The Darkstar Calling —
Written Interview
Interview by Gordon Lawrence Taylor
Voice In The Void — Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio
Introduction
The Darkstar Calling is the creative world of Mexican musician, composer, arranger, guitarist, and vocalist Mario del Río — an artist whose work has grown out of many years inside music, but also out of something more personal: the need to keep creating, to keep moving, and to keep telling the truth through sound.
Before The Darkstar Calling, Mario had already travelled through different musical territories, from flamenco rumba to gothic rock, gothic metal, and other forms of composition and performance. Those earlier experiences gave him the tools to shape songs with care, but they also led him toward a deeper artistic question: not simply what people might expect from a musician, but what a musician needs to say when honesty becomes more important than pleasing anyone. In that sense, The Darkstar Calling is not just another project. It is the continuation of a life in music, and perhaps the clearest expression of Mario del Río’s own inner world.
Across releases such as The Wasteland Wanderer, The Mystifying Ways of Pain, The moors of forever gone, Her Eyes Like a Torch Blazed, Before the End, and To Lose Something You’ve Never Had, The Darkstar Calling has built a body of work that resists simple classification. Mario describes the sound as a kind of alternative fusion rock, but the music moves through many spaces: electric guitars, acoustic foundations, synthesizers, cello, rock arrangements, electronic textures, remixes, and stripped-back versions that reveal how the songs are first born.
What gives The Darkstar Calling its identity is not only the sound, but the emotional architecture behind it. These songs are shaped by memory, travel, dreams, landscapes, literature, cinema, love, loss, transformation, and the difficult private feelings that are often hard to express in everyday life. Mario speaks of music as catharsis, as a way to process pain, separation, change, nostalgia, and hope. Even when the songs move through melancholy or darkness, there remains a glimpse of light — not as decoration, but as survival.
There is also a strong cultural and imaginative dimension to the project. Mario’s creative world is marked by Mexican music, mariachi voices, Mexican rock, Santa Sabina, Caifanes, existentialist literature, science fiction, post-apocalyptic cinema, and a deep personal interest in pre-Hispanic culture. Yet The Darkstar Calling does not turn these influences into simple references. Instead, they become part of a wider personal language — a way of thinking, writing, singing, arranging, and imagining.
This interview explores The Darkstar Calling as a project of resistance, perseverance, and independence. It looks at Mario del Río’s earlier musical path, the creation of The Darkstar Calling, the emotional and literary forces behind the lyrics, the role of landscape and travel, the meaning of key releases, the importance of acoustic versions and remixes, the collaboration with Johnny Indovina, and the evolution of the project toward its forthcoming fourth album.
For Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio — Voice In The Void, this conversation is about more than genre. It is about how independent music becomes a place where memory, atmosphere, identity, and emotional truth can exist without apology. The Darkstar Calling stands as a project that continues forward on its own terms — self-managed, restless, cinematic, intimate, and deeply human.
This is a conversation with Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling about creation, honesty, transformation, and the long road of an artist who has decided not to wait for permission to keep moving.
The Interview
Before The Darkstar Calling, you were already active as a musician and involved in other creative projects. How did those earlier experiences shape your artistic path, and what eventually led you toward creating The Darkstar Calling?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
That’s right, for many years prior to The Darkstar Calling, I was active in the music scene from the late 90s, throughout the 2000s, and until the mid-2010s, which is when I created The Darkstar Calling. All this experience has resulted in the path that The Darkstar Calling has taken with me. I was in different bands of different genres, such as flamenco rumba, gothic rock, gothic metal, and many other styles of music and composition, which allowed me to express everything I want to do with music in different ways.
In these different bands, I was also a composer, arranger, guitarist, and singer in many of them. With that experience came the years of growing with music, getting older, and starting to focus not on what might appeal to people, but rather on honesty with yourself; on what you, as a musician, want to say, on what you, as a musician, want to express, on sharing the experiences and moments you live every day. I’ve become a chronicler of my own story, and that’s the culmination of The Darkstar Calling. Thanks to all the work I did with previous bands, I have the necessary tools to express myself correctly in terms of arrangements, composition, and lyrics, while also being honest with myself without being pretentious or exclusively conceptual.
