I'm not really one to care too much about reels, but upon scrolling Instagram recently, I saw one that caught my eye. It was a song featuring Melrose Avenue, who I've been hooked on since photographing them last year. I was intrigued, so I let it play and was immediately blown away by how catchy the song was even in the first few seconds, and there began my love of Comastatic.
Formed in 2022 in Zurich, Switzerland, the duo Comastatic is made up of vocalist Mattia Di Paolo and guitarist Jules. They are an alt-rock band, but I feel like that's a pretty loose description. And, I mean, what is genre these days, anyway? It's all beginning to blend together into one big, beautiful mess (and, to be perfectly honest, I'm loving it.)
To describe it better, I'll share a quote from their BandCamp page:
Their music captures the feeling of watching the world fall apart, blending chaos with vulnerability. Comastatic believes every step counts, empowering those too afraid to raise their voices.
Now, take those statements and add the catchiest music you've ever heard. Yep, that's Comastatic.
Shortly after the release of their latest single, "SWAY[ED] (feat. Ryan Oakes)", I had the opportunity to chat with the duo about everything, from their global reach to the band that has impacted them the most.
MSM: You’ve just released your latest single, “[SWAY[ED]” with Ryan Oakes. How did that collaboration come about, and was there an energy that you think he brought to the track that wasn't there before?
MATTIA: Definitely. It's funny because we didn't know him personally before we did the track, and then we realized that we have a lot of mutual friends, like our producer and our management. There are a lot of people that we have in common. And we started talking, and we were like, "Something is missing in this track." And we were just asking him, and he just slammed this incredible verse on the song, and we were like, "Alright, that's it. The song is complete."
MSM: Yeah, he's great. I'm a big fan of him as well. I've met him a few times. And so you've worked with a lot of bands, though, some amazing names in the scene—Point North, Melrose Avenue, and now Ryan Oakes. So, being based in Zurich, how have you managed to build these bridges with artists in the American scene? Is it mainly through your team that you've kind of made the connections?
JULES: Pretty much, yeah. Mainly it's our team. They’re awesome to get those conversations started, and we're super grateful for that. And then also it's like, it's amazing to then continue these conversations, and then also, yeah, we had the feature with Melrose, and we went on tour with them. They're lovely guys, and we’ve been absolutely blessed, and it has been like this for the last couple collaborations we did. So, we are really thankful for all of that.
MSM: And I'm sure that helps kind of bring your music to a new audience as well.
JULES: For sure.
MSM: That's actually how I discovered you. I saw a reel, so those work, and it was with Melrose Avenue. I photographed them last year, and I really liked them. So I was like, “Okay, let's check this out.” And I was blown away. It's just so catchy. So, working with these other artists, has it changed your approach to songwriting or production?
MATTIA: Definitely. We think that you can do everything by yourself, but if you don't collaborate, you're just kind of stuck in your own universe. And every time we work with another artist, or even our producer or whatever, we think we get better and we learn new things. And I think that's why we're here on earth—to just learn new things and have a good time with other people—and that's exactly what that does for us.
MSM: That's cool. I love that. So, what is the alternative scene like where you're at? Do you feel like you have to look outside of Switzerland to find your core audience?
JULES: To be fair, I mean, Switzerland is really small. There is a music scene for sure, absolutely. But I feel like because we are so small, you inevitably end up having to go outside. You have to go to Germany, at least. So yeah, there's that. We're too small to have an “only here” scene.
MSM: Okay. And where is your biggest audience?
MATTIA: Well, apparently if you look at Spotify, it's London and Australia.
MSM: Oh, wow.
MATTIA: Yeah. Never been to Australia, but people like our music there apparently. It's pretty nice. We work with a lot of Australians. Our drama is from Australia. Our producer is from Australia, and we have a couple of other things cooking up with Australia. Our first tour was with an Australian band. It feels like we have the right to get a passport soon.
MSM: You’re truly worldwide now! So, does being a Swiss band have any unique challenges that you have while trying to market your music to a global audience?
JULES: Honestly, I think a big one—and that's a bit whiny, but—again, because we're so small and we're not part of the European Union, every time we go out and tour and play in other countries, it's just such a hassle getting out just because of the whole border stuff. So, that's a big one. We actually missed the first Nevertel show, in Paris, because of that. And that's a big one for us. Also, just in Europe, we're on this island, and yeah, I mean, Australia would be hella nice, but it just takes a long time to get there. Same for the U.S. I think those are the two less fun ones, but thanks to the internet, we get everywhere.
MSM: Yeah. Are there any particular advantages of being a Swiss band?
