Oscar - antidepresivos

Oscar's “antidepresivos" is an album about growing older, questioning everything, and trying to understand what being alive actually means. The Mexican musician brings together rock guitars, bass, violin, piano, and drums, then mixes them with electronic effects and samples. I'm particularly interested in how he combines traditional instruments with modern production, creating something that draws from alternative rock, experimental music, and even J-rock!

Oscar describes the album as a lot of coherent noise with influences ranging from Spinetta to My Chemical Romance! What I appreciate most is his willingness to explore difficult questions through music without pretending to have all the answers.

Interview with Oscar

(•)> You describe antidepresivos as "a whole lot of coherent noise." How much of that chaos reflects what's happening inside your head?

Pretty much a 1:1 equivalence. I like to think of it as controlled chaos. Some of the ideas in the album, both musically and lyrically, came at random times from pure spontaneity. Others were more curated and sought out, but even so, all of the ideas are intentional. I like to be surprised by randomness and chance and then develop and nurture the idea until I’m satisfied with the results, which usually happens once I feel I’ve pushed my craft to its current limit.

(•)> Why did your twenties and thirties become the perfect setting for an album about life, death and existence?

I went through two major depressive episodes during my 20s, along with a lot of learning and changes, so it was a natural fit. I’d had the idea of an album titled ‘antidepresivos’ since 2023, but it wasn’t until January this year that I decided to turn it into something real. I built the album from the ground up, pulling ideas from what I felt during that time and translating them through who I am now.

(•)> Is antidepresivos an attempt to understand the world, or simply survive it?

I think that any attempt at understanding the world stems from the need to survive, so both. Something in our deepest inner recesses, the spark of life or whatever you may call it, yearns for life, clings to it, and without us even noticing, most of our actions coalesce into that passion for staying alive, that never-ending pulsation of our being that strives for existence. Another thought: do we survive because we understand the world, or do we understand the world because we survive?

(•)> You've combined violins, guitars, piano and requinto with heavy digital processing. How do you stop experimentation from becoming self-indulgence?

There has to be some ‘curator’ mind always on the lookout. I am guided by my instincts and taste, so usually if it sounds and feels good, it stays on the album. But I’ve also learned, mostly the hard way, to avoid indulging in ideas just for the sake of it. Lyrically, it happens as well. The only antidote I’ve found effective for this is being honest, and a lot of self-reflection. Approaching any song with fresh ears helps a lot, because it helps you discern good ideas from bad ones, whatever that means. If it vibes, it vibes, however weird, cliché or anything in between the idea or sound might be.

(•)> Why are you more interested in futuristic production than recreating the warmth of vintage recordings?

I’m just tired of vintage stuff atm. The market is overly saturated (talking mostly about gear/plugins) with ‘vintage’ emulations and sounds. I fear that we might look back at the 2020s and find nothing new, no real sound and culture of our own, only remakes and rehashes of late-20th-century culture. Those bands/artists are remembered now because people from that era embraced their sound, which was mostly new at the time. Imagine what would have happened if people in the 70s/80s had only listened to records from two decades earlier instead of embracing the current sound. We might not have disco, prog rock or pop music as we know it now. My current mindset is to embrace the present, learn from the past (honoring it) and look forward to the uncertain future. So my droplet of water in the ocean is to strive to make something new, whatever it may be, however it might sound.

(•)> What do Spinetta, My Chemical Romance and obscure Japanese rock bands have in common in your musical imagination?

I just love that music. Lyrically and sonically, I don’t think there’s anything remotely close to Spinetta. He will always be a never-ending source of inspiration and knowledge. MCR will always have a place in my heart because it was one of the first bands that made me feel something raw. J-rock is always super melodic and interesting. Jazzy chord voicings and great energy.

(•)> You handle nearly every aspect of production yourself. Are you a perfectionist, or do you just struggle to surrender control?

Perfectionist. But I do work fast, so it’s more like an intuition-driven perfectionist approach. My only goal is to communicate the ideas, both emotional and intellectual, as clearly and powerfully as possible. Once the feeling and the vibes are there, and I can’t notice any weird issues, the song is finished to me.

(•)> How did Lupe Fiasco's Samurai and Death Stranding 2 influence the atmosphere of this record?

Lupe is always so cerebral and fun, and Samurai is a masterpiece to my ears, so I tried to emulate some aspects of it, e.g. sounding cool but with lots of emotion. Death Stranding 2 has unique design overall, and the sound design is stellar. I was fascinated by the musical theme and sounds of the DHV Magellan (the main ship in the game), so I tried to come up with synth sounds that emulated that. Atmosphere-wise, I don’t think Samurai has much in common with ‘antidepresivos’. DS2 is closer in terms of vibes, scale, melodrama and human themes.

(•)> Does living in Mérida influence your songwriting, or do you deliberately create music that feels detached from geography?

Not really, I think all my music is pretty much detached. Mérida is a super sunny place, with a calm, beachy culture. But I do get inspired by some of the scenery, especially when tropical storms hit, as the skies get super moody and dramatic.

(•)> You recorded the album in just nine months. Was there a sense of urgency behind getting these ideas out?

Yes, a lot. I innocently thought I could finish it in a month. I’d been working on another album (pequeño amor) since fall 2025, and I had 10 songs almost ready, but I wasn’t really feeling it. Then in January, as I was struggling to finish pequeño amor, I took a few days to just listen to some of my favorite ‘newer’ records (ABNH by Doechii, Lupe’s Samurai), and it hit me that I wanted to make ‘cool’ sounding music, aka ‘bangers’.

So I canned pequeño amor and started digging through my vault of ideas. There I found some cool-sounding demos, and I started piecing together the songs, the themes and the lyrics. I sketched out the whole idea/vibe of the album in one of my sketchbooks, along with the things I wanted to say. I then forgot the sketchbook existed for the following nine months.

In March I had nine solid demos, with three songs close to being finished, so I thought that by April the album would be done. But as with everything, life happens, and since I really wanted this record to be as polished and fully produced as I could possibly make it, I pushed the release date to July. Eventually I settled on a fall 2026 release, which gave me time to explore more ideas. The last song on the record was also the last one to be created, only a week before the album was finished. So I’m glad I took my time. It also took a while because I was experimenting a lot and trying my best to release something that sounded great.

(•)> What's the most uncomfortable truth about yourself that ended up on antidepresivos?

That I was kind of an asshole in my 20s. To myself and to everybody else. But I’m at peace with that part of my life. There was fun in those years too, and I learned a lot.

(•)> If someone listens to this album at 35 and again at 55, do you think they'll hear two completely different records?

Yeah. Someone at 35 might look back at their 20s and recognize some themes from the album. At 55, they might recognize those same themes in their 30s/40s. Ultimately, some themes are timeless, like track 3, which is about time itself.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check it out on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist