Q/A With Sans Patrie
100% Spanish, 100% Argentinian, 100% New Yorker, and at the same time 100% none of the above, Fernando Borrego talks about the formation of Sans Patrie and his musical journey.
Sans Patrie is the artistic manifesto of Fernando Borrego, a songwriter with a foot in multiple worlds but never completely at home in any of them. Born of Spanish and Argentinian blood and having lived in both countries, Latin and European culture, language, and perspective have influenced him greatly. However, New York was where he spent most of his life, and for much of that time, he felt more like an outsider than fully accepted by any of these three cultures.
Similarly with music, he felt constricted as well. For years, he played punk rock, where he followed bands such as Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio, Millencollin, Social Distortion, and The Ramones. However, he was also heavily influenced by bands like Oasis, Lenny Kravitz, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, AC/DC, Enanitos Verdes and The White Stripes. For a while, these different genres represented conflicting lanes that could never merge.
It was only when he migrated to Brooklyn that he found identity in this instability. Instead of trying to fit the molds, he decided no culture or genre would fully define him.
He began combining elements of Britpop, Rock N Roll, & Rockabilly through the lens of his cultural backgrounds, and in 2020, the debut single ‘Setting Sun’ was released. This marked the beginning of a personal sonic experience and laid the foundation for the central idea behind Sans Patrie: “Without Homeland, Without Destination, Without Borders.”
SP’s new single ‘Dance, Dance’ was released Jan. 15, 2021 and is available now on all streaming platforms!
Q: What inspired you to become a musical artist?
S: When I was a kid, my dad got me into The Beatles and Elvis at a very young age, and I kept discovering other bands as I developed an ear for Rock n Roll. Between my taste in music and having a different background than the rest of the kids my age, I didn’t really fit in too much.
Fast forward to high school, I still wasn’t very popular, so a lot of Saturday nights consisted of me listening to music by myself and trying to jot down how I felt in lyric-form to the rhythm of the songs. I kinda started playing with the idea of singing and figured I’d find a guitarist someday that could write the music to my words.
Eventually I discovered punk rock and bands like The Ramones, Alkaline Trio, and Bad Religion that were all about being outsiders and doing their own thing. Johnny Ramone inspired so many kids to pick up a guitar because of how stripped down and easy he played. He made music accessible again to so many kids, and finally after graduating high school, I just thought “Ok. I can’t wait anymore. I got these thoughts I wanna express and I don’t wanna wait around for someone else to do it for me.” I took a few lessons, taught myself a bit more and started my first band within a year.
So I guess as long as I have that need inside of me to get something off my chest and a guitar next to me, I'll write, I’ll play and I’ll sing.
Q: Have your parents been supportive of your career choice?
S: My parents both come from a different generation and culture than the ones in NY(New York) the last few decades. There weren’t a lot of choices in South America and things were pretty black and white. I know for a fact if they could go back in time and change what they do/did, they would. It took them a while, but I think they came around to the idea because of that realization (that and also because they knew there was no way to change my mind!). There are still times I can tell they’re worried, but that’s normal.
Q: Can you explain the creative process behind the songs, “Setting Sun”, and “Dance Dance”?
S: Well in both cases, the lyrics came first. That happens a lot for me. I have a thought I wanna get out and then I go looking for the tune.
For “Setting Sun,” I wrote it at a time when I had just started dealing with my anxiety and realizing it was an actual affliction. I noticed I would overthink a lot at night especially and that it would spike just before I fell asleep.
It was also during a period in which I was single for a good while, and it kind of gave me some perspective on relationship dynamics and what it’s like to have someone be an anchor for you, and vice versa. So I decided to write an open letter to no one in particular almost in the form of an SOS. Sometimes even in a relationship, it’s hard for the other person to fully understand how much of an impact something as simple as talking through the night can be.
As for the composition, it was a drastic departure from what I was doing at the time, which was punk rock, and I think it just came about because I needed it to. The words just found their place in the chords. But nothing really happened for 3 years because I didn’t really think it was anything out of the ordinary. Until my friend Andrew (who produced the song) wanted to produce something new, and because I didn’t know how it was gonna turn out, I kinda just threw out “Setting Sun.” And I’m really glad I did.
