Analog Lab

When we first checked in with indie-rock duo Analog Lab a year ago, Miguel Arballo (guitar/vocals) and Sean McCune (drums/vocals) were bright-eyed and excited about their new partnership.

Today, their bond is deeper than ever—and that’s apparent in their music, especially their newest EP, Anti Dove. Although the EP has only four tracks (with one being a minute-long interlude), the project packs a multi-layered punch, shifting through moments of hard rock, pop, rap, psychedelic, groove and more, often within the course of a single song. The 17 minutes of protean jams show maturity and growth since the band’s first few singles.

During a recent Zoom interview, Arballo and McCune explained how the recording process for Anti Dove differed from earlier recordings.

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“We improved our rigs massively during that time, especially my guitar rig,” said Arballo. “… We actually sat down and figured out parts, seeing what fits and what doesn’t. We really worked on the tracks for several months. We tested them out live, and some of them changed.”

McCune said the act of completing the recording was “kind of a process.”

“We had a lot going on, and we actually had to set aside time to finish recording it,” he said. “During that time, I got COVID, and I was at home with the songs on (digital-audio program) Ableton. I was just doing the things I normally do on Ableton, which is fuck shit up, and I was transposing things, making them faster. ‘Anti-Dove’ really changed a lot from what it originally was. It kind of reflects the direction that we’re going in for the future—a lot faster and crazier.”

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Earlier releases like “Swallow the Sun” and “Roads” were primarily developed by Arballo, while the tracks on Anti Dove came from working together.

“This EP really showcases us as an actual band, writing and truly collaborating,” Arballo said. “We let ourselves finally go in the direction that we wanted to go. It really solidified us, because now we’re finally realizing that we really like our songs, and we like our process. We like that we can be really open and communicate how we are feeling about the songs.”

Arballo and McCune said their close relationship—including a weekly bowling night—has helped them establish a creative environment that never feels stifled or stressful.

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“One of the first things that made me want to start making music with Miguel is that, even though he’s quite a bit older than me, he’s always treated me with the same amount of respect as he would give to everybody,” McCune said. “Working with him, in my opinion, is just a really easy process, because he’s open to all my crazy ideas.

“The songwriting process has been really natural. We both are listening to similar music … and we both have a vision in mind for the band that is really similar. We’re both on the same page, so when we go and we start writing these songs, it ends up being really easy. I might come up with a part; he might come up with a part, and there are times when we write songs just because he’s playing something random. Miguel plays a lot of shit that sounds cool, and it always catches my ear.”

Added Arballo: “I think it’s really important to be able to go back and forth and be open with what you feel on the song. When we started working on the EP after he came back from having COVID, with some of the songs all sped up, he’s like, ‘Tell me what you feel.’ I listened to it for a couple of days, and I didn’t have the same feeling for myself—and I didn’t have any fear of being able to communicate that to him. … It felt easy to turn around and be like, ‘You know what, honestly, I don’t feel it,’ and go back to how it was … without having feelings hurt.”

At their recent EP-release show, the duo performed six new songs that will be featured on their first full-length album. During our interview, Arballo at one point said that new songs are “literally vomiting out of us,” so I asked how they are able to tell when a song is truly finished.

“Sometimes we don’t give songs time,” Arballo said. “For the upcoming album, we used our time very well. … We sat there with a song, and then we would upload it to our drive and listen to it, and then be like, ‘I have an idea for it.’ We wanted to get these demos done quickly, but make sure that when we’re doing our songwriting, we’re doing it correctly, instead of letting things hang. We’ve learned a lot in this past year, and that has helped us streamline our ideas.”

Arballo said they make sure to set time aside for recording. “We don’t take gigs when we’re recording, or we minimize the gigs that we take, because we want to make sure that we’re focused. Sometimes we miss out on shows, but getting things done, I think, is way more important to us.”

The theme of the Anti Dove EP is going against the grain, and the title came about from an inside joke.

(Now, consider yourself warned: Things are going to get a little … deep here.)

“We were talking about crows, and I saw a meme and said, ‘That shit’s so crow,’” McCune said. “I thought of Anti Dove, and it kind of gave me the idea that the name Anti Dove is not like a crow, and it means you’re going against what you’re supposed to be, or what people see you as, or where people think that you should be.”

Arballo also tried to explain the meanings behind track “Objectif.”

“‘Objectif’ is about music from the other side, if music was a person,” he said. “The first part of it is music, literally, not wanting to be the sole purpose for you. It doesn’t want to be there to save your life; it’s just a thing that exists. Obviously, people sometimes read a lot into music, and it does save lives, but (the song) is music talking back to people, to a person, and saying, ‘I’m not here to save your life.’ The sun may be shining, and shit might be fine around you, but just because you’re feeling the song doesn’t mean that it’s meant to save your life. The second part of the song is the person talking back: ‘I can’t tell if I need you, but I can pretend that you want me.’”

