This is “Happy to be Here Diane”.

We’re an indie duo from Brazil writing little songs. This is our newsletter, in which we’re going to each write little thoughts about everything and anything.

This is our second EP, “The Guest Room Floor”, available pretty much everywhere. It is cool.

After I heard the opening piano chords for the first time, I insisted this had to be the first song in the EP.

“Because of the Bars” is very slow and pretty. Lush even, I’d say, with the ghostly little harmony of the chorus. A patient crescendo, slowly adding elements to the bare bones beginning of the track. I like the insistent piano in the background, only really shining at the beginning and end, a little bookend.

In the previous EP, we agreed that we overused a little the whole Beach Boys kind of harmony, as it was part of the idealized identity. But with this one EP, we wanted to distance ourselves from this kind of harmony. I think this might be the exception, and so, it becomes a bridge between both EPs, old and new.

It became an inside joke that my arrangement of the chorus reminds us of a famous Brazilian song. Can you guess what song?

So… I’ve got this thing for old-school games. The simple graphics, those midi sounds, the extra care with the writing… all of that keeps me hooked or wins me over, and that’s why I usually lean toward the retro stuff.

Funny enough, two of the lyrics from this EP actually came to me while I was playing some of those retro games.

One time I was playing Doom on a break, and at a certain point in the map I couldn’t move forward because I didn’t have the right keycard. And I’ve got this kinda weird habit of talking out loud while I play, like I’m recording a “Let’s Play video” — even when I’m alone. So I said, “Oops, I can’t move forward because of the bars,” and the moment I said it, something clicked in my head. I thought, “‘Because of the bars’ — that’s a solid line. I can probably build something meaningful out of that.”

So I did, and I also borrowed a little something from Kings of Leon. I think the lyrics speak for themselves (I’ve never been great at explaining most of my songs anyway).

When I sat down with JP to write and record, I already had a direction in mind for the sound of the track and the EP. I wanted to go for a more chill, minimal vibe. I wanted the EP to have some groove without hiding the acoustic guitars, and this track was meant to be the “pilot” of the whole thing. It ended up carrying a bit of that Beach Boys-style arrangement from the previous EP, but like JP said, it works as a bridge between the two projects.