Sweet Pomelo: From Raw Emotion to Urban Echoes and Synths

Sweet Pomelo is a Chilean musician and producer from Melipilla, known for his synthpop style with strong influences from new wave and synthwave. His new album, Días de Verano, is an introspective and emotional work where the artist dives into his deepest feelings — such as shame and fear — to transform them into music.

The album serves as a catharsis, a process of closing one chapter and opening the next, where emotions are translated into soundscapes filled with synthesizers and electronic textures. With a detailed production, Días de Verano creates a nostalgic and reflective universe, where melancholy coexists with a sense of renewal. In his own words, the album is "a book that closes, only to open the next one."

— How did the idea of José Nazcar remixing your song “En las sombras” come about?

The idea with Jose Nazcar came up because we were working on some remixes for an album that Dr. Saiz was making. Then Jose Nazcar told me we should do one together. I trusted his sound because I had liked his vibe for a long time, so I sent him some tracks to listen to and choose a song. I was also supposed to do some remixes for him, but he still hasn’t sent me his tracks. I think he achieved a really great result, mainly because of his work on the rhythms and his sound — that’s where his personality and aesthetic stand out the most. I was really happy and proud after collaborating with him.

"Working with other people teaches you a lot — I really like that. On one hand, I end up facing my own expectations, my need to compete, and that helps me learn about myself"

— We saw you also collaborated with Chica Lunar. Tell us a bit about your search for collaborations in your musical journey.

I did the collab with Chica Lunar because I liked her sound, her music… I mean, her voice in particular. I liked her lyrics and she gave me a special feeling I’m still figuring out, something like a sense of calm. So I messaged her and asked if she’d be down for a rework. She said yes, sent me the tracks, and we pulled it off. I’m really happy with that song.

Working with other people teaches you a lot — I really like that. On one hand, I end up facing my own expectations, my need to compete, and that helps me learn about myself. And on the other hand, I learn from how other people build or write their songs, and that gives me more technical content for my future work. So I grow in my musical language. Those are two areas where I learn: facing expectations or competitiveness a bit, and working more from humility, from simplicity, or from what the song really needs, or what really comes to me emotionally. And also from experiencing other people’s work.

"So I think that's what I don’t like: that there’s so much musical design. I wish there were more art."

— What’s your take on the current alternative music scene in Chile? Where is it at for you, or where are you in it? Where do you think or hope it’s headed?

To me, Chilean music in general feels exciting, because there are a lot of options, lots of new projects, and a bunch of projects that are maturing and getting more solid. So I feel like the music is in a good place. I think more than a musical evolution, there needs to be a social evolution. I feel like, in the end, music is a sociological phenomenon. I think music speaks to human development and to what art really is. Because music, in a way, is design — and I don’t really like design that much, because design aims to achieve something. And for me, musical art is more about finding oneself. So I think that's what I don’t like: that there’s so much musical design. I wish there were more art. I mean, there is, but I feel like everything tends to get rationalized because in Chile we’re so demanding about things, and everything is so small, that it’s hard to break free from all that.

— Congrats on your new album. What’s next? Any shows coming up?

Thanks for the congratulations. I’m happy it’s out. Every time you release something, it’s like you leave behind a mental and physical state that lets you move forward, and it’s kind of hard because every day I hear it differently, and that’s complicated. Right now, I’m working on new songs — I’m in a process of research and development for a new sound, new composition techniques, new production approaches. For example, with this album, I went all in on a very intense trip: I pretty much only used saturators — I saturated, saturated, saturated — I barely used any EQs or compressors. I only modified the sound through saturation. I mixed it with the windows open, with all the street noise, so that when you listen to it out on the street, the music would overpower the noise. In that sense, it’s a street album — urban.

Now I’m in a different place, like I crossed over to the other side — a cleaner, more velvety, subtler side. So I think what’s coming next is along those lines. I’m also working on a music video for one of the songs from the album, the one I feel best represents the emotional concept that moved me the most. So we’re working on the video production, and once that’s out, there should be a live show to present it and wrap that cycle up.

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Album Photos by @bromelia.psd