motel void

Cesar Maria is an LA based songwriter and producer. His candid bedroom pop is equal parts intimate and resonant, weaving small moments with big feelings that hit like the soundtrack to faint memories.

MOTEL VOID: Being based in LA, how has the city’s music scene influenced your sound and creative process? Are there particular aspects of LA music community that have shaped your work?

CESAR MARIA: I would almost say its more the opposite. Obviously it’s impossible to create in a vacuum but I try pretty hard not to pay attention to trends in the LA music scene. That said some of my friends are making really incredible work here (Tino Drima, Delanova, Sharpie Smile, etc) and I’m sure i pick up inspiration but its definitely not conscious. Honestly I’m pretty massively influenced by the city itself and the romance of strip malls and freeways. I love how LA feels it’s always a little hard to grasp – a little hidden under the surface – that really inspires me.

MOTEL VOID: You’ve just released the single “on ur side now,” which will also feature on your upcoming EP. Could you walk us through the writing and recording process behind this new record?

CESAR MARIA: I don’t really have a set process for writing or recording – I find that songs tend to form in different ways. This EP is a combination of new and old tracks, “on ur side now” being the oldest. I wrote and recorded that in like an hour with an iPhone years ago. At the time i was moving and had all my gear packed up so I recorded all the individual takes and layered them together in the computer later, a process I’ve never actually repeated since it was so counter intuitive.

The rest of the songs are newer and have a more normal process. Some of them started on 8-track tape and then ended up in the computer, one of them, “angels” started around a keyboard loop i was obsessed with and then evolved into something totally different. Generally I tend to work really fast once I have an idea and use whatever instrument or method that’s quickest to catch the vibe before i hear it too much and lose interest. My studio is set up so that everything is hooked up and ready to record – whether its for my solo project or with another artist, i never want to be digging through cables to plug in my DX7 or trying to put up a vocal mic when theres a good idea.

MOTEL VOID: You describe songs as “oysters that shouldn’t be too easy to crack”. Can you elaborate on this metaphor and how it reflects your songwriting process?

CESAR MARIA: For me the oyster represents a challenge but also something that is perfectly balanced in its proportions and aesthetics – there’s the pearl, theres the tough harsh exterior and a the oyster itself in between. I think while my favorite songs almost sound like they wrote themselves theres also always this overwhelming sense of balance. I’m obsessed with balance in art. i love putting something ugly next to something beautiful. I take a lot of influence from fashion and the high/low binary is so interesting to me – like reappropriating something that is considered cringe or anti fashion and putting it on a runway – or how a 5 dollar gas station hat looks so good in a suit. In that same way i find it so crucial from a production and songwriting standpoint to create balance and contrast. If a song is centered around an acoustic guitar or a vintage vibe the drums shouldn’t sound like Neil Young. So much art and music today is based on throwback and pastiche I like to be surprised and to actually dig for the beauty a little. I think an artist like mk.gee is really exploring that in an interesting way.

MOTEL VOID: Who or what is your biggest inspiration at the moment?

CESAR MARIA: I’ve been very into exploring the mundane in my lyrics. I love when a song pulls from the most regular thoughts or experiences but makes you feel something bigger. I’ve always sort of been haunted by the “i just lied to get to your apartment” lyric in The Strokes “Is this it”. The image of the apartment is just so powerful i think it instantly evokes the feeling of being in your 20s and being at your friends’ apartments.

Musically/sonically I’m really into this one digital piano sound from the Roland JV1080 synthesizer. It sounds like every corny movie or tv soundtrack from the 90s and really takes me right back to my childhood.
Finally I wouldn’t say i’m very musically influenced by them but I literally can’t stop listening to Chanel Beads haha – the songs are just so inventive while like still being ear-wormy. It feels like questing music like i can put on their record and go bop around with my airpods and feel like I’m in the sims.

MOTEL VOID: Are you planning any live shows to promote your new EP?

CESAR MARIA: Yes, currently looking at doing some stuff early next year as well as releasing more music!