Interview with MISSIO (Part 1 of 2)

Automatic translation. Improvements are constantly being worked on.

With “Love & Heartbreak,” Missio is releasing their sixth studio album. The story behind its creation is fascinating in itself: Most of the recordings were made in various Airbnb accommodations around the world. Matthew Brue and David Butler draw musical inspiration from their early work, without copying it. The result is a cinematic, expansive sound that blends dark pop elements with somber electronic sounds. In our two-part interview, we talk with Matthew about heartbreak, an Aztec death pipe, and much more.

Orkus: What criteria did you use to decide to make “Love & Heartbreak” the central theme of the album?
Matthew Brue: Over the past two years, I’ve been in a relationship marked by an incredible amount of love, but also by great heartbreak. I usually write about what I’m going through at the moment, so it felt completely natural to process my feelings about love and heartbreak in my songs.

O: What inspired you to record most of the songs for “Love & Heartbreak” while traveling, staying in various Airbnbs, instead of working in a traditional studio?
MB: The main reason was that I traveled a lot when we weren’t on tour. I believe that getting to know different places around the world brings new inspiration. We were both ready to write, so we just started working on a series of demos. We sent the sessions back and forth, and before we knew it, we realized we were writing an entire album. It just worked really well, so we kept doing it that way because it felt like the most natural approach to the creative process.

O: What were the biggest advantages and challenges of this approach?
MB: Sometimes we both missed being in the same room. Making music with friends is something really special, and when a song suddenly “clicks,” there’s hardly a better feeling than trying it out together right away. On the other hand, in the studio you’re often under time and cost pressures. Then you can’t give every idea the attention it might deserve. It was nice to have the freedom to work whenever we wanted, without being constrained by a studio budget.

O: Did this recording process lead to any particularly funny or memorable stories?
MB: One story that immediately comes to mind is a session in Toronto, Canada, with our friend Alex Vincent Tanas. Every morning we’d get Tim Hortons donuts and eat so many of them that we felt like we were in a food coma every day. (laughs) Alex would always come back in the morning with huge coffees and a bag full of donuts, and we’d all be like, “Let’s f***ing go!” right away. A great way to start the day. (laughs)