There are two specific reasons that led to the creation of The Darkstar Calling.
The first is precisely my growth as a musician and the need to say what I feel and what I want to express in different ways. This meant that many of the compositions I wrote in previous years didn’t fit the conceptual models of the bands I was in before. They were songs that were simply waiting for the right moment to be released, waiting for the right band or project to express them. As mentioned in the introduction, these songs aren’t tied to a single genre and experiment in different musical directions.
The second reason is that I am someone who can’t sit still for long. I’ve always been hyperactive musically, and not everyone, not every band, not every musician keeps up with this breakneck pace that has driven me to constantly create. That’s one of the reasons I’ve had so many projects, and this very fact also contributed to the creation of The Darkstar Calling—the fact that I can’t stop when others do. When some of my previous bands have stopped creating or performing music, I’ve decided not to wait. And The Darkstar Calling is my definitive project, in which, regardless of who accompanies me on this journey, I’m not going to wait. I’m going to keep creating at the pace I can or want to.
Were there any Mexican or Latin American artists, bands, songs, or cultural moments that connected with you when you were younger, or later influenced the way you write, sing, or imagine music?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
To be honest, I grew up listening to more foreign bands, specifically american or english ones. My mother is a huge fan of classic rock from the ’60s and ’70s, and that’s how I came to listen to this music, The Doors is my favorite band. On my father’s side, I was very connected to traditional Mexican music. I really like mariachi, and I think that even the mariachi voices, which have a more classic style, influenced my singing quite a bit. Mexican music has definitely influenced me, and even in The Darkstar Calling, some songs have a touch of it.
Later, in my youth, Mexican rock from the late ’80s and early ’90s influenced me quite a bit, not so much in terms of music composition, but a lot in terms of lyrics and literary influences, which defined much of the introspective, existentialist, and sometimes even nihilistic style reflected in The Darkstar Calling’s lyrics.
The most emblematic band that influenced me far more than others is Santa Sabina, a band whose leader was Rita Guerrero (R.I.P. 2011), whose lyrics were influenced by writers like Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, William Blake, and Charles Baudelaire. Santa Sabina introduced me to this literature, which in turn shaped my way of thinking, my way of writing, and my way of composing. I can also add Caifanes, a band whose style also flirts a lot with Mexican folklore and whose lyrics are full of metaphors. And finally the singer of Chilean band La Ley played a huge roll for me in the vocal influence.
How do you personally describe the sound, atmosphere, and identity of The Darkstar Calling?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
It’s difficult to answer this one because of the band’s diverse nature. The Darkstar Calling doesn’t really fit into a single genre and experiments with many others. We play with electronic music, metal, definitely gothic rock, and even folk. Pragmatically speaking, The Darkstar Calling’s sound could be described as a kind of fusion rock; I think that would be the most widely accepted definition, alternative fusion rock. The label I gave it as Post-Apocalyptic/Synth-Rock was basically to distance myself from the common genres and to play a bit with the aesthetic the band creates in terms of their image—this image of the post-apocalyptic cowboy.
As for the atmosphere, I find it to be definitely melancholic, yet intense and passionate. This is due to what I’m reflecting in the music and the lyrics I write. Many of the lyrics on The Darkstar Calling are about me, my life, the experiences I’m having and those I had in previous years, and the music is created according to the feeling and intensity those lyrics evoke in me. Thus, the atmosphere is generally melancholic, nostalgic, and even sad. I could say it’s dramatic, but at the same time, it always has a glimmer of hope, a glimpse of light.
As for the identity, I can say that it’s very close to my personality, to what I find difficult to express in everyday life. We often fear or don’t want to show when we’re sad, angry, or suffering. Generally, what we like to show the world is success, the good things we experience, all the good things we have, and in a way, The Darkstar Calling allows me to express feelings, ideas, and thoughts that would otherwise be very difficult for me to express. I think the identity of Darkstar goes hand in hand with the identity of Mario del Río, always striving to be honest and, in a way, organic.