For “Dance, Dance,” it was all about proving to myself that I could be more Rock N Roll. Again, it was lyrics first, but the melody came about really easily. I actually wrote the chorus after the whole song structure was completed.
Lyrically, I was inspired by 80s/90s Rock bands and the pre-covid (and post-covid hopefully) bar scene in NYC. I’ve travelled quite a bit, but NYC always attracts so many people from all over who want to experience the nightlife.
So I drew back on my experiences a bit and started describing this “tattooed bullet” girl dancing her heart out, because I always loved the way my female friends would go out with no other agenda than to just dance. I feel like those nights are special because you’re totally in the moment, and I think more people should go out with that mindset rather than being out on the prowl. One of the coolest things that can happen on a night out is true chemistry between two people who are just doing their own thing, and in my opinion, nothing is more attractive than a woman confident in the moment and in her body, totally committed to the song and lost in her own world. Anyone in that state of mind is impossible to reach unless they want you to. I love that.
Q: Can you elaborate more on the message you’re trying to tell in “Setting Sun”?
S: While trying to leave it as open to interpretation as possible, “Setting Sun” for me is about anxiety. I thought about the anxiety I sometimes get before falling asleep and how having someone you love keep you up and talk to you can seem like the only way to escape it. I think anxiety is a topic that is being talked about more nowadays, but it’s still very hard to understand someone else’s anxiety unless you really know and love that person. It’s a saving grace to have that connection with someone and something that shouldn’t be taken lightly or for granted.
Q: As someone that deals with anxiety, what advice could you give those that face this as well.
S: Anxiety is only as strong as you let it be. It’s definitely something that shouldn’t be joked about, but you also can decide how to see it. You can either use it as an excuse for all the bad you do or feel or go through, or you can see it as “Okay, how do I do what I need to do in spite of this?” Once you choose the second, you start going on a journey of self-discovery and you pick up things that work for you to calm down. Exercise, music, friends, dancing all help.
Q: What has your journey been like so far as an artist?
S: It’s not easy and it’s not for everybody. Rejection, negativity, and toxic people abound, but they can be counterbalanced by the Self-love/validation you get from completing and releasing a song and getting your message out there; by the optimism of always having something to look forward to; by the love and support of friends, family, and fans. Every day has been another step up a mountainside and I’m so proud of myself. I hope to get to the top and give it back to all those who have helped me up along the way.
Q: What are some of the lessons you’ve learned?
S: I think I’ve learned more about myself than I have about being an artist, and that has made me a better musician. Kind of a “I think, therefore, I am” thing.
But in general, I’ve learned to ALWAYS trust my gut, whether it’s about people, songwriting, or direction. Everyone’s gonna have an opinion or agenda, and it’s up to you to decide whether it’s right and healthy for you.
Q: You’ve mentioned that you’ve been constantly moving ever since you’ve been a child. How has that impacted your music?
S: I never really settled down anywhere as a person, because I always had a bit of everything with me that made me different and made me feel different. I think it took me a long time to come to terms with who I am. It’s not easy to be a constant floater, whether that’s in friend groups, countries/states, or family. I finally have a more secure sense of individuality, and that allows me to take the most of every part of me. I think it’s very important to have these life experiences because they fuel art, and it’s hard to make music on an empty creative tank.
Q: What have been the biggest obstacles you’ve faced so far in your journey?
S: Besides Covid, which is a huge problem for all artists, I think I learned certain things the hard way. Gauging people in and out of your industry is probably the hardest part of being an artist nowadays. I’ve definitely trusted the wrong people at times. Also, as a new artist starting out, it’s definitely a challenge having to run social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Website), create new content, write and record original music, and work another job to pay for all of it! It’s overwhelming.
But the biggest one during the era of nonstop content is getting people to stop, listen and believe in what you’re doing. Even convincing other artists you’re worth their time isn’t gonna work without a proof of concept. We’ve lost a bit of that “leap of faith” attitude in all arts, but especially in music. People are impatient or are too quick to jump to the next big thing.
