Heavyweight electronic-dance-rock duo BoomBox recently released their single, “Buenas Noches,” a track lifted from their upcoming album, Dangerous Waters, slated to drop on November 10. Made up of singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Zion Rock Godchaux and his brother, Kinsman Mackay, BoomBox’s signature sound is rooted in a back-beat-driven style wrapped around smooth vocals and thoughtful lyrics.
Based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, BoomBox’s songs pull from various genres, creating music that perfectly toes the line between dance and lounge. Godchaux says, “There’s a special chemistry between two brothers playing music together.”
XS Noize caught up with BoomBox to learn more about the inspiration for “Buenas Noches,” how Dangerous Waters came together, and their writing process.
What inspired your new single, “Buenas Noches?”
We first started working on ‘Buenos Noches’ during the end of the pandemic, and the bass line was the main inspiration for the song. We finished a lot of the production on our last night in Buenos Aires, so the title, ‘Buenas Noches,’ was our way of saying goodbye to Argentina.
“Buenas Noches” is from your upcoming sixth album, Dangerous Waters. What can you share about the album?
‘Dangerous Waters’ is the first album the two of us have worked on together in BoomBox, but we’re brothers from a musical family, so we’ve been making music together for years and have great chemistry in the studio. We feel this album showcases that chemistry and progression while at the same time sounding like a BoomBox record. It’s a collection of songs we’ve been writing and working on the past few years in our studios, on tour buses, in green rooms, and in other countries, so the album catches a lot of different vibes and moods in a cohesive way.
Walk us through your mindset as you enter the studio to record the album.
We constantly work on music in our studio, so our goal is always to create and get what is in our heads onto the recording… it’s kind of like a pressure valve that has to be released, or we’ll go crazy. Both of us are constantly working on tracks because it’s what we love to do. We had a collection of demos and ideas we brought to the table and filtered down to the ones we liked the best, and we kind of organically decided we had enough to make a killer album, so we locked in and went for it. The goal was to refine our sound at that point and see where we could take things by using some new synths equipment and playing around with more live instruments like bass and drums.
How did you get started in music?
We were born into a family of musicians, so instruments and music have been around us since we can remember. We just picked up instruments as kids and started jamming.
Where are you from?
We are from the San Francisco Bay Area and currently live in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Did your hometown impact your sound?
The San Francisco house scene was definitely an influence for sure. Everyone is pretty much influenced by their surroundings to a certain extent, though. Muscle Shoals, where we live now, is a music town that is very rich in music history, so we’re also influenced by that vibe.
Which singers/musicians influenced your sound?
All of it. The idea of BoomBox is any music that can be played from a boombox, so we take pretty much everything as an influence. All the music we’ve absorbed over the years, from rock to reggae to house to hip hop, etc., has been influential.
What is your definition of tone? And is your tone evolving?
Tone to us is the audio quality of the energy coming from something. We’re always evolving as musicians with new gear and ideas and evolving as people with new life experiences, so we’re always evolving our tone. We don’t want to be stagnant and always want to move forward.
What inspires your writing? Do you draw inspiration from poems, music, TV, or other media?
Inspiration can honestly strike from anywhere… people we meet, places we travel, phrases we hear, listening to Bob Dylan or De La Soul, etc. We use it all.
What can you share about your writing process?
The music part comes pretty easily. We’ll demo out ideas at our respective studios and then bring tracks we want to work on as BoomBox tracks to Rat Nial studios, where we’ll finish them off together. We finish off the music together quickly since we work so well together. The lyrics are the hardest part, though. The music part is always fun and easy, but the lyrics can sometimes take a while to lock in.
Which artists, in your opinion, are killing it right now?
There’s a ton of artists out there killing it right now, but the one we really love is Billie Eilish. She and her brother are sick and ridiculously talented.
How do you define success?
Success to us is being happy with where you’re at in life. If there is a goal you want to accomplish and you accomplish it, then you’re successful. But happiness equals success.
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Tour Dates
September 29: Lake Perris CA at Same Same But Different Festival
October 27: Tempe AZ at Darkstar
October 28: Santa Barbara CA at Fields Of Funk Festival
November 10: Nashville TN at 3rd and Lindsey
November 11: Indianapolis IN at HI-FI
November 12: Grand Rapids MI at Elevation
November 15: Minneapolis MN at Fine Line
November 16: Madison WI at Majestic
November 17: Chicago IL at Park West
November 18: Detroit MI at Magic Stick
November 19: Cleveland OH at Beachland Ballroom
December 13: Houston TX at Rockefeller’s
December 14: Dallas TX at Deep Ellum
December 15: Austin TX at Antone’s
December 16: Austin TX at Antone’s
December 29: Salt Lake City UT at Commonwealth Room
December 30: Crystal Bay NV at Crown Room
December 31: Crystal Bay NV at Crown Room
2024
January 05: San Francisco CA at The Independent
January 06: San Francisco CA at The Independent
January 07: Santa Cruz CA at Moe’s Alley
January 10: Durango CO at Animas City Theatre
January 11: Fort Collins CO at Aggie Theatre
January 12: Denver CO at Gothic Theatre
January 13: Denver CO at Gothic Theatre
January 14: Frisco CO at 10 Mile Music Hall
January 15: Aspen CO at Belly Up
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