MATTIA: Advantages? We have cool mountains. I dunno if there's advantages or disadvantages. Sometimes, it feels like if people in Switzerland hear that it’s like a local band, but maybe you’re as massive as Paleface, well, it’s just a different kind of way of being taken seriously, but in an advantage, I don't know. People are stoked when they hear that we are from Switzerland and we're kind like, yeah, you know, this little place. But yeah, I don't know if it's an advantage or disadvantage.
MSM: Okay. So, Comastatic is just the two of you. How do you divide up the creative responsibilities? I guess you each have your own skillset.
JULES: For sure. Mattia is an awesome producer. He does other bands as well on the side, so there’s a little plug. I think it's like we both approach songwriting kind of similarly, but obviously he gets a lot of other influences through that as well, which is super cool and brings all that together. And then I think the more on the visual side, I try to chime in and then record all the content, edit that stuff. And that's a bit of the split that we're doing, but it's not exclusive. So both do the other thing as well.
MATTIA: It's kind of cool because what works with us is we have a similar taste, but we both are kind of the same but so different and have good skillset to complete each other. And for example, I'm a mess with logistics, for example, and Jules does all of it, all the tour managing, just the stuff that I don't like to do. He does and I do social media for example, that's something he doesn't like and we just do all the tasks. It just works and it's super nice to make decisions, too.
MSM: Yeah, so you balance each other out.
MATTIA: Definitely. Yeah.
MSM: You guys have talked about empowering those who are too afraid to raise their voices. Have you had any interactions with fans where they've said anything like that, that you're helping?
MATTIA: I feel like we talk a lot about heavy stuff in our music. We're really transparent and sometimes it's a bit scary to talk about stuff just because you put yourself out there. But at the same time, after the show or on tour, people come to us and say, oh my God, this song did so much for me. Just came at the right time. We're like, oh my God, we do that. We have such an impact and it's so nice to see that we live in this chaotic, weird and brutal world and we can be just a little light for some people. That's awesome. And I feel like that's such a blessing. We're so happy to help and be there for people. Bands were for us, for us when we were kids and stuff.
MSM: Who would you say that was that helped you when you were growing up?
MATTIA: I mean for me, it was Green Day, for sure.
JULES: We just look at each other because yeah, same—Green Day.
MSM: How did you two meet?
JULES: It's been quite some time now, but it was with an old project where I actually took photos of Mattia's old band, and we got to talking, and then he asked me to join as a bass player and that's how we met. And then at some point we realized kind of we vibe really well musically, and then we continued doing that and it's been a lot of years now.
MSM: Yeah, that's great. So in your genre, if you could even define it as one, but it's often very high energy, your music. So how do you ensure that the vulnerable part doesn't get lost in that?
MATTIA: I would say we kind of like contrast, and we have songs that are really high energy, but we like to talk about really personal and intimate stuff. And I feel like this contrast between being vulnerable and having this high energy, but at the same time it can be the opposite, too. So, it could be a soft ballad or whatever. We just like to mix stuff and, like you said, we don't define ourselves in one genre. We try to blend. I know every band says that nowadays, but we try to do our own thing.
MSM: I feel like “genre” is almost irrelevant these days. It's just everyone just kind of meshes it all together and creates amazing things. So, for each of you, what is a fun fact about you that's not music-related that people might be surprised to know? Just anything.
JULES: I think one thing, maybe, is I love to cook. I really like cooking. I do a lot of that when we're not on the road and then it's just bougie stuff, whatever. But I really like eating well and good, so yeah, there's that.
MATTIA: I love to paint with oils and stuff and yeah, I think that's something I should do it more actually now that I'm talking about that.
MSM: That would be a cool thing to bring to your shows, like at the merch table.
MATTIA: That'd be cool. That's sick. That's actually a good idea.
MSM: Yeah, people would love that. And then a little more on the fun side. So, let's say you could set up your own tour with you guys on it. Who would be the ideal bands? Obviously Green Day, I'm thinking, but who else would you love to play with one day?
MATTIA: How many bands?
MSM: Let's do two more.
MATTIA: Okay. You do one and I’ll do one. I choose Chase Atlantic.
JULES: Bring Me The Horizon.
MATTIA: There you go. It's always that. It's just like, I don't know, they're both so influential to us. Yeah, it's a must.
MSM: Okay, awesome. Well, is there anything else that you would like to share with your fans?
MATTIA: Thank you so much for listening to our music, for your support, and for interacting on social media. We see every comment and every share and all of that, and it means the world to us that people care about our music and yeah, we're happy to keep going and see you all on tour.
JULES: Yeah. Excited to see you all with Ryan in March and April this year.
