Edition # 18
Florence, 2025
“DKANDLE weaves swirling multi-colored vibrant unearthly soundscapes, blending fuzzy and reverberating Shoegaze textures, mesmerizing Dream Pop meditations, sludgy Grungey tones and moody Post-punk strains, heightened with soul-stirring lyricism and pensive emotive vocalizations”
CHECK OUT THE INTERVIEW WITH THE BAND ABOUT THEIR MUSIC, the ROCK scene in Brazil and much more
TRANZINE: How did the band start? Where and how did you meet?
Eddie Asheton: We started at the end of 2014. Alejandro, Rodrigo, and I were playing together in another band, The Mothers. When that band ended, we decided to team up with another drummer friend of ours, Maicon (who was replaced in 2017 by Gabriel, who’s been with us ever since), and we formed Blind Horse.
TRANZINE: What’s the origin of the band’s name? Any special meaning?
Alejandro Sainz: It’s not what some people think—a combination of Blind Faith and Crazy Horse. We liked the word “Horse” and tried various combinations like Atomic Horse, Electric Horse, Etc Horse until we settled on Blind Horse.
TRANZINE: What’s it like to make original rock music in Brazil? Is it better or worse now?
Alejandro Sainz: Much worse. Especially in Brazil, but really worldwide. It seems like the internet and streaming made everything easier, but it actually got a lot worse. Music today is in the hands of technofeudal billionaire overlords, and having the ability to make million-dollar investments puts anything on the map. Look at sertanejo with the heavy investment from agribusiness, for example. Even big bands complain that they’ve been reduced to T-shirt salespeople.
TRANZINE: How does the band’s songwriting process work?
Eddie Asheton: One great thing about Blind Horse is that everyone writes songs. Usually, we compose the basic structure of each song individually. Then, during rehearsals, the other band members add their own contributions, and in the end, we can say that each song was created by the whole band.
TRANZINE: What are the band’s main musical influences?
Eddie Asheton: Everyone in the band is a huge fan of 60s and 70s rock and its influences, so we’ve listened to that so much throughout our lives that when we play, it naturally comes out as a mix of hard rock, blues, soul, folk, and so on.
TRANZINE: About your most recent album, Rock and Roll Days, is there any significant difference between this album and the band’s previous releases?
Eddie Asheton: Rock and Roll Days is the natural evolution of our previous album, Patagonia, just as Patagonia was the evolution of In the Arms of Road, our first EP. We didn’t radically change styles or betray any movement, hahaha.
TRANZINE: In 2017, you released a single in Portuguese, 'Noite Estranha'. How did the fans react? Do you plan to record more songs in Portuguese?
Eddie Asheton: People reacted well to the song. I think they—just like us in the band—didn’t see much of a difference in the fact that it wasn’t in English. It’s in Portuguese as a tribute to some great classic Brazilian rock bands we love, like Made in Brazil, Casa das Máquinas, O Terço, and many others. In the same way, Santiago & la Pesada del Rocanrol, from Rock and Roll Days, is a tribute to classic Argentine rock bands that we also adore. For now, we don’t have plans to release another song in Portuguese, but that doesn’t mean we’ll never record and release one again.
TRANZINE: How do you feel about the current state of Brazilian rock, especially with many rockers leaning far-right politically?
Alejandro Sainz: It sucks. But I don’t agree with the idea that rock has become something for reactionaries. In the underground scene, there are a lot of openly leftist, antifascist bands, and thankfully, the majority of what we’ve encountered has been like this.
TRANZINE: How is the Brazilian underground scene right now? I feel like there are fewer venues to play, and most of them only accept cover bands. Is that the case?
Alejandro Sainz: Yes, many places—maybe most—are for cover bands. Some reserve the worst days, like Sundays, for real bands. But there are other places, like Garage Grindhouse and Centro Cultural Diversa in Rio de Janeiro, that are practically dedicated to bands and artists who make their own music and help build the Brazilian scene.
TRANZINE: Has the band ever had a funny, unexpected, or memorable live moment?
Eddie Asheton: I can’t think of a funny or unexpected moment right now, but I’m sure there have been plenty over the years. However, a truly memorable moment was the first time we played at the Aldeia Rock Festival in 2018. We were scheduled to close out the first night of the festival. There was a delay (which is not uncommon at shows), so we ended up going onstage almost at 4:30 in the morning. We played a longer set than usual, and even then, when we finished, the late-night crowd kept asking for more. The result? Almost three hours of music—our longest show to date. And do you think we packed up our gear and went to sleep after that? Not at all—we went to cool off in the stream. It was absolutely beautiful!
TRANZINE: What are the band’s plans for the future?
Eddie Asheton: To keep going, playing shows to promote our newly released album, and to spread the name of Blind Horse out there. We also plan to start working on new songs for our third album, which we hope won’t take another six years to release, hahaha.
What is the best Blind Horse song?
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