His eccentric aura apparent the moment you meet him, artist Stefan Barraza, always sporting his pair of wraparound black bug-eyed sunglasses, is “delusional in the best way.” The artist from El Paso said he always envisioned Almost Heaven as a two-piece group, and through mutual friends, met Austin-born and raised drummer Jaelyn Valero. An instant connection followed, with the pair working on new music in the studio within days of meeting each other.
The electronic pop duo released their single “oscillation” on Jan. 16 ahead of their debut EP, RAW CRANIUM, set to arrive Jan. 30. The Daily Texan sat down with Barraza and Valero to learn more about their upcoming single and their experiences with music.
The Daily Texan: What’s it like making music together?
Stefan Barraza: It’s like those old cartoons where it’s a ball of dust, and then there’s fists and elephant trunks and lion roars.
Jaelyn Valero: Like the scene when the Powerpuff Girls were born.
SB: It’s a lot of chaos, intuitive energy and trust in our taste.
JV: We want the same outcome, but our backgrounds are from different subgenres. It’s really cool how our influences intertwine in a nice, compatible way.
DT: Tell us more about your new single. What’s the inspiration behind it?
JV: We were in Nashville at the time, and it was really late, and I was winding down for bed. Stefan had this song playing on his laptop that he’d been working on all day, and I was like, “What is that? It sounds so cool.” So, we sat down and worked on it together, very spur-of-the-moment.
DT: How did you first get into music?
JV: Being in a band was always a concept I was aware of from a young age. My friend started taking guitar lessons when we were in kindergarten, so I wanted to do that, too, because that could mean I could be in a band. Then, my brother went to music school, and he’s the best musician I know, so I was always just kind of following in his footsteps, and then my dad was a huge music lover and took us to a lot of live shows in Austin and just liked the coolest music.
SB: I didn’t grow up surrounded by music. I loved finding underground music and gravitated very early toward reggae for some reason. The first core memory would be dressing up as Lil Wayne for Halloween in third grade. I was so proud of that costume. I was a huge music listener that was never exposed to the idea that I could make (music).
DT: Was there pressure from your families to pursue a career that wasn’t music?
SB: My parents thought that I was going to be the doctor they finally birthed. But I will say, even through that chaos and unbearable strife they were experiencing going through that with me, they nonetheless supported me. It just takes time and results and then they start to buy in. Now, my parents are our biggest fans.
JV: Music was always a part of my life, but at the same time, I was a workaholic from a young age. I started consulting out of college and had a full-time job, and then at the same time, I was drumming. About a year and a half ago, touring started to pick up for me, and I had to leave my job. It was a really scary moment, but to me, it was a no-brainer. I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had. This past year alone, I’ve done more than I ever thought I would do in my entire life.
