Strangers in Fiction: An interview with Senor Senorita

Pulling a page out of the Postal Service book, Phillipines-based acoustic/lo-fi duo Senor Senorita create music by mail.

Pulling a page out of the Postal Service book, Phillipines-based acoustic/lo-fi duo Senor Senorita create music by mail; communicating the bits and pieces of their music on and offline before combining their best efforts to create some of the best lo-fi DIY music this side of the Atlantic. Sticking with the basic premise of cover songs for now, both Liz and Marco are keeping Senor Senorita a small project as they juggle daily life and work alongside their music. They will however, take requests.

Tell us a little about Senor Senorita and those involved.

Liz Lanuzo: I'm a writer and marketing consultant by trade. My nose is usually burrowed in beauty and fashion and all things girly. Proof: Projectvanity.com. But once in a while I take a break and read books as well as listen to music. When I have more time, I work with Marco to create our own music.

Marco Dela Torre: Senor Senorita came together via an out of the blue online conversation instigated by Liz. We got to talking then next thing you know we were trading past home demos. Just seemed natural to give it a go. We had a little pre-production meeting, mapping out our steps. But nothing really materialized til months later. I think the day after that meeting I saw Nine Inch Nails live and playing acoustic songs was the farthest thing from my mind. Til I started getting into DIY recording in a hardcore way. Then things sparked back up. And the rest was histoweee.

You were in punk and rock bands previously, what prompted the switch to more acoustic settings?

Marco: Punk rock is still my first love. But I'm open to any genre. I mean I'm listening to Metallica's "Ride The Lightning" as I answer this. Though I would still apply my punk sensibilities in my acoustic work. Just the idea to create the most out of very little. I had thought turning in a sincere sounding acoustic result would have been effortless. But boy I was wrong. I do find it more rewarding that punk though.

How do you both select the songs to cover?

Marco: Purely out of talks on music we like. One will say "Hey, I like this artist" to which the other replies "OMG I have their entire discography". When it clicks, it goes on the list. But there have been more obscure pics lately. More challenging ones. Like some old timey Annette Hanshaw tunes.

In a "Did You Know" section, if states that you've only "met twice" ... truth, or internet rumor?

Liz: Truth. We met only twice, and for no more than ten minutes. We just talked about random stuff, not even about the songs we wanted to make, the direction we want to take...just mumbling some his and hellos and how to use the mic properly. Lol. Truth be told, Marco and I are not close at all. We don't talk much to each other, even online, where we originally met. So technically, we're strangers.

The only time we converse is when he strums the track and I sing to it.

Marco: Yeah. We got a Postal Service thing going.

How about your gear/set up--- the first track you've posted includes mention of Garageband and some studio enhancement--- was this a one-off experiment or will you stray from the basic acoustic/lo-fi setting in the future?

Marco: My day job as a graphic designer affords me tools in my various hobbies. And right now my main hobby is DIY recording. It's a progressive thing and you can sorta hear it in the tunes we play. Earlier stuff were done with Liz singing into a webmic while I plugged straight into my laptop. I just finally put together a decent mic setup. But Garageband is still the go to program just out of necessity and ease. Just a simple tracking and mixing tool. It could evolve to a proper live set up eventually. Soon as our schedules cross more often. Right now its as if we're astronauts.

Any plans to record in the future for possible release?

Marco: Best I can say is who knows? Just getting our music online was already our loftiest goal. But I'd like to think if ever we get to prepping a release, it'd be our own songs by then.

Do you take requests?

Marco: Why not. It don't hurt to ask. We would at least consider it. Just don't expect a speedy turnaround.