Metaphors are obviously important in Arballo’s writing.

“I can write very direct, and some of the songs are very direct, but it’s nice to write something down and take the time and analyze it, to give it a different perspective,” Arballo said. “I actually got that idea from reading Maynard James Keenan’s book. He talks about some of the songs that he writes, seeing it from the other side and giving it a different perspective, instead of it just being your emotions that are there.” - Coachella Valley Independent

It was a slightly chilly Thursday night in West Hollywood, CA. Fans made their way inside to grab some drinks and watch the openers as they amped up the energy leading to Tantric.

The first band of the night was Analog Lab. They are an Alternative Rock duo with an experimental edge that consists of two members, Miguel Arballo (Lead Singer/Guitarist) and Sean McCune (Drums, Keyboard, Programming). They have three singles currently out on all streaming platforms. They had a relatively short set but still had the crowd on their feet. A few of their songs included “Swallow the Sun”, “Roads”, “In the Shadows” and Sean McCune (drummer) even sung an unreleased song. A great upcoming band that is definitely worth checking out. - Deranged Media

Analog Lab – “Roads”

Country: US

Genre: Alt Rock

From the Artist: “”Roads” is the second single from Analog Lab’s Swallow The Sun EP. The song tells a story of a meeting that goes wrong from the start, and the protagonists tries to deal with his emotions inside. It’s meant to takes you down the rabbit hole of low self confidence, and the fight to finding a step back of the ledge.” - From The Strait

In 2019, vocalist and guitar player/bassist, Miguel Arballo and drummer/keyboardist, Sean McCune (who is also known as rapper, Aeiou) met as backup musicians for popular, local vocalist, Krystofer Do and soon began to realize that their chemistry was something that couldn’t be denied. Both Arballo and McCune have a wide variety of musical interests and were itching to create something uniquely theirs. That itch was very much intensified during the pandemic which also gave them the time to get together and do something about it. I sat down with Arballo to discuss what Analog Lab has been up to and where they are heading.

Arballo: “When Sean and I met through Krystofer Do, there was pretty much an instant connection between us but we never really got around to sharing our individual music with each other. The more shows we played together, the tighter we got. I was on bass and he was on drums so that’s a connection right there. When the pandemic hit, I had been playing in another band from Imperial Valley called, “More than Circles.” I finally ended up showing Sean some of my music and expressing to him my desire to release it. He listened to it and loved it and we started progressing little by little.”

Arballo continues: “We are releasing three songs on an EP entitled, “Swallow the Sun.” Those three songs are older songs that were written before I ever met Sean so he came in and used his talents to really help me round them out and make them tighter and cleaner. He also added some keyboards and helped me out with ideas on the vocals. He’s a great songwriter.”

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CVW: “I’ve only ever known you as a backup musician for other vocalists and you always seemed to me like a guy who is a bit on the quiet side so I was wondering if you have ever fronted a band before?”

Arballo: “I have fronted some cover bands. I was in a Deftones cover band from high school up until I was around 25. I was the singer and played guitar. It’s pretty nuts because I kind of transform when I’m up there playing and I really let the music take over which is why I get so tired at the end of a show.”

CVW: “How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard Analog Lab?”

Arballo: “Definitely alternative rock but we also have an experimental feel to a lot of what we do and that can really mean anything. We have some bossanova type beats thrown in and you might find traces of hip hop elements here and there for instance. At the same time, we do have clear song structures. We aren’t deviating too much from what’s out there, we are just meeting ourselves in the moment and seeing what we can create. We don’t exactly know where things are headed but we are excited about the ride.”

Analog Lab’s EP, “Swallow the Sun” drops on Sept. 19th which includes their debut single, “Swallow the Sun,” “Roads” and their newest song, “Am I Awake?” They will be performing at Coachella Bar on Sept 25th and October 1st, Whisky A Go Go on Oct 6th and The Den in Prescott Az on Nov 19th. - Coachella Valley Weekly

Playing music as a hobby can be a lot of fun—but making a career out of it requires a ton of hard work.

Miguel Arballo and Sean McCune know all about this. Both have been involved in a number of local music projects, and both are part of Krystofer Do’s backing band. (They recently appeared on the YouTube battle-of-the-band series No Cover.)

Arballo and McCune recently decided to start their own project, a collaborative multi-genre band called Analog Lab. Debut single “Swallow the Sun” has a ’90s alternative-rock and grunge feel, with some sparkly indie effects. On Friday, Aug. 5, the band will release its debut EP, also titled Swallow the Sun.