When you begin writing a song for The Darkstar Calling, where does it usually start — with a guitar idea, a vocal line, lyrics, rhythm, atmosphere, or an image in your mind — and how do you decide which electric, acoustic, or synthetic textures will bring that idea to life?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
It can start in all those ways. Some songs begin with a guitar riff, a vocal idea, or lyrics. Lately, lyrics have played a very important role, as I sometimes imagine phrases or song titles, and that song title or phrase that comes to mind gives me the power to develop lyrics from there. Several of my songs started with a phrase I heard or imagined.
But other times, I imagine a drum rhythm or a bass line, and from there I start creating. Most of the time, it begins with an acoustic guitar and lyrics and ideas I already have written down. When I’m traveling, I keep a travel journal, and being away from home helps me disconnect from the world. It’s in those moments that much of what I write comes to me. What I write in my travel journal usually becomes songs.
Songs like “Shadow of Your Love” also originated from a rhythm or a synthesizer sound, or even from an idea closely tied to my musical influences. As for the arrangement, the textures, the sounds, and everything else that goes into a song, the ideas emerge during the process. I usually start with a guitar idea and a melodic idea, and the first thing I do is record these songs as a demo. From there, I begin to try different things and imagine what I want the song to be—whether I want it faster, slower, and so on. Obviously, the synthesizer sounds are a very Darkstar touch, and I try to maintain that. I experiment, playing with textures, different sounds and melodies, taking them to different instruments: a synthesizer, a piano, a cello, and seeing what convinces me the most before developing the arrangement.
The Darkstar Calling can create a strong sense of atmosphere, almost like the listener is entering a visual world. Do images, landscapes, stories, dreams, or other visual ideas play a role in your creative process?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
Definitely, stories and dreams, as well as landscapes, play an important role. Much of what I’m sharing is my own story. As I mentioned before, I keep a travel journal and have kept diaries for many years, and that inspires me a lot when making music. Dreams are also included because I have many, and whenever I remember, I try to write them down. These also generate many ideas.
Landscapes and visual elements inspire me, although not directly in the creation of the lyrics or the music. They inspire me because being in places I travel to, or where I see wonderful landscapes, or where I love all that feeling of grandeur of nature’s landscapes, of the places I pass through, of the countries I get to know, of being in a town in the Czech Republic, of being in a forest, of being on the beach—all of this inspires my mind and makes me want to describe.
This feeling, perhaps of peace, of melancholy, the wind on the beach, the silence of a meadow, the light through the foliage of a forest, all this leads me to want to write, and that’s where the ideas for making songs begin to be born.
The Wasteland Wanderer has a strong title and atmosphere. What was the creative or emotional starting point behind that release?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
The Wasteland Wanderer is the beginning of The Darkstar Calling. It’s the need to continue expressing myself and creating beyond my other bands. This work includes songs I composed at a time when nothing was happening with my other projects. These are songs that didn’t fit into my other projects, and that’s why The Wasteland Wanderer became the starting point. Even before the band had a name, songs like “Shadow of Your Love” already existed.
So the album title represents this wandering of mine, this walk that doesn’t stop, that keeps moving forward when everything else is at a standstill. The wanderer of the wasteland is me, through music, through creation, through my process as an artist.
The Mystifying Ways of Pain is a title that invites many possible meanings. What does it represent for you, and how did it connect with the music on that release?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
The title of this album perfectly reflects what I was going through when we released it. The album came out in 2020, the year of the pandemic, and in the two years leading up to it, I went through a rather complex situation. I experienced a deep depression, and during that time, I began writing based on everything that was happening to me at that moment—work-related, emotional, and familial. I had a lot of confusion in my head and a whirlwind of emotions in my mind and heart. That’s where songs like “The Blessings That Are Gone,” “All Is Lost, Finished and Forgotten,” and “Before the End” were born.
