DENIO (pronounced “denny-oh”) spent 2019 interrogating their creative process and finding their current sound, resulting in a clearly-defined artistic direction that distils the band’s family heritage and influences. After building a mini home studio, DENIO have taken the reins with their songwriting, embraced their sonic vision and given birth to their most coherent collection of songs to date.
The four-piece band from Liverpool have moved away from the jangly indie guitars & pop hooks that drove their debut on the music scene in 2016 - and into something more substantial, bringing synthesizers to the fore and injecting a few Tame Impala-inspired ideas into their music.
Keyboardist Daniel Hernandez completed his Music Technology classes with enough knowledge to allow the band to record demos in his bedroom. No longer bound by financial restrictions, whenever DENIO wanted to hear their music in a decent recording format, they took their songs home with them, pushed their songwriting and facilitated creation in a way that wasn’t possible in a live rehearsal/performance session.
DENIO’s new music combines many influences - from modern artists such as Mac Demarco, Tame Impala and Jungle, then stirs in a love of 80s bands like Talking Heads, before shaking it together with Daniel & Andres Hernandez’s Venezuelan roots. The resulting sound is unique, combining South American-inspired rhythm & melody with Mike Davis’ unmistakably British lyrics, all lying on a bed of synth pads, swirling guitars & grooving bass lines tied together by Felipe Davis-Guzman’s drums.
Upcoming single ‘There, I Said It’ was recorded at the Motor Museum in Liverpool with producer Al Groves. To be released on 3rd February 2020, ‘There, I Said It’ is the first step in the evolution of DENIO’s new sound. Davis states: “The song touches on what it’s like to be a young person today, confused about everything that's going on – maybe because of all the noise and relentless opinions in the world. Who knows?”
The band’s previous five singles captured the interest of the local music scene - since their inception in late 2016, DENIO have had support from BBC Introducing Lancashire & BBC Introducing Merseyside and they’ve regularly received airplays from Amazing Radio and BBC Radio 6 Music.
Their appearance at Highest Point Festival, in May 2018, on the BBC Introducing Stage paved the way for slots at Liverpool SoundCity and Merseyrail Sound Station and gave the band a taste for the live circuit. Their shows are known for their energy and musicianship, with Getintothis describing their previous single ‘‘Born Again’’ as ‘‘catchy hooks, radio-ready melodies with percussion skills of early Foals.’’