In Chronic Collateral Noise, musician and composer Mateus Cursino, creator of the Capim Cósmico project, transforms a period marked by a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, emotional fragility, and the need for a fresh start into a raw and visceral work. Scheduled for release on July 24th, the album moves between psychedelia and alternative rock, guided by creative freedom and a DIY aesthetic. In an interview, the artist discusses the intense process of recording almost all the instruments, the role of music in processing difficult moments, and the closing of a cycle that opens up new possibilities in his career.
“Chronic Collateral Noise” was born from a very delicate moment in your life, after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. At what point did you realize that this experience needed to be transformed into music?
From the moment I was diagnosed, it was a shock to discover I had a chronic illness. It radically changed how I approached many things in life, giving importance to what I truly wanted to do. I was in another band, and then I broke with them and started working directly on my project and the creation of the album.
You describe the beginning of the process as a kind of explosion in the studio, almost a physical need to express yourself. What was it like channeling anger, fear, and restlessness into the instruments?
I would describe it as a creative burst that I experienced and that apparently needed a trigger. Often, that trigger can be love or romance, or even a nice night out. However, in the case of the album, it was the discovery of the illness.
The album has a raw, psychedelic sound, tied to the DIY punk spirit. Why did it make sense for this work to also bear the marks of its limitations and the urgency of the process?
All my musical training came from “do it yourself.” I never studied music; I compose and play intuitively. The first major rock influences in my life were bands like The Clash and the Ramones. Gradually, I became interested in other styles, mainly psychedelic rock, as I delved into the discography of Os Mutantes. These two aspects are very present in the sound of the album. I think the way I sing and compose has more to do with psychedelic rock, and the raw way of switching instruments is more like punk rock.
Many tracks emerged without a formula, from bass lines, drums, or spontaneous ideas. What has this creative freedom revealed about Capim Cósmico at this point in their journey?
Making this album was truly something special. Of course, many ideas took longer to mature, but the entire recording process lasted about two weeks. I’d sit at the drums, turn on the click track, and start playing. That way, the basic track was already ready. Or I’d do the same process with the bass, and so on.
Although the album comes from a dark place, it also speaks about fragility, mental health, physical health, and acceptance. What kind of conversation would you like to start with the audience through these songs?
Many of my feelings are part of the painful process of being human. I think they are common and shared problems. Depression, anxiety, panic attacks—all these issues are related to the way we live today, almost unnaturally. Our brains have been prepared for hundreds of years to hunt and gather, not to live dependent on a capitalist system that destroys nature and alters the way we relate to it.
You mention that art was the best way you found to free yourself from certain thoughts. After recording this album, did you feel that something inside you changed or that you found some kind of relief?
Yes, absolutely. The issue of diabetes is almost a thing of the past. Of course, therapy and other forms of treatment were necessary, but music helped me a lot. It always helped me through lonely or difficult moments in life.
“Chronic Collateral Noise” also appears as the closing of a cycle, after four singles released. What do you feel you are leaving behind with this album — and what would you like to find in the next phase?
What I felt at that moment is in the past, and now I have new ideas and a much better vibe to compose in different ways, about different themes. In fact, I already have at least one EP ready to start recording.
Between distortion, melancholy, heaviness, and a search for relief, the album seems to emerge from chaos, yet points towards the possibility of moving forward. When someone listens to the entire album, what feeling would you like them to remain with?
I hope that, after listening to the entire album, you’ll get the feeling that it’s possible to overcome the chaos of everyday life. For me, if someone even finishes listening to the album, that would already be a great achievement. However, nowadays I don’t expect anything from the public’s reaction anymore. After so long being an independent artist, especially coming from a small town with only 20,000 inhabitants and having practically no support for original music, I do things my way without expecting anything from anyone.
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