Bringin’ It Backwards: Interview with MISSIO

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Together with American Songwriter, we had the pleasure of interviewing Missio over Zoom video!

“Missio” is Latin for mission. And what at one time began as a side project for singersongwriter Matthew Brue has now shifted into the main mission. Accompanied by producer and instrumentalist David Butler, MISSIO sports an alternative/electronic sound with beatdriven hip-hop undertones. Atmospheric and expressive, this electro-alternative act is keen on a spirit of experimentation.

Based in Austin, Texas, MISSIO broke out in 2017 with their single “Middle Fingers” which

reached top 10 at U.S. Alternative Radio, later leading to an appearance on the late night’s

CONAN amid the launch of their debut album Loner. That same album also spawned heavily rotated songs like “Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea,” “Everybody Gets High,” and “Twisted,” which all reached over 50 million streams each (and counting) on streaming platforms.

MISSIO released their second album The Darker the Weather // The Better the Man in mid

2019, broadening their sonic palette with songs like “I See You” which was the #1 song on

the Sirius XM Alt 18 for 9 total weeks. During this album campaign, their streaming audience tripled and they capped off their album cycle by releasing the single “Sing to Me” as part of the soundtrack to the global video game phenomenon Death Stranding alongside artists such as Chvrches, Major Lazer, Khalid, & Bring Me the Horizon. The band decided to document their creative process and personal growth during the recording process of this album, and ended up also releasing a documentary with accompanying soundtrack which they wrote and scored titled Love Me Whole.

MISSIO has now accumulated close to one billion streams within three years and two album

releases.

Beginning the next stage in their music evolution, Matthew and David landed back in their

home base of Austin, Texas this past November with their producer, co-writer, and creative

partner Dwight Baker, and over a feverish 21 day period wrote and recorded the entirety of

their new album, Can You Feel The Sun (via 2B Recordings / BMG).

The band started with a range of demos that eventually snowballed into being a complete and finished full-length album.

“We worked until we felt like we were done and then one day woke up and knew we had a

finished album”, says David. “Even from the very beginning of the process I already knew

that ‘Can You Feel the Sun’ was one of the best songs we’d ever written and knew that we

had something special.”

MISSIO have toured the United States extensively as headliners, and through several large

support slots for the likes of MUSE, 30 Seconds to Mars, Yungblud, and K. Flay. The duo have also performed at major festivals like Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Firefly, Hangout, Bottle Rock, and Voodoo Fest. As part of a wider European tour, they made their sold-out UK live debut at London’s Old Blue Last in May 2019. Their high energy live performances and custom-built light shows easily set them apart from their peers.

MISSIO returned overseas in early March 2020, but the second half of their European tour

was cancelled as the band were pulled off their tour bus at 2AM whilst crossing the Czech

border, so that men in hazmat suits could check their temperatures to ensure that the touring party didn’t have COVID-19. They raced to get home on the final day before the U.S. borders were closed.

Regardless of not being able to tour for the rest of the year, the band have decided to forge ahead with releasing their new music. They put out first single “Wolves” on June 24, which reached #1 on the Sirius XM Alt Nation ‘Top 18’ within three weeks. This is their 4th #1 single on the countdown to date.

We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected].

www.BringinitBackwards.com

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