We were so wowed by Divino Niño’s new record Foam, we immediately hit them up to talk about it. These local lads have been tearing up the scene as of late and are set to make a national splash when they hit the road this fall. Do yourself a favor and check out Foam while you read about their journey to find the impeccable sound on display in the new record. 

-KPL

DN: Divino Niño

Javier Forero - Bass, Keys, Vocals
Camilo Medina - Guitar, Keys, Vocals
Guillermo Rodriguez - Guitar, Keys, Back Up Vocals
Pierce Codina - Drums, Percussion

CCS: Kyle Land

CCS: Some of our Surfers might not know of Divino Niño. Could you introduce yourselves? 

Divino Niño: Sure thing. There's four of us (Camilo, Javier, Guillermo, Pierce), but sometimes you may see more of us onstage. We like to bring vibey friends along to play live shows. We play music some people call pysch, some people say shoegaze, other's say pop. It's really all over the place. We live in Chicago, but as individuals we've lived in lots of places: Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, L.A., Miami. 

You all have been around for over five years now. The Chicago indie Latinx scene has been growing during your time together. Did you run across any challenges being accepted in the indie scene that didn't have many well-known Latinx bands? 

DN: Everyone has been very inviting and warm in welcoming us, honestly. It took us a while to find like-minded musicians, but once we did, the whole indie scene in Chicago really took to us and I think embraced any differences there were culturally. No one in the indie scene here is holding on to like a "Chicago Sound."  The music scene really craves sounds they haven't heard before and that's V special. 

Your sound is such a beautiful blend of genres. What would you say are your main influences? Did Divino Niño's sound develop organically, or did you all go in with a specific goal in mind?  

DN: We never have a goal in mind other than to be inspired by things we hear everyday. Sometimes that's an old song, sometimes it's a new song. We like to find a sound and try to replicate what makes it special while putting it through our own little sound filter to make it unique. That's why some songs on Foam might sound like '70s Japanese City pop, others might sound like modern shoegaze, but hopefully they all sound like us. We can't stick to one genre or era. We' d get bored! 

It's been three years since your last album. How long was the process to put together Foam? 

DN: It took a looooooooong time. We trashed probably three album’s-worth of recordings to get what we have. Part of it was finding our voice, part of it was learning how to record. We didn't set out to make a bedroom record, even though it was recorded in a bedroom. We wanted to make it sound pro AF. Not sure we achieved that, but that was the goal and that took a long time to learn. 

Do you write collaboratively, or do you bring things to the table separately? 

DN: Depends on the song. Everyone writes their own parts. Usually someone brings a demo to practice and sometimes a song is nearly complete; other times we have to jam it together to figure out how to make it vibe. 

You're going on tour this fall with Crumb. What's the best part about touring, and what could you do without? 

DN: Well, the best part is meeting new people and being able to play live in front of them every night. The only bad thing about touring is that there's a lot of waiting around. You might play for 30-45 minutes, but the rest of the time is driving, waiting for soundcheck, etc. It's a lot of work for such a small amount of time to be playing, but it's worth it. Sometimes we joke that on tour 99% of our time is just moving the same instruments from one place to another. Kinda weird. 

Are there any bands out of Chicago that aren't getting their due right now? 

DN: Girl K is putting out some really cool stuff and starting to get some attention. Bunny and the Glyders have always been an inspiration to us as well as Paul Cherry. Honestly there are so many!