Today we’d like to introduce you to Metropolitan Intent
Hi Metropolitan Intent, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hello! I am Winterfront, and together with my friend Caco, we are Metropolitan Intent.
We met through mutual high school friends in 2005 while living in West Kendall. We started rehearsing together playing our friend’s songs and eventually formed a four-piece band. Yours truly on rhythm guitar, Caco on bass, Chino on leads and Alejandro on drums. Initially, we focused on early Thrash and Black Metal, and for a while that was all we did until our buddies moved out, putting a pause on our outfit.
Caco got ahold of a Boss MicroBR recording hardware and we started recording music under the name “My World Domination” to move beyond the rehearsing aspects of music. Years later, we realized it was time to expand our social life, so we decided to create a new band and use our music as an avenue to make friends in the scene, this becoming our main goal.
Influenced by the aesthetics and sounds of early BlackGaze-Post Punk, we wanted to use urban-themed imagery and names to represent ourselves. This was a suitable move for us as we wanted to use this endeavor to mentally detach ourselves from our suburban environment. After exploring various ideas and plans for this new chapter, we came to an agreement over a phone call (landline!) and Metropolitan Intent came to be in 2010.
Over the past 14 years, we have explored many Electronic, post-industrial, and Experimental genres, evolving from our Avant-Garde debut album. Every release is a study of the various concepts and lessons we expose ourselves to as we progress. In doing this, we have gained skills in various software programs for design, audio production, and recording.
We are still going strong and releasing music as often as we can!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like every other band, we faced many challenges before releasing our first album.
Our first step in solidifying ourselves as a band was searching for a drummer. We already had a few tracks uploaded on Reverbnation and used these as samples for potential drummers to review. In the beginning, it felt amazing—hitting the road, traveling all over Miami, and posting flyers. That pursuit ultimately did not come to fruition, and shortly before our initial release, we decided to cease relying on this search. Instead, we opted to develop and implement our drum programming work. It has worked wonders ever since.
Our second challenge was finding a female vocalist to replace my singing. The compositions originally included my vocals, and as huge fans of Amesoeurs, we always believed we would find someone like Audrey Sylvain to take my place. Our search for a vocalist was much like our search for a drummer, and similarly, we never found one.
Fortunately, through Lo-Fi By Default, an online label based out of Kansas that released some of our songs in compilations, we met Gloria. She sang on a couple of songs for our first release, “1985-1988: The Ancient Scriptures.” Her soft vocals brought us closer to the sound we wanted to achieve, and for that, we remain forever grateful.
Those days are long gone, and finding someone to sing on our tracks is no longer difficult. Nowadays, we rely heavily on Fiverr, where talented individuals offer their services, sometimes delivering their work as quickly as within two days.
After more than a decade of struggling with a lack of engagement and not making any friends, the most significant emotional challenge has been continuing to make music under the Metropolitan Intent moniker. I could blame the city, or I could blame the bad weather, but deep down I knew that I was not being responsible enough in exercising the marketing tools needed to reach our goal. It is a natural human desire to seek social acceptance and to demonstrate one’s value to both oneself and others. For a very long time, Metro served as a reflection of my perceived shortcomings, as we never attained the friendships that we initially sought.
In the early days, the desire to build a following and make friends feels right because so many possibilities lie ahead. However, this pursuit can become a self-imposed barrier, leading to unnecessary inner turmoil when you are hit with the realization that nothing is going as originally planned.
However, everything changes with a shift in perspective; we are no longer suffering to find that social acceptance. We have come to appreciate the freedom we get to create what we love, even if we are shouting into the void. We’ve released EPs, Full-Length albums, Singles, a Live album, Split albums, Collabs, a compilation, and even physical media—with no signs of stopping. Why should we? Our music doesn’t hinder our professional lives, our relationships with loved ones, our health, or our finances.
If I were to stop today, I would proudly say that we did great releasing what we wanted to express. This brings me peace of mind… the stress is over and music is good again. I’m happier now, having found a “cooler place on the grass to brave my fire.”
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In the early days, our signature sound was that of the Black-Gaze/ New Wave sound with Martial Industrial touches. The songwriting style leaned towards the Progressive in that we never worked in the traditional ABABCB song structure; that is – “intro, verse — chorus — verse — chorus —bridge — chorus — outro.”
If there were bands in Miami already doing that, we never heard of them.
We are currently working on four EPs for next year where we explore further our take on Progressive EDM while retaining the dreamy and ambient touches we usually like to incorporate. There might be a two-track single before the end of the year (I’m writing this in 2024).
How do you define success?
Success is to have found a solid barrier to your peace of mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wYiJwPXwcwhLJRynD2n05?si=imOf2ndLRBqxS45m5mjXJA
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metropolitan_intent/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@METROPOLITAN_INTENT
Image Credits
I (Winterfront) own all photos and design.
