LA3C Festival: Why Cuco Is Enjoying Touring Again and His Thoughts on Latest Release ‘Pendant’
Cuco shows his growth with his sophomore album, “Fantasy Gateway,” which he dropped this summer. It’s a new chapter for the 24-year-old music artist. For one, clean and sober, he’s been enjoying the road.
“I used to have a hard time being on tour,” he said. “Before, I was dealing with a lot of substance abuse. Tomorrow, I’m actually hitting nine months without alcohol. It’s been a year without hard substances, stuff like that.”
More from WWD
He’s playing shows again after a two-year break.
“It was the best time I had,” he went on. “I actually wished it wouldn’t end. And I was so scared of it being bad. Now I’m like, let’s get back to it because this is how I want to do it.”
Cuco, in his Los Angeles Apparel hoodie and wide-legged G-Star denim, was getting ready to take the stage at the inaugural LA3C festival in Los Angeles on Saturday. LA3C was put on by Penske Media Corp., which owns WWD.
Cuco is a local, and grew up in Hawthorne, California.
“I’m more conscious about looking at the fans and the people around me,” he said of playing larger venues these days. “I try to make them feel like I’m there with them. With bigger shows, you’re further and further away from the people that are supporting you. I always just try to make it a point to acknowledge everybody and be present with them.”
A band kid in his youth, he’s a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and producer. He began playing music at the age of 8, gravitating toward guitar, then instruments like keys and drums. His big break came in 2018 with “Lo Que Siento,” a single that’s garnered nearly 257 million streams on Spotify alone. “Pendant” is his latest release, out since Friday.
“I started it two years ago, when my grandpa was still alive,” he said of the personal song, a tribute. “I feel like when he passed away, I had to finish it. Another guiding figure of mine recently passed away. It was my uncle. So, I think it made it even more relevant. The song is probably one of the best songs I’ve ever made.”
Born Omar Banos in Inglewood to immigrant Mexican parents, Cuco has been blending Spanish and English lyrics with psychedelic and dream pop sounds. He released his first EP on Bandcamp, “Heavy Trip,” in early 2015. He then dropped a series of mixtapes and proceeded to sell out shows all on his own, before getting noticed by labels. It was in 2019 that he introduced his first album, “Para Mi,” after getting signed to Interscope Records earlier that year. He now counts more than a million followers on Instagram.
“The whole idea was ‘mainstream not mainstream,’” he said of “Fantasy Gateway,” made in Mexico with producers Manuel Lara and Andrés Rebellón. It’s his first time collaborating in this way. “My influences are very psychedelic. I’m working on a lot of experimental stuff, but I didn’t want to get too experimental. So, coming out with this project, I wanted to find a way to cater to my fan base. It goes into the pop world a bit. But I also have a lot of really wacky ideas. And I talk about everything that goes on in my head, with writing.”
When he’s not making music, he’s drawing, doing photography, video work and “building Legos,” he said with a smile. His latest creation is a spy drone from Star Wars’ “The Empire Strikes Back.” “Right now, I’m building Yoda’s hut.”
He’s also a climber. “That’s my main thing,” he said. “I want to go outdoor climbing more.”
Cuco’s next single, “First of the Year,” comes out on Dec. 30.
Best of WWD
