There aren’t many musicians who can boast collaborations with such powerful figures as Dent May and Paul Cherry as their debut singles, but when bob junior arrived on the scene back in October with his first solo recordings, he also proved that there aren’t many musicians like bob junior. After nearly a decade working with his younger brother boy pablo in roles ranging from production to percussion (not to mention mentor), the artist born Esteban Munoz introduced his own musical voice with a pair of lively synthpop jams fronted by his respective—and respected—collaborators.
Now, five months later, friends vol. 1 is here—a full-length collection of tunes adding everyone from Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino, to Mexican vocalist Foudeqush, to FUR’s Will Murray, to English songwriter Alfie Templeman to the proceedings. In harnessing the spirit of collaboration, the record maintains the upbeat spirit of its lead singles, with the various voices that line its tracklist keeping to the unwavering optimism that appears to be Munoz’s calling card. Even the album closer with Cosentino, which directly addresses anxiety and other mental health concerns, comes out feeling victorious, as if both songwriters have helped each other through difficult times.
With the album out today via 777 Music, Munoz walked us song by song through the tracklist, sharing how each collaboration came together. Stream the LP and find Munoz’s words below.
1. “theme song”
I made this for an IG post where I announced [this] project, and what cooler way to do that than to create your very own theme song? People have been asking a lot to hear this on Spotify, etc., so I thought that I’d give it to them. I think it’s the stupidest/coolest way to start the journey that is this album.
2. “No One Does It Better Than You” (feat. Alfie Templeman)
This is a result of two hangouts in London in between eating at Five Guys, but I met Alfie for the first time in Mexico a couple of years ago. We played the same festival (they rocked) and that whole gang is just a bunch of sweethearts. Alfie is an incredibly talented artist (obviously), so to write this one was nothing but fun. Weird chord progressions bring out weird melodies, and I love that. The solo at the end of the song is Alfie’s first take. I believe in that “first take” thing—there’s some magic to it. I also wobbled the crap out of the guitar tone so he couldn’t really hear the notes he was hitting, and that’s also why it came out how it did.
3. “IKWYDLS” (feat. Dent May)
I needed to book a studio for a session, and I hit up Honeymoon Studio (great studio, by the way) and Dent happened to be there (he runs it). I told him a bit about my project, showed him some stuff, and asked if he wanted to write something together—lucky for me he said yes! Dent is a great writer and has an amazing voice. “IKWYDLS” is a result of our shared love for ’90s punk rock, and who knows, maybe there’ll be a follow up!
4. “La Balada” (feat. Foudeqush)
I wrote the instrumental for this song many years ago, and I remember it was a Friday ’cause I had my “Friday mood lights” on (basically just red lights). I wanted an 8-bit beat with acoustic guitar, ’cause I’ve never done that before. The riff after the chorus is a huge reason why I love this song—it kind of makes me feel dizzy and seasick, in a good way.
As the years passed, I came back to this song and I started to imagine a rapper over the beat, and the one rapper I wanted on this was not interested. Lucky for me, I was set up to do a session with Foudeqush (at Dr. Dre’s old house). I showed her a couple of ideas and she loved this track. We started recording, and it was super weird for me to hear such beautiful vocals over this, so I didn’t touch the song for two to three weeks after we’d finished the recording. When I opened the project again, I fell in love with the song all over again. Foudeqush’s writing and vocals on this is the best thing that could’ve happened. It’s such a weird song, and I love it.
5. “Oatmeal”
For the last couple of years, I’ve been having oatmeal for breakfast every day. Sometimes for dinner, too. This is my dedicated love song to my favorite meal in the world.
6. “baby, I do” (feat. Paul Cherry)
“Sounds like Paul McCartney meets Vengaboys” – Paul Cherry
I agree! It does. I love both Vengaboys and Paul McCartney. And Paul Cherry. Anyway, I was having my first vacation in five years in Koh Samui. Scrolling on Norwegian eBay I saw this beautiful old synthesizer and I just had to lay in a bid. The seller accepted, and I called a friend to pick it up (I couldn’t, being in Thailand and all). First thing I did when I came home was install this in my studio and make this song. We recorded Paul’s vocals at his place, and did some extra ear candy stuff over at Inner Wave’s studio.
