Chaos Theories Interview with Blanco Tranco
Blanco Tranço: An Authentic Interview
We sat down with Blanco Tranço recently after their latest release. We decided to take a different approach with this written piece, as we felt the authenticity of the interview was too good not to see as it was written. Below is our full conversation with the band, where they discuss their album The Imagined Life, their creative process, and their unfiltered thoughts on their art.
Your debut album, The Imagined Life, explores themes like disillusionment, identity, and emotional fragility. How much of these themes were drawn from personal experiences, and how did they evolve during the album's three-year creation process?
Tiff: I would say roughly 98% of the album is drawn from personal experience lol. I don't usually have any idea what I'm writing about when I start to write it, it just comes out of my subconscious so most of the songs feel a bit like diary entries to me. Spending such a long time on putting together this album meant writing through many different phases of my life. A lot happened during that time, it's like a timeline to me of where I was at depending on when I wrote each song. "Baby Blue," for example, was originally a demo I wrote in 2018. It was just one verse and the chorus, and those lyrics stayed exactly the same. It was a weird experience to actually finish the lyrics 6 years later and see its final form. Similarly, I started writing the lyrics for "Is This Futility?" at the rosy beginnings of a relationship and finished it (from the halfway point of the song) as it was fully crumbling and my world was being turned upside down. I also started writing "Pinhead Larry" during COVID lockdown in 2020 and finished it 3 years later so there's really a full-circle, multiple-perspective thing going on. I see the whole album as such a tapestry of different moments, emotions, and stages of growth I experienced over the last three (actually 6!) years.
The blend of surf rock, shoegaze, and dream pop in your music creates a unique soundscape that's both nostalgic and modern. How do you balance these contrasting vibes when writing and arranging your songs?
Matt: This is a really interesting question. When we approach writing and arranging our songs, it's never about consciously blending genres like surf rock, shoegaze, and dream pop. Instead, we focus on creating a specific atmosphere or "moment" by experimenting with the fundamental limitations of our instruments (guitar, bass, and drums), our own bodies and the physical world around us. We're not trying to make a song fit into a specific category; we're pushing the instruments themselves to give a particular vibe. For example, I sometimes use effects and techniques to make the guitar sound less like a guitar and more like a synth or pad. Because we lack a rhythm guitarist, Mark's bass parts often take on that role, adding a full, resonant layer to our sound. We also use unconventional effects on the drums like distortion and gated reverb to create the feel of an unnatural space.
This is where effects like delay, reverb, and chorus come into their own. They aren't just for decoration; they are integral to building the expansive, immersive sonic world we're after. A simple delay can turn a single note into a looping pattern, while a heavy dose of reverb can transform the sound from a small room into a vast, open space. The goal is a continuous process of layering and sculpting, where the effects are part of the instrument's voice. This allows our music to tell a story that feels both nostalgic and modern because it's a direct result of our creative exploration, not a deliberate fusion of genres.
We've described Tiff's vocals as 'iconic' and deeply emotive throughout the album. How does the band work together to ensure that the vocals sit perfectly within the rich instrumental layers without being overshadowed or overpowering?
Matt: To make sure Tiff's vocals shine, we focus on arrangement to deliberately carve out space for it in the mix. This is done during the writing process. Mark and I act like the left and right hands of a piano, with the bass and guitar never playing the exact same thing. This fills out frequencies in the mix without overcrowding it. Sometimes, we intentionally cut out the guitar or bass in parts of a song to create room for Tiff's vocals, allowing her emotive delivery to be the complete focus. Ultimately, the instruments are the foundation that supports and elevates Tiff's voice rather than competing with it, ensuring her vocals remain the heart of every track.
The Imagined Life references the idea of a ‘facade' or an ‘imagined life' many people put on. How does this concept play out in your lyrics and songwriting, and do you see this theme as universal or deeply personal?
Tiff: I'm not sure about universal, but I wouldn't be surprised. Something I noticed, when I started reaching my late twenties, was that (strangely) things weren't working out exactly as I had planned them when I was a teenager. I never even really stopped to think about if that was what I wanted anymore, because that would feel like giving up on my dreams, or something. I would say a large majority of the writing in this album is actually me processing that idea, literally mourning the imagined life, and accepting that things weren't going to be that way. I had to let go of the idea, which felt like letting go of who I am and, I don't know, submitting to the SYSTEM. I didn't realise it at the time but I desperately needed to go through that to understand, once on the other side of things, that my rigidity in how I believed things should be was what was actually holding me back. I've never been prouder of myself, and it feels very special to have made this wonderful piece of art out of that emotional time of processing reality and growing from it.