“The project started way back; I had been using it as a moniker to write music and stuff with different artists,” Arballo said during a recent Zoom chat. “I met Sean playing with Krystofer Do; he actually got called in to play drums with us back in 2019, and we kind of had a musical connection. We showed each other a little bit of music that we were each writing and decided that we would love to be creating music with each other.”

Added McCune: “It was interesting when I first met Miguel, because when you meet somebody, you never really know how it’s going to turn out. I think it was really interesting how our relationship through Krys blossomed into our own little musical connection. I was just really surprised to hear the type of music that he had, and I was impressed when I heard it was music that I would actually listen to myself. Now that we’re working on music together, I feel like it’s creating some pretty good stuff for the both of us.”

Arballo said it’s rare to meet musicians who share a similar passion.

“I really connected with his personality,” Arballo said. “Aside from being a badass drummer, he’s very receptive to ideas, and we’re really great with bouncing that off each other instead of just having that coming from one side.”

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Added McCune: “As well as playing drums, I play guitar and a little bit of piano, so I’ll have ideas on my own that I’ll bring to Miguel, and then we’ll work on it. Recently, we’ve been writing music together just sitting in his little studio in his house, just messing around, listening for stuff. Maybe we’ll hear something; maybe he’ll have an idea. I think that our workflow is pretty smooth, and we both have pretty similar ideas, so it’s easy to hear where we’re going with something.”

While Arballo and McCune play rock music in Krystofer Do’s band, their individual projects stretch into hip hop and pop-metal—and their musical tastes stretch even further.

“We each listen to different music throughout the day,” said Arballo. “Sean is also a local rapper as well. I’m not a rapper, but I love rapping, and sometimes he has some wicked flows, and there are some times when I can pick up a melody and implement it. Sometimes he’ll bring me an idea, and I’ll sit on it for a day or two, and I’ll be listening to, like, bossa nova or heavy metal or something and be like, ‘Whoa; that fits.’”

Analog Lab is already making music-release plans beyond Swallow the Sun.

“We do somewhat give ourselves timelines for writing certain EPs or music,” Arballo said. “I’ve been telling Sean that I’d like to just write EPs due to the style of the way things are being released. I think people want more music a lot faster, and since we don’t have a lot of music out, I’d rather devote three months maybe to four or five songs, get that out, and play them live while we continue writing more. … It’s more of just structure, and making sure that we devote ourselves for that amount of time, for that amount of songs. I’m sure once we continue to play more, it’s going to be a little bit more organic. Having those timelines really puts you in that timeframe of, ‘Yeah, I need to get this done; I need to focus on this.’”

McCune said he was dedicated to putting in the work needed to make music into a career.

“One of my biggest dreams, in general, is to just be able to work on music, and do it as a job,” McCune said. “We discussed three months for four or five songs so that we can consistently be working on music. Once a week, we’ll meet up, and we’ll spend a bunch of time working on music. I think a big part of what drives us and the music creation was that we have our passions, and we see what direction we’re going. We want this sooner than later, so we’re trying to put in a bunch of hard work right now to get a good amount of songs out.”

For more information, visit www.reverbnation.com/analoglabband.

TAGGED: analog lab, featured, miguel arballo, sean mccune, swallow the sun

(Written by Matt King) - CV Independent

Best Musically Diverse Dynamic Duo
Analog Lab

You would think a band with only two members would be limited in what it can create.

Analog Lab has proven that thought wrong.

Local musicians Miguel Arballo and Sean McCune tackle alternative, grunge, metal and more—oftentimes within the bounds of one song. Through only three single releases, the band has put its musical diversity on full display, not shying away from experimentation, genre-fusion or having fun.

Dedication has also been a big factor for the group. Even though Arballo and McCune are both busy participating in other local music projects, Analog Lab intends to maintain a consistent release schedule, and has been picking up a number of local, out-of-town and even out-of-state gigs.

This duo is most certainly dynamic, and they are worth checking out. To hear them pull off some really cool musical shifts and combinations, I recommend “In the Shadows.”

—Matt King - Coachella Valley Independent

Analog Lab is a desert duo fairly new to the Coachella Valley music scene, but is already making waves with a rhythmic tonality that teeters on the youthful vigor of alternative rock with folk undertones in the lyrics and sound. Sean McCune (drums, programming, vocals) and Miguel Arballo (vocals, guitar, bass) have a slew of performances already lined up for the new year, including a February 25th show with Desert Underground in Coachella, and March 4th at Brooks Bar in Riverside with Zero Sum Game, Paper Drivers, Lozenge, and Beautiful Desastres. With the release of their new song and video for “Roads,” I took the time to catch up with the Miguel and Sean on what listeners can expect with Analog Lab’s anticipated future releases.