7. “u” (feat. Bjørg)
This song started at a hotel in Barcelona and got wrapped up at a cabin in Hallingdal, Norway. It had been a minute since my wife (Bjørg) and I had made music together, but both of us felt like this song was a fun way to get back to it. I love the bubblegum feeling it gives me, and Bjørg’s lyrics and vocals are super simple and catchy. 100 percent fun times.
8. “my dad’s on the phone” (feat. Chilika)
This track is my dad talking about his youth and how he used to go to the beach with a guitar to make money, accompanied by his friend on the accordion.
9. “Vacaciones en Hawai” (feat. Chilika)
My whole family can either sing or play instruments, so every time we meet, we’ll jam out or sing or whatever. Especially during holidays. My dad taught me this song on guitar many years ago, and we often jam to it, so to have it recorded with him playing the lead is so cool for me. I’ll cherish that forever. On this track my oldest brother Juan Pablo plays the piano, my older brother Felipe plays the acoustic guitar, my younger brother Nico plays the drums, bass, and percussion, while I’m doing the claps you barely hear. It’s always been my dad’s lifelong dream to have the whole family in a band, so here I at least managed to gather his sons.
10. “Sunshine”
In Bergen (my hometown) it rains 250-ish days a year. Yup. 250 days. I wrote this song last winter, when the sun popped out for the first time in what felt like ages. This is the only song I’m singing on this album, which is fun and also a step outside my comfort zone, ’cause I don’t see myself as an artist necessarily. It just felt right to keep this one for myself.
11. “All in Vain” (feat. Inner Wave)
The first track I wrote for this album! To hear Pablo’s voice on this so natural and unfiltered is so nice. I love his vocals. A sad song for sad hearts.
12. “16.01.24”
I wanted one more track for the album, so I called my friend Jonas Nielsen (who used to play with Kakkmaddafakka back in the day) and asked if he wanted to write an instrumental with me. I wanted to do it all in one day, hence the title.
13. “Wish You Were Here” (feat. FUR)
The idea for this song [came] on a dark, cold winter night in Bergen. I feel like not having more than four hours of sun during the winter has its fair touch of influence to the instrumental of the song. I don’t know why, but the song also gives me early N.E.R.D. vibes—probably the chord progression. I had the instrumental for a long time. I let it cook in the back of my mind as I was thinking about who could have the perfect voice for it. Then it came to me: [Will] Murray, of course! FUR is such an amazing band, and Murray had the perfect voice. I sent him the song, called him up, and he was down! He loved the chords and the feeling the instrumental had. I re-recorded all the instruments at my studio, then I flew to London and recorded his vocals at his beautiful home.
14. “Always (All the Time)” (feat. Bethany Cosentino)
I was lucky enough to have Bethany in the studio with me for one day last time I was in LA. We spent most of the time hanging out and getting to know each other. Talked about everything between heaven and earth. Among these, we touched on subjects such as anxiety and mental health. It felt really natural to write about this, since both of us are pretty familiar with this (to say the least). After a couple of hours I showed her some instrumental ideas I had in mind, and the decision fell on this one that I had named “Coldplay on acid.”
Sonically, the instrumental goes hand-in-hand with the heaviness that is anxiety—it feels and is real to me. When writing about this, it’s important to not rush anything. These feelings need to be converted into words and melodies without the pressure of time, and even though we finished it up in one session, we didn’t rush and I feel like we really nailed it to communicate our thoughts and feelings. This is by far the best way for me, personally, to deal with these inner struggles. I’ve been a big fan of Bethany’s art for a long, long time, and it’s a true honor to have written this song with her and to have been a part of my debut album.
