Interview: Helado Negro
Under the name Helado Negro, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Roberto Carlos Lange has released a series of compelling indie rock albums, full of creative, layered soundscapes and lyrics in Spanish and English. The latest of these records, Far In, merited placement on multiple prestigious Best of 2021 lists and helped bring his work to an even greater number of receptive ears.
A few weeks before playing The Grey Eagle on Friday, April 29 — his first local show since he and his partner, the visual artist Kristi Sword, moved to Asheville in July 2021 — Lange spoke with Asheville Stages about acclimating to life in Western North Carolina and the people who’ve helped him feel at home.
Edwin Arnaudin: I went to Harvest Records yesterday and told [co-owner] Mark [Capon] that I was interviewing you today and he was like, “Oh yeah! He’s come in the shop a few times and is really nice. You guys should have a good talk.”
Roberto Carlos Lange: That’s awesome! Yeah, Mark’s super sweet.
EA: Yeah that’s a great place over there. So, yeah, what brought you to Asheville?
RCL: Just a big change. I wanted the change and to see what it would be like to be somewhere else, more than anything. And Asheville kind of provides a wildly different perspective and environment than what I've been a part of previously, living in New York and living in Atlanta and living in South Florida. So, more dense cities, different environments and different climates.
And it's really interesting, and I think some of the really cool and awesome surprises have been that the music community is pretty amazing here and we've been embraced by a lot of warmth. So, there's been a lot of really good and positive aspects of moving here — and we really didn't plan out a lot. We're just kind of seeing what happens.
EA: Had you visited the area much when you were living in Georgia or did you play here much?
RCL: Yeah, I'd been to Asheville a few times, but when you're touring, you don't really ever spend that much time. So I feel like it's been nice to actually be a part of just the city a lot more now.
EA: Definitely. You mentioned the music community and I was curious about what connections you've been able to make already with some local musicians, and if you've really been impressed by anyone in particular or have people that you've kind of identified that you want to get to know?
RCL: There's so many, I think it would be hard for me to choose or pick, but I think one of the really interesting places that has made a lot of connections for me has been Drop of Sun, the recording studio. It's been exciting to be able to interact with [founders] Adam [McDaniel] and Alex [Farrar] there. Just even going there for different things, there's always some crossover with somebody else's recording there, and I think that's a pretty cool feeling to know that there's a place that then not only invites people, but people are kind of pulled there to work and create.
And so that's for me a distinct place, but there's so many other people in town who've been generous and loving. The folks at Moog, obviously — [Artist Relations Manager] Jason Daniello has been a really great person. And, like I said, the Harvest folks. And then musician-wise, there's my friend Dave Hartley [bassist for The War On Drugs], who’s been connecting me, and obviously Moses [Sumney] — we've known each other for a little bit. There's a lot of folks.
EA: Typically, when you move to a new place, is it your goal to become an active member of the local music scene and the community overall?
RCL: I don't know. [laughs] I think my goal is to kind of just live my life more than anything. And I'm just lucky that there is a really good community here, more than anything. I'm super happy about that and I think it's a goal for me to participate in a way that feels sincere and genuine, and just feels good.
EA: I was curious about that Moog connection. I figured just based on some of your soundscapes, I was wondering if you'd been using Moog equipment or if you'd just been curious about them for a while?
RCL: I didn't really meet anybody there until during the lockdown and we started connecting properly, but I had been using Moog stuff since I was like 19, I think. So it's always been present.
EA: You’ve also already worked with kind of our Mr. Music Video in town, Andrew Anderson [on “La Naranja”].
RCL: Yeah! Andrew's a wonderful person. I feel like that was one of my first connections — obviously not in music, but through music. What a generous and bright soul he is, in terms of his talent and just the way he carries himself! I was really inspired and it was a really loving experience to work with them.
EA: And y'all were co-directors on that. With the concept for the video, was that something you came up with together or was that something where one of y'all brought more of that seed to the table?
RCL: Everything is always like a conversation, and I think the ability to just be able to share and kind of expand together was really fruitful. Sometimes it's almost better for no one to get any credit and just everyone gets credit, you know?
EA: And I'm also a film critic and stay busy with that on the side. I was covering the Full Frame Documentary Festival this past week, and I'm watching this movie Mija and I get to the end and your name pops up, and I'm like, “Oh yeah! I'm talking with him next week!” I thought that score was terrific and I'm curious how you got involved with that project.
RCL: The protagonist, [artist manager] Doris [Muñoz] — I've known Doris for a long, long time, since she first kinda started out. And then I caught wind via the director [Isabel Castro] that they were working on something, but it was evolving. They were just seeing if I was interested in working on it with them together when it was in its infant stages. And I was like, "Of course!" And I'm so happy to see the way it turned out. It came out great. I think it's a unique film in the sense that it's so much a documentary, but they did such a great job to kind of twist it a little bit where it feels a little surreal in some respects.
EA: And then for your Grey Eagle show coming up, and I guess for the tour overall, is that your New York band that's going to be playing with you or is it some different folks?
RCL: It’s a different band. It's a three piece. It's me, another player who's from Durham — Andy Stack, who plays in Wye Oak, he's playing bass and guitar and everything else in the world. And then Pinson Chanselle, who plays drums. I don't know if you know Pinson.
EA: I don't think so.
RCL: He’s from Richmond, Virginia. He plays a lot with Natalie Prass and Matthew White and a lot of different folks. And those are folks I've known forever, too, so it's kind of great. I was trying to go local, you know? [laughs] As local as I could. It's really hard locking people in.
EA: And just looking at setlist.fm and whatnot, it looks like you’ve played maybe three shows since venues reopened. Does that sound right?
RCL: Yeah! One was the Hopscotch Festival [in Raleigh]. And then we did a proper album release show in Miami in November of last year. And then recently, we flew to Mexico to play a festival called Bahidora. So it's been wonderful, and especially since a lot of these shows have been outside, I think it's been helpful to kind of psychologically transition into big crowds and feeling that out.
EA: Has it been a pretty smooth re-entry into that world, or has there been rust that you feel like you've been knocking off?
RCL: Yeah, lots of rust.
EA: And one question I've been asking folks is if there's any sort of skills that you've gained during the pandemic that might not have arisen without a global health crisis going on around.
RCL: Maybe the skill of saying... besides saying “no,” like, hooking onto that "no," and not feeling bad about saying "no" and not really ruminating on what could have been and just moving forward. I think that has been a skill I've been trying to hone.
IF YOU GO
Who: Helado Negro
When: Friday, April 29, 9 p.m.
Where: The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave., thegreyeagle.com
Tickets: $17
(Photos by Nathan Bajar)
