Descartes a Kant Interview: SXSW 2010

Descartes a Kant proudly describe themselves as "bipolar cheerleader hard noise," but that's barely scratching the surface. The Mexican quintet's decidedly schizophrenic songs have been known to include distorted synth stabs, doo-wop melodies, punk rock sing-along choruses and more within the space of barely two minutes. Spinner spoke with guitarist and lead singer Sandrushka Petrova about her band's origins, influences, and their plans for SXSW.

Describe your sound in your own words.

I hope you understand my limited English! I call it bipolar cheerleader hard noise, but we don't like to label our music. I don't know why we have this obsession with labeling everything! We like to let our audience decide what we play.

How did the band form?

OK, well, the band got together in 2001 and we have, like, nine years playing, and it's kind of bizarre because there are not many bands that play what we play in Mexico. I think we have a lot of luck finding our label [Intolerancia Records from Mexico City].




How did you guys find each other?

I put an announce [sic] in the paper that I was searching for a bass player and a guitar player. We found a drummer that saw us at a show and liked the band, so he joined in 2005.

Where did the name Descartes a Kant come from?

I wanted a name that didn't sound like your typical band, so I was looking for something that sounded like a movie or a book. I found it in a book of philosophy.

Who are you influenced by?

We actually listen to many types of music, like classical music. The other guitar player studied music in school. I play cello, she plays the violin. We're into classical music but we also like things like, very hardcore and noisy. We like jazz -- the drummer's very jazzy. We like Regina Spektor, Tori Amos, Veruca Salt, Primus, St. Vincent, the Dresden Dolls ... a lot of many bands.

Do you have a musical guilty pleasure?

This Mexican singer called Gloria Trevi. Everyone loves her or they hate her because she was in this scandal..They accused her of raping kids with her producer. Noone loves her anymore here, but I think her music is very great and very unusual. Actually, what she does now is very horrible because she has those legal issues with her producer, so he doesn't produce her music anymore. Now she's doing more pop, but her music in the '90s really ruled.

Beatles or Stones?

I think Beatles. I don't much like the Rolling Stones.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

I think it was Kurt Cobain and Scott Weiland. I actually cried when Kurt Cobain died. My mom said I was obsessed.

What do you do to survive a festival like SXSW?

I think we have a lot of luck because this is our third time. We have been well-received over there, but we're planning something special for the night.

Do you get into trouble on the road?

The first time we actually did because they didn't let the keyboard player cross the border. We had to improvise our show without a member and it was very melodramatic. Last year was fine. I think this year it's going to be very nice.


Stefanie Schwartz is a Seed.com contributor. Learn how you can contribute here.