It was precisely to catalyze that pain I felt and exorcise it from my being through music; music serves as catharsis for all of this. The album title is intimately connected to the music on this record. I would even venture to say that it’s possibly the album whose title is most closely related to the songs on it; they are songs that were written hand in hand during the creative process of this album.
Songs such as “Before the End,” “The Blessings That Are Gone,” and “All Is Lost, Finished and Forgotten” have titles that suggest deep emotional territory. What themes, feelings, or ideas were you exploring in those songs, and how does love — in its many forms — enter the world of The Darkstar Calling?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
Just as I mentioned in my previous answer, these are very powerful songs because I was going through this process of loss, separation, confusion, a loss of direction in my life, perhaps even a bit of despair. These songs reflect that process, and love definitely plays an important role, because, as you can see, they are songs that reflect love in its different facets: personal love, romantic love, and the love between friends.
“All Is Lost” is a lament for everything that is left behind in life and even for how times change, often for the worse. In “Blessings,” I talk about radical changes that we all experience at various points in our lives, about all those good things that were happening and that suddenly are no longer there. “Before the End” is definitely a farewell song, a pre-mourning for a separation.
Her Eyes Like a Torch Blazed and The moors of forever gone are titles that invite strong images. What inspired those titles, and how do they connect with the music on those releases?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
The Moors of Forever Gone is a title that continues this emblematic tradition of having long titles that reflect a feeling or project a situation. With this title, I’m trying to take a step forward from the previous album and acknowledge that those things we cried and suffered over, the things that caused us pain and that we said goodbye to, are now in a place where we can no longer reach them. It’s about leaving the past in the past and moving forward with what lies ahead; we’re taking a step away from suffering and pain. And perhaps at the same time, letting go of a part of who we were.
Lullaby, for example, is a mourning for oneself, but not necessarily for a physical death, but rather for the process of change that leads you to become this new person you are, this new person who has already gone through different situations and who, in some way, is no longer the same as before.
You have also created stripped-back acoustic versions of some songs. What does that more intimate approach allow you to reveal or explore in the music?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
I love this question because these acoustic versions, which sound a bit more stripped down due to the lack of a rock band arrangement, truly reflect how the songs are created. I call them Acoustic/Drunk versions, and in most cases, they’re the first or second finished version of the song. This is part of my creative process. When I start a song with the acoustic guitar, I begin working on it and singing it until I complete the structure, arrange the lyrics, and until I’m 95% convinced that it works with just the guitar and voice. For me, this is essential: if a song works with basic elements like guitar and voice, it can work in many other ways.
Once I have this version, I prepare everything for recording, go into my studio with a glass of whiskey, a beer, or a bottle of wine, and start singing and playing the song over and over, letting myself be carried away by the feeling of freedom that alcohol gives us, which sometimes allows the feeling of going with the flow, more than the technical perfection.
When I feel the song is flowing, I press the “record” button. And that’s the version that ends up on the album, the Acoustic/Drunk version. Of course, later I add other arrangements, like in the case of “The Price,” which has a wonderful cello and percussion, but the guitar and vocal foundation is this first or second finished take. I do this precisely so that people can see how a song is born, so they can feel the nature of the song before dressing it up with all the embellishments of the arrangement.
You have worked with different remixers and electronic artists on collections such as To Lose Something You’ve Never Had and Before the End, including artists such as Grendel, HAPAX, Nature of Wires, Nórdika, Titania, and others. What do you enjoy about hearing another artist reinterpret your music, and what can those different versions reveal about a song?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
I simply love that these remixes are being made. I love that other people listen to my song and, from their own perspective, reinvent and rewrite it. All the remixes that have been made reflect the point of view and the creative point of view of whoever is doing it, and obviously, depending on that, the song metamorphoses and can be heard in different contexts. Some completely break with the very nature of the song, but they are very enriching. I like seeing that the song, my song, is working in different contexts, with different rhythms, with different arrangements, from the perspective of very different people, very different artists.
