Everything before crybaby just felt like practice, or like demos or mixtapes,” Zighelboim says. “In my mind, crybaby is our first true album, and Cabo is the best one. Love both.”
From the kaleidoscopic opener “Parachute” through the exhilarating “Alright,” the groovy “Sink Into (Your Love),” and the tender orchestral finale “Warm Light,” Cabo Blanco is an all-hits, no-misses 30-minute love affair between fiery funk and radiant indie rock.
“I personally LOVE the last four songs,” Zighelboim lights up. “I think they have an emotional potency that the others make up for in their immaculate good vibes. It’s like yin and yang. You can’t feel happiness if you’ve never felt sadness, and vice-versa.”
From start to finish, Cabo Blanco uplifts, enchants, and inspires.
“I just hope the joy we felt creating it is felt and shared by the listeners,” Zighelboim shares. “Now that it’s out, I think as a band we all feel a sense of relief that it’s not really ours anymore. We put a lot of work in these past few years to make the music as good as we possibly could, and we feel confident in the work we put in. It’s a fucking 11/10. Cabo Blanco hype will pick up naturally, because it’s that good.”
Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Scotch Mist’s Cabo Blanco with Atwood Magazine as Ed Zighelboim, Gianluca Girard, and Fern Souza take us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their fourth album!
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:: stream/purchase Cabo Blanco here ::
:: connect with Scotch Mist here ::
Stream: ‘Cabo Blanco’ – Scotch Mist
:: Inside Cabo Blanco ::
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“Parachute”
Gianluca had this beat on his computer for months, and I wrote like 3 different sets of lyrics for it. I wanted to make sure it was perfect. Fern’s guitar at the end is one of my favorite moments on the album. Such a jam. This song is about shedding the skin of your past and letting go, jumping into something new. Metamorphosis is possible, if you want it and you’re ready for it.
“Shadowbanned”
“A song about the seeking of validation in the age of the almighty algorithm. Lyrically very tongue-in-cheek, light and fun. It felt like something new for the band, since our lyrics are usually quite sad or intense. This one had us exploring different sonic styles too, very punchy and upbeat. Fern’s versatile guitar parts feel like 3 distinct tonal flavors, but all coming from the same instrument. We love the 303 bassline outro that Gianluca programmed.”
“Alright”
“This song is the thesis statement of the album, with lyrics about smiling through the pain. It was the first one we wrote for Cabo Blanco, the demo for it dating back to 2021, just a month before the release of “crybaby”. It has a great groove and so many catchy details. We had a maximalist approach to production, taking inspiration from the rich arrangements of Phil Spector, Arif Martin, Eumir Deodato. Super uplifting and catchy lyrics. The choruses have these amazing overlapping melodies courtesy of Ed. Fern shines in the bridge with a David Gilmour-esque guitar solo.”
“Far Away”
§Another idea Gianluca had that I pounced on as soon as I heard it. I love the groove, I love the bassline, I love dueling guitar and piano solos. The song is about being in control, it’s about feeling free, dancing through the pain and in some ways indulging in fantasy.
“Around”
“We were inspired by The Police, especially with Andy Summers’ guitar and rhythmic nuances. It took very little time to write and record, with a really welcoming arrangement so it was easy for the band to fall into it when writing their parts. It’s funny how some songs can take years to get down, and yet this one basically wrote itself. We must have started and finished it in 5 days total. Lyrically inspired by Sting’s really descriptive and colorful writing. We love Ed’s falsetto and how it contrasts with the driving instrumental. One of our favorite recording moments from the album.
“Breaking Someone’s Heart Again”
Writing this one was so easy– it all just fell into place sonically and lyrically. It was one of the earlier things we wrote and really helped serve as a northstar for the sonics of this album. It’s a song about main character syndrome where two people feel like they’re the victims in a breakup. People will always rationalize the things that happen to them, when those things are their fault or when they aren’t. It’s an awesome song. The ‘sleeper hit’ deep track. Love it.
“Let Go”
“A song birthed during a songwriting session with Dana Foote from Sir Chloe. We had the chord progression and then she came up with the chorus within minutes of hearing it. She is amazing— she has such a sensibility for lyrics and comes up with melodies that really stick in your head. We wrote the rest of the lyrics together and finished the song in 2 days. Gianluca’s production for this track is also incredible— the bass groove, synth work, the bounce of the drums…it really transports you to whatever universe this song exists in.”
“Sink Into (Your Love)”
“A song about welcoming the risk of being hurt in a relationship, when the prospect of love is too enticing. It was originally written during 2021 sessions for our previous album, ‘crybaby’. A lot of inspiration taken from The Bee-Gees, Chic, Late 70’s Disco/Boogie. It marked our arrival into more a disco-oriented sound, which we were originally unsure about. Shaan Ramaprasad’s string arrangement really solidified the song into one of the most beautiful tracks we’ve ever made. The secret is to have the best musicians you know play on your songs.”
“Cabo Blanco”
Gianluca had been collaborating with our dear friend Julian Picado, who wrote the chord progression and plays guitar on this song. We brought it to our friend Shaan Ramaprasad to collaborate and write the string arrangements. To me, it’s like Milton Nascimento’s ‘Clube Da Esquina’–– in 4D. A cinematic instrumental passage that if you close your eyes, just takes you away to somewhere completely different.
“Hey Lover!”
A song that Ed wrote on piano before ‘crybaby’ came out. We wrote a lot of piano ballads during the initial sessions of the songs we had scrapped early into the process, but this one, Ed kept to himself and didn’t show anyone til later on. This one really came to life when we recorded Shaan’s string parts. It’s a song about asking for help, being vulnerable, feeling ready to be vulnerable, and wanting connection.
“Warm Light”
Like ‘Hey Lover!’, this song came a little later into the process of making this album, and came to life during the strings sessions. We knew we had something special even without strings, but Shaan’s strings really made this song come alive. Ed wrote this song at McGolrick Park in Brooklyn. I love that the lyrics allude to a love lost, but in reality it is just about being at the park and watching the sun go down and the day grow cold and the moon begin to rise. It’s a song about cycles and spiritual connection with those cycles. There is so much doubt thrown around lyrically on this album, and this song feels the most confident in itself. The perfect closer: I am no longer alone, I am here, in the moment, at peace, having found solace in the present.
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:: stream/purchase Cabo Blanco here ::
:: connect with Scotch Mist here ::
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