Supported by Sony Music Argentina and ready for the release of his debut album, Niños del Universo (Children of the Universe), Rocco Posca is at an early end of his teenage years all while transforming his inherited theater acting into minimalistic rock.
Like any 17-year-old kid who’s still dealing with acne and craving for a bushier mustache than the sparse style he’s got, Rocco Posca is battling the end of his adolescence with rock and roll.
But there’s something that sets him apart from the rest. No, it’s not the electric hairstyle reminiscent of his father, actor Favio Posca. In March, Rocco released “Connections,” his first video, and opened for Catfish and the Bottlemen at The Roxy, before their show at Lollapalooza Argentina. A year later, he was playing alongside Fito Paez at El Cabaret del Maipo, premiering a few tunes from his debut.
A student of the dramatic arts, Posca believes it is one of the places to explore his deformities. However, when it comes to expressing himself, he feels more at ease when playing guitar. He stops and looks at Billboard Argentina‘s April cover featuring Charly Garcia. “To me, he embodies sensitivity, power and talent in a pretty unapproachable way. It is a clear demonstration of love,” Posca says.
Was this album 17 years in the making?
I believe so; these are things I’ve been working on since I was born. They were always there. Before I played the guitar, I’d do things a capella. I started playing when I was 6 or 7. By the time I was 14, I had started working on my first songs, some of which made it to Niños del Universo. So in a way, it’s all there. It was pretty much about me in this album; now we want to record the next record.
Do you spend more time rehearsing in your house or at the rehearsal room?
I’ve always spent more time in my room with my guitar, something to capture the essence of what I was doing and of the vibe there was while I was writing. We didn’t even use Auto-Tune when we recorded this album. Actually, we even wanted it to be a duo, but we couldn’t. We needed that frequency that the bass guitar brings in so as to make it more nuanced, otherwise it would’ve been an unbearable mess.
Your thing is pretty much a minimalistic style of rock, with a few pop elements in the mix.
Yeah, there is a bit of that in “Connections.” It was funny because it was written the last week of recording. Lucho was there recording the drums of another track, and all of a sudden we had the melody, the lyrics, and bam — “Connections.” The thing is, my record has plenty of different elements. When you listen to “Caos y Cosmos” (“Chaos and Cosmos”), and you’re like, “What the hell’s happening here?” The songs are pretty varied and eclectic, what binds the record together is the impression we put on it: how the drums are played, how I sing, how I play guitar, which might not be virtuoso, but it is very personal.
This is a time where genres mix a lot, and your generation represents that. Do you feel a part of what is going on?
I wouldn’t know where to stand. I feel that what we’re bringing on this record is something really new, but not because we play some new kind of rhythm. It’s the way, the vibe. It has a very unique playing style which I cannot find in anything that is happening. On the one side, it’s good; on the other side, not so much. If you sink, you’re on your own.
What are you listening to right now?
The usual: The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd… and a few modern things like Tame Impala, Pond, The Lemon Twigs. Of course, Arctic Monkeys and Jack White but, for the moment, I’m sticking more to the ’70s. A few days ago, I fell asleep while listening to [Luis Alberto Spinetta‘s] Artaud.
There is a company that trusts you, and you’ve got a surname to back you — pressure?
I realized a few days ago that the pressure isn’t mine, but of the environment around you. It goes along the lines of “Oh, this is Favio’s son, you’ve got to hear him this way.” I don’t really care much about that kind of stuff. I love my dad, we’ve got a great relationship, but that’s all there is. I don’t mix with “Favio Posca and his characters,” so I don’t have that kind of pressure on me because it isn’t real. It is an illusion, which doesn’t have to stop you.
There are older people going to see you. How do you feel about that?
It’s crazy. I think that it has to do with the fact that what I do doesn’t feel dated. I like that. Maybe it means that in 15 years’ time, you can still hear it.