Your sound is influenced by a broad palette—from The Smiths and Echo & the Bunnymen to Aphex Twin and Brian Eno, even nods to post-punk scenes in Russia and Belarus. How do these diverse influences manifest in your creative process?
Mark: We try and take ideas from anywhere and just turn them on their head or use them in unexpected ways so that it still sounds like us. Matt drew inspiration from "girls just wanna have fun" to make a cool noise on one of our new songs.
Matt: haha, just to build on Mark's comment, it was "girls just want to have fun" by Ecco2k, not Cyndi Lauper (also a good song) and "Freaks" by Surf Curse that were the inspiration behind "Another Sheltered Life."
The dynamics of quiet-loud-quiet and the interplay between melancholic surf and punk rhythms are distinctive to your style. Can you talk about the importance of dynamics and mood shifts in your music?
Blanco Tranço: In our music, dynamics play an important role in creating a palpable sense of emotional ebb and flow that reflects the lyrical themes. It's more than just a change in volume. They're what allow us to transition from a feeling of intimacy and tenderness to one of brooding intensity. In "Is This Futility?" we use a soft, almost hushed verse to build a foundation of "cute/loved up" emotions. This is achieved through subtle instrumentation like percussion, strummed bass, and gentle guitar harmonics. This delicate soundscape draws you in, creating a moment of quiet reflection and intimacy before the explosion. The entry of distorted guitars and full, powerful drums marks a sudden, emotional outburst. This contrast between the subdued, melancholic moments of the verse and the explosive release of the chorus give the track its distinctive character and emotional depth.
Blanco Tranço's chemistry is often praised in our review, especially in how tightly the rhythm section and guitars lock in. What's your secret to maintaining that level of musical synergy and connection during writing and live shows?
Mark: Because we've been gigging since before COVID we all have total trust that the parts are going to come together in the moment. It's the product of years of playing together and knowing the material intimately to the point that we can add flourishes so that every gig sounds a bit different.
The track "Longing Is Suffering" pairs an upbeat, bouncy sound with darker, introspective lyrics—a compelling contrast. How do you approach pairing mood and lyrical content that might seem contradictory on the surface?
Tiff: This is my favourite thing to do because I pour my heart out in my writing but don't tend to connect well with that slow, ballad vibe. I try to use humour to bridge that gap in mood and theme, like "this is so fucked literally all I can do is laugh!" I have a fun trifecta of Bipolar 2, ADHD and OCD so my mind can be a very noisy and confusing place to live. Working through it through writing music is so therapeutic. I connect to Matt's (and now Mark's!) instrumental writing on such an emotional level, all the songs (before vocals) already have a very specific feeling to me that ignores tempo or vibe. I think this is why it feels natural to let my lyrics just pour out without thinking too much, leading to this contrast that I feel ends up working in our favour.
With live shows being such a vital part of your identity, high-energy performances, how do you translate the atmospheric and layered textures of the album into a live setting?
Mark: It's important to us that the live shows sound as rich as the album, so we've really tried to invest extra effort like Matt bringing along two heavy as f*ck guitar amps so we can have stereo guitar parts as well as a sprinkle of backing tracks that Sophie cues up with a sampler. When everything goes well it sounds like it's coming from everywhere.
How has that journey been?
Tiff: I have always thought of myself as more of a songwriter than a singer, I'm not trained in any way, so I can find it a bit stressful to try and match the vibe of the recordings as well as trying to give an entertaining performance. We are focusing a lot more recently on improving our live set.
After spending over three years working on this album, what do you hope listeners take away from The Imagined Life, both musically and emotionally? And how do you envision evolving from here?
Mark: The way people have been responding to it, everyone has their own reaction and their own different favourite songs which we love. It takes on a life of its own. We don't have any preconceived ideas for what it will mean to people, just hoping that it means to other people what some of our favourite music means to us.
What is next after the release?
Mark: We can't wait to get writing again actually, but that might have to wait as we have two members expecting babies in the next year!
If you were approached to do a like a version of any track what would you want to do?
Tiff: "Sober" by Bakers Eddy or "And I Smoke" by Hot Mulligan
Mark: Wouldn't mind having a crack at "What Once Was" by Hers
Matt: "Birds Of A Feather" by Billie Eilish