Q: How has being half spanish and half American impacted not only your music, but also your personal life?
S: Never considered myself American to be honest, just a New Yorker. I think it’s something you can only understand if you’re from here. That being said, my first language was Spanish and I’ve spent time in both Argentina and Spain. On a daily basis, I live and interact with others through that lens as well. The only place that someone with that background can really find a niche outside those countries is NYC. It has its own diversity, social norms, rules, speed, and culture, none of which I would consider typically american from my experience. If you go into the interior, the south or even the West Coast, I feel you get a better sense of American culture.
When I was younger, I always felt like I was pulled in three directions and I always tried so hard to fit in. I either tried to be the MOST Spanish or the MOST Argentinian, and shunned anything that didn’t fit into those “descriptions.” But no matter how hard I tried, in Spain I was always seen as either an Argentinian because of my accent or a New Yorker. In Argentina, I was seen as a Spaniard because my accent was more neutral or a New Yorker. And in New York, at best I was considered Latino or Hispanic. I went to school in Long Island and dealt with a lot of racism, but from the other extreme, I also spoke perfect english and had light skin, so people would make unfair assumptions about me until they realized I spoke Spanish and came from a different background. I always felt like I got it on both fronts and every time I tried to commit to one of the sides, it was always the wrong choice.
I think my music had more of an impact on my individuality than the other way around. Again, totally different from any of my 3 backgrounds, I was heavily influenced by California Punk Rock, Old School Rock N Roll, and Rockabilly. Those genres don’t have anything to do with my cultures, but it’s what I felt. Through writing music, I started realizing I had my own specific way of seeing things based on my life experience that no one can copy. It made me more secure in who I was and little by little, I stopped caring about how people classified me, just like my music. I decided I was 100% Spanish, 100% Argentinian, 100% New Yorker, and at the same time 100% none of the above. I’m not gonna deny aspects of myself or my life anymore because they don’t fit into someone else’s definition.
Q: What are some of the best moments of your career so far?
S: As a musician, I’ve had great times. Early on in my first few punk bands I had a few that stand out. I remember the first year I picked up a guitar, I immediately started a band and my first show was at my university in front of hundreds of people. We did great even though I barely knew my chords!
Later on for another band, I played Punk Island, this huge underground Punk festival held in NY every year. Our band was selected, but we were unknown and got an early time slot. We killed it and later on one of the bands had some trouble getting there and we got asked to play again. When we plugged back in all of the sudden people started rushing back because they remembered and liked us from before. That was great!
I’ve also had some awesome times playing on the streets, busking both in NYC and especially in Seville, where my buddy and I played, got money for food and got a few beers from the bar we were driving business to!
And recently before Covid I played this dive bar in NYC and it was the first time going out at Sans Patrie. We played “Dance, Dance” and got a standing ovation. But the best was probably hearing “Setting Sun” fully mastered for the first time. That was crazy because I had imagined exactly how it sounded for years, only for it to come out exactly and maybe even better than what I wanted. It was pretty surreal.
Q: Have you ever had a “Oh shit, what am I doing with my life moment”?
S: Only every night. Then I get to work in the morning so that I can try to end the day more assured. I’m very hard on myself so it never happens, but it fuels me. I know saying something about having one life is cliched, but it’s true. I have these moments and then I think of the alternative...and that scares me more. There’s only one thing I love doing and it’s this so I gotta make it come true.
Q: What inspires you to wake up and continue chasing your dream?
S: I think the songwriting part comes naturally. I grab my guitar every day and play my favorite songs or come up with something new. I also write a full song in lyrics every time I take the subway. My phone is full of 30 second recordings of songs. But pushing forward on the business side and trying to make this a reality comes from 3 things:
Fear of working a 9-5 job with 0 creative outlet
Having an idea that I need to get out there. Once you have it imagined totally in your head how it could be, it’s like your brain holding in a sneeze. It has to come out or it’s gonna hurt!
It feels great to have a goal to reach for. That’s what makes you happy. It’s more about having the goal, than achieving it. Once you achieve, you already have another goal anyway.