I have to say that I was personally very surprised by what Titania did in turning “Before the End” into a very danceable song, the same with Hapax’s version. And I really liked seeing the versions by Grendel and ES23, who turned it into a mix of industrial melancholy. All My Faith Lost made a song like “Before the End,” which is sad, into something even sadder, and I didn’t think that was possible.
Mexico has a long and complex cultural history, shaped by Indigenous traditions, colonial history, folk music, popular culture, rock, punk, alternative music, and darker atmospheric forms of expression. From your perspective, how does that wider cultural landscape influence artists creating independent music in Mexico today?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
That’s right, Mexican culture is very broad, with a very extensive and ancient cultural past. Mexican identity is born from the combination of Hispanic and pre-Hispanic cultures, from this mixture, this clash of two worlds that, separately, have influenced many creators. Currently in Mexico, there’s a re-evaluation of the pre-Hispanic past, and many bands, projects, and artists are incorporating or experimenting with it. Many people are delving deeper into the pre-Hispanic past, learning about pre-Hispanic musical instruments, and so now there’s a lot of pre-Hispanic metal and many people creating music inspired by this vast culture.
In the case of The Darkstar Calling, I personally have been a great admirer, connoisseur, and consumer of pre-Hispanic culture for many years. I have four Aztec gods tattooed on my arms, my favorite book is a pre-Hispanic historical novel, and I know a great deal about this culture, but it’s not something I reflect in my music or lyrics. My interest in all of this is separate from music.
The Darkstar Calling reaches listeners beyond Mexico while still carrying its own personal and cultural identity. How do you see the project’s place today within the wider independent music world, and what creative influences — music, literature, cinema, visual art, places, or life experiences — have helped shape your imagination?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
I consider The Darkstar Calling a declaration of resistance, perseverance, and independence. Darkstar is a band that was born completely independently and self-managed, and it continues to thrive, fighting against the tide of the music industry and business, which sometimes plays a very predatory and exploitative role with artists. The Darkstar Calling is a point of resistance, a place where people can see themselves reflected in the music and lyrics, where you can find a space for those feelings you don’t dare confess.
As for influences… yes, many things have shaped my imagination. I love science fiction; this idea of Post-Apocalyptic/Synth-Rock and the image of Mario del Río as the post-apocalyptic cowboy comes a lot from the impact the Mad Max films had on my childhood. That’s where my love for post-apocalyptic themes and science fiction began, leading me to read books and watch films in this genre. This influence is evident, at least aesthetically, in The Darkstar Calling, especially in my image and also in the music—in this fusion I create of very organic elements like a cello and an acoustic guitar, blended with electronic synthesizers. Fantasy, science fiction, novels, and films have greatly shaped my imagination and worldview. And of course, my personal experiences are what’s most reflected in the music and lyrics of The Darkstar Calling.
You have worked with Johnny Indovina on “Before the End.” How did that collaboration come about, and what did his contribution bring to the song from your perspective?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
The collaboration with Johnny came about very naturally. He’s someone who really enjoys and loves Mexico. With one of my projects, I had the opportunity to open for him with Human Drama in Mexico City, and that’s precisely what led me to try this collaboration. Also, many people who started listening to The Darkstar Calling told me that Human Drama’s influence was very strong, and I can say that’s true; there’s a strong resemblance in the composition, the lyrics, and especially in the feeling of melancholy or nostalgia that Human Drama’s music evokes. I wasn’t really a big or consistent listener of Human Drama’s music until after these comparisons, which is when I started listening to them more. And I realized that there is indeed a similarity between the two bands.
With this knowledge, knowing that Johnny comes to Mexico frequently and that many people I knew in the industry knew him, I was able to contact him through Luna Curiel, our PR representative, and we proposed a collaboration. We sent him the song, and Johnny replied personally. Apparently, he really liked the idea because he immediately agreed.
This collaboration was going to be on the second album, but ultimately, after several tests and discussions, we decided that I would sing the song for that album.