I just love it too much and don’t know what else to do if not this
Q: Who are your biggest musical influences?
S: For this project on the Britpop/Rock n Roll side definitely Oasis, Lenny Kravitz, AC/DC, and The White Stripes. From the Rockabilly side Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Social Distortion, and from the punk side The Ramones, Alkaline Trio, Tiger Army.
Q: Why is music important in our society?
S: I think music takes people places they may not be able to get to themselves. All artists take the risk to be vulnerable so that others don’t have to.
Q: How would you describe the music industry today?
S: The industry has evolved a lot since the 80s (or even earlier), and it’s seen DRASTIC changes. Technology has made it much easier and more exciting to create new sounds, but it’s also made the consumption of art very superficial. Social Media has a lot to do with that, and everything has been catering to it for years now. Journalists are taught how to write for Twitter, Artists are learning how to mold their works to adhere to the settings on Instagram, and Musicians try to grab the ear of audiences in largely visual apps.
Every day, we get an enormous amount of content (news, entertainment, sports), and our society has learned to take everything with a grain of salt and only care about the newest of news. News only stays “new” for the first few minutes (a day at most) and then it’s replaced by the next thing. We’ve become spoiled, and music is no exception. We hear music EVERYWHERE. We hear it in movies, tv shows, ads, elevators, stores, on the way to work, at the salon, at the gym, and so much of the time, it’s just background noise to accompany us. We treat it like a vibe or aesthetic, like we would a coat of paint or a piece of furniture. And to top it off, we now take it for granted. It’s the only good we produce that people think it’s ok not to pay for. Whereas before, musicians were at the mercy of record companies that are now almost extinct, we’re now at the mercy of streaming platforms that give our work away virtually for free. It’s made it that most non-pop musicians have to tour increasingly more to cover what used to be made by record sales.
However, that being said, streaming services and social media have huge benefits, especially for new artists to gain recognition and put their work out. “Being discovered” has taken a very different meaning in the last decade, and a lot of great acts that would have remained relatively unknown before now have more opportunities.This leads to the original problem of information overload though. There’s so much of it everywhere, on top of the rest of the content we intake everyday. Our attention spans have shrunk significantly, and you can see it correlate to how social media is formatted. The videos are short, the stories are shorter, and the rise of tik tok and reels shows the increase in demand of capturing a person’s attention for a few seconds before jumping to the next. Spotify even urges artists who want to be put on playlists for more exposure to compose songs with the chorus or hook right at the beginning of the song. This culture of social media skimming infects all arts. We double tap all day but rarely take the time to listen all the way through, read the caption, or analyze the hard work of the content creator. Even at bars or nightclubs, DJs only play the chorus of most songs before jumping to the next.
This has led to the rise of “Single” culture as opposed to “Album.” Most artists now opt for the catchy single for two main reasons: it has a quicker return on investment and it has a higher chance of being heard than a full album. Pop artists tend to do this because from a business and talent side, they can focus all their budget and talent on one song to avoid having an album of just one or two hits. Moreover, musicians of any genre have to accept that the idea of listening to an album all the way through is uncommon in today’s society.
Q: There’s millions of young artists trying to make it in this world. As a young artist, why should someone take a bet on you?
S: The world is in desperate need of new rock n roll artists to refresh the musical landscape. But more importantly, we need musicians that represent the spaces between absolutes. Sans Patrie personifies the new world we live in. Everything is globalized thanks to travel and social media, and people no longer fit just one mold.
Q: They say music is a representation of our culture. If that is true, how would you define the culture we live in today?
S: Once again circling back to social media, I think society has been driven to more aesthetic and superficial priorities. I think a lot of popular music now is pretty short and to the point, the point being money or lavish lifestyles. Even quick romance and love, which has always been a lyrical subject in past decades, has really become the norm in Pop songs. Moreover, the vocabulary of mainstream music is said to be at a 1st-3rd grade level (adult themes and swear words aside).
I think music, which has always been an escape from reality, has become more of a sedative. It’s no longer challenging or cathartic. It’s meant to fit reality rather than change it.
Q: People tend to remember the 60s, 70s, and early 90s as pivotal rock eras. Why do you think the major rock bands have declined over the years?
S: I don’t think the bands have declined, I think music culture, particularly in America has shifted more toward Pop. Between record sales becoming less of a factor and Celebrity culture having more of an influence on western society, what was once one of the main trends (Rock music) for almost 5 decades has been cast aside. Even the Grammys, which are supposedly THE music awards, always hands out the few rock awards left during commercial breaks. Many other categories that rock acts used to do well in have been renamed to include other genres. There’s even been a few times that rock/metal legends were left out of the “In Memoriam” tributes (one of the biggest examples was Jeff Hanneman of Slayer). There are tons of amazing rock bands all over. Sweden, South America, Germany, Australia, England, Mexico, and many other places around the world have incredible bands coming out of there and the people still value rock music highly.
Q: Do you see it coming back?
S: I definitely can see it coming back, but I’m not sure what it would look like. Everything is a cycle, and things always ebb and flow. Every generation tends to want a bit of change from what they came from. But you can start to see bands like Greta Van Fleet, these super young and talented kids, pretty much playing Led Zeppelin in their own way 40-50 years later.
Q: How has music changed your life?
S: Music has been able to connect the pieces of my life to make one that makes sense to me, and no matter what I’ve gone through, or the changing faces/places, music has always been the only constant. I’ve grown with and because of music.
Q: How are you hoping your music will change others?
S: I don’t know if change is the right word. I feel that it’s an increasingly grey world and I find it’s getting harder to truly connect with others. All humans want connection and I want to feel connected to others through music, which for me is the most intimate way to do so. I want to make people feel things, and share in that with them. That’s what I always felt from the other side at least.
Q: How have you stayed sane during the pandemic?
S: The more you think about it, the worse it’s gonna be. So I’ve taken it day by day and always given myself a goal to go after. Having a goal gives you something to hold on to. After that it’s staying in shape, eating healthy, picking up new hobbies and seeing friends & family. The occasional whiskey doesn’t hurt!
Q: What is a lesson you learned during the pandemic?
S: There’s always something to do or someway to take advantage of where you are.
Q: What is something that most people don’t know about you?
S: I studied Journalism in University and always thought I’d get into Music or Football (Soccer) analysis.
Q: What is one word to describe music?
S: Evocative
Q: Where do you hope to see yourself in five years?
S: Somewhere warm being able to tour and do my music for a living. Living comfortably and happily off my art.
Q: What is your favorite quote and why?
S: “I keep guitars that are, you know, the neck’s a little bit bent and it’s a little bit out of tune. I want to work and battle it and conquer it and make it express whatever attitude I have at that moment. I want it to be a struggle.”- Jack White
It really sums up my journey as a songwriter and a musician. I’m one of the most motivated people you’ll meet and I don’t like staying in the mental state of “No, I can’t do this.” It frustrates the hell out of me. There are even times while writing or playing that I’ll flat out tell myself or someone that I can’t do something, and then I’ll lose sleep over it. It bothers me so much to think I’m possibly limiting myself, even if I never end up needing to do it after all.
So the things that push my boundaries most are the things that I think I can’t do. They get me out of my comfort zone, and that makes me more creative.
Q: What does happiness mean to you?
S: Having something to aim for. In my case, it’s music. The journey, not the destination, tends to be the highlight.
Q: What does success mean to you?
S: Being able to do what you love every day, without having to worry about how you’ll get by.
Q: To the people that have doubted you during your journey, what do you have to say to them?
S: Thanks for the lyrics.
Q: To the people that have supported you during your journey, what do you have to say to them?
S: Everything comes around and I really never forget all the people that have helped and supported me along the way. It’s been great to see who you can count on of course and who really takes you seriously, but more importantly it’s such a sense of love you feel and it makes all the difference. I really want to get to a position one day in which I can give back ten times what everyone has given me. And if ever there’s a time I seem less grateful than I should be, I apologize. Thank you so much!
What’s your story?