Years passed, and I was left wanting to hear and have Johnny’s version, since he has his own unique way of expressing himself and doing things. So, I came up with the idea of including the song as a bonus track on The Darkstar Calling’s next album. In early 2024, I asked Johnny again if he would like to collaborate with us as a bonus track, and Johnny said yes. The song was recorded, he gave it his interpretation, and that’s how this collaboration came about, which I’m very, very happy about.
The lyrics, voice, and atmosphere of The Darkstar Calling give listeners space to connect with the songs in their own way. How do you approach that emotional side of the music — through words, performance, memory, imagination, or something more instinctive?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
I approach this side of music with honesty. I think honesty is something that characterizes the lyrics and music of The Darkstar Calling; I’m very honest with my lyrics. Obviously, I use a lot of metaphors, and my writing style is very introspective, but it’s with complete honesty. And I think that’s fundamental for people to connect with the lyrics and the music, regardless of whether they connect for the same reason I wrote them.
When you write honestly, when you reflect your feelings or ideas honestly, there will always be a point of connection for the listener, a point where they can see themselves reflected and resonate with the song. It’s happened to me with several songs; many people connect with them, and they connect in a very different way than I conceived it or what I felt, but with that honesty in the writing, they can find a place within it.
When a song is developing, how do you know what it needs to feel complete — whether that means a certain arrangement, performance, atmosphere, voice, instrument, or collaboration?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
It’s difficult to answer this question because I don’t truly know when a song is complete until it’s actually finished. It’s a very strange feeling; it’s happened many times with songs that I feel are complete at one point, and then when I listen to them again a couple of weeks later, I feel like something is missing—maybe an arrangement in certain sections, a backing vocal, or even a collaboration that could enhance the music. It’s a matter of listening to the songs tirelessly.
Personally, I listen to the songs dozens of times in their multiple versions as we progress, to make sure I’m not missing anything and that it’s exactly what I want it to sound like. It’s not an easy process because it requires investing a lot of time listening to each version until that feeling of satisfaction arrives and you can say, “This is good,” “That’s bad,” “This stays,” “This doesn’t stay.” It’s a lot of trial and error. Many times I record things or make arrangements that don’t make it into the final take. And the process is repeated until I realize, until I feel that they are ready and that I am satisfied with everything.
Across the different releases, The Darkstar Calling has used different instruments, voices, and textures. How has the project evolved for you over time, from The Wasteland Wanderer through The moors of forever gone and the newer material?
Mario del Río / The Darkstar Calling:
I firmly believe that The Darkstar Calling’s growth is evident throughout our albums, especially in terms of technique and arrangements. We’ve enriched and defined much of the band’s sound. On The Wasteland Wanderer, our signature song “Shadow of Your Love” has absolutely nothing to do with “Not Alone” or “Burning Grace,” which are, well, rock songs. I think back then I was still searching for an identity or a sound; not wanting to “marry” myself to a genre or style, but it was somewhat noticeable that these were standalone songs not intended to be part of a band or a defined project.
On the second album, The Mystifying Ways of Pain, there’s significant growth, even though the sound of this record is very raw. “All Is Lost” is a good example of what I mean; it has absolutely no synthesizers. It’s a song that’s simply the rock band playing, but it’s a song that greatly defines the sonic direction the band would take on subsequent albums.
In The Moors of Forever Gone, our third album, The Darkstar Calling’s identity begins to solidify. We see how songs like The Blessings and All Is Lost find their continuation in The Price and Her Eyes Like a Torch Blazed. It’s a much more defined work, with a richer sound, richer and more coordinated arrangements, better production, and improved execution. There’s significant growth, and this growth continues in the new material with songs like Say the Name, one of the singles you’ve already heard, which maintains the “Darkstar” sound but has also grown in arrangement, execution, and many other aspects.
It’s also been a great help that both Ignacio Fontán Blanch on drums and Mauricio Altamirano on guitar have contributed to reinterpreting and enriching my songwriting. Many of the foundations I create for the songs are modified or reinterpreted by them, adding an extra touch.