Crystal: When did you first form as a band?

Miguel: I have used the name Analog Lab since 2008 to collaborate with different musicians, but the band didn’t take form until 2015, playing shows on and off. The band didn’t find its feet until Sean came into the fold last year in May of 2022.

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Crystal: Has there been any growth or change in the band since then?

Miguel: Change has come to the band with individual growth. We’ve gone from a trio to a duo within our short time as band, and that change was done to make sure we continue to make progress and to evolve.

Sean: Hella growth. As people, as friends, as musicians, and as bowlers. Every time we get together is a new experience and a new way we improve. Even if just a lil bit, our chemistry improving is really important for our writing process as well.

Crystal: What is the dynamic like between the bandmates?

Miguel: We have a great support system within the band and make sure to listen to each other. No ideas are out of line, but Sean definitely helps tame them and give them structure.

Sean: We’re just clowning around most of the time, having a ball. Going crazy on our respective instruments. Just having fun and going as hard as we possibly can with the music stuff.

Crystal: What was the process like creating the song “Roads”?

Sean: Miguel should answer this, really. I just recorded the drums for it similar to how they were on the demo with my own flare.

Miguel: “Roads” was inspired, or rather came to be, as an internal response to being stuck somewhere you don’t want to be, and having to deal with yourself and your ego because of that choice. The music was written back in 2017 with the help of my friend, Rudy Linares. I tried to write the most simplistic riff I could so that the lyrics really took over instead of the riff driving the song. When Sean came in, he helped clean the drums, made them rumble, and gave the song some attitude and belief.

Crystal: What about the process making the music video?

Miguel: We reached out to our good friend, Nathan Cox, who had just filmed Razor J’s music video “In Control”, and he wrote a treatment for the song. It started as an idea of having that little voice on your shoulders telling you to go left or go right. But as we kept going deeper into the lyrics, he found a story within the lines that resonated with us. It was ambitious, and we really wanted to push it. We enlisted Razor J and local actress, Clare Merritt, to bring the story to life. Nathan took us out to the desert, made us the spirit guides to Razor’s dreams, made us dig our own graves… just kidding. We love the desert and wanted to make sure the landscape looked alien for the dream scenes. Nathan has a very keen eye, and his cinematography helped create the atmosphere we wanted for the song.

Crystal: Is there another album in the works?

Sean: There is definitely another EP in the works, and it’s actually gonna be released really soon. We just got done with about all of the recording side of it; all that’s left is mixing and mastering.

Miguel: Sean and I are currently working on an EP titled “Anti-Dove”, which we hope to release by the end of February/start of March. Once that’s out, we are jumping straight into production for our full-length. We have a title already, but we’re keeping it to ourselves for now.

Crystal: Has your sound changed since you released your first tracks?

Sean: Oh yeah, definitely. Our sound, I feel like, changes every month. But we’ve been consistently writing a lot of new stuff with a similar vibes that we’re really digging. Finding a good groove for sure.

Miguel: Oh, man, we are a completely different band to when we first released “Swallow the Sun” last year. We are still maturing as a band and as a duo. We didn’t intend for the band to be a duo, but we found our vision, hunger, and desire to be more important than the amount of members. Our sound has gotten heavier, as a product of us listening to heavier music, but our love for experimentation still carries on.

Crystal: What is your favorite memory as a band so far?

Miguel: So far, our show at Brick by Brick in San Diego really lit a fire inside of us, at least for me. Opening for Tantric and playing the Whisky a Go Go the same night felt a bit surreal.

Sean: The Brick by Brick show we played was incredible. Probably my best experience playing live music like.. ever.

Crystal: Any goals for the coming year?

Miguel: Releasing new music and doing a tour of California. We’re always excited to play to new faces.

Crystal: Thank you both for your time. Finally, where can people hear your music?

Miguel: Going out to shows and seeing us live. Shout out to Radio WigWam in the UK for running our songs on the air overseas. Alternative Twist Radio, Amazing Radio, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Soundcloud, ReverbNation.

Sean: Everywhere. Close your eyes and listen … it’s there. - Coachella Valley Weekly

Hailing from Indio, California, is Analog Lab, a two-piece alternative experimental band. Starting as a solo project of actor and solo acoustic artist Miguel Arballo, he began exploring songwriting with many artists. Through performing many sets at Coachella Valley, Arballo met rapper (known as AEIOU) and drummer Sean McCune and turned Analog into a band destined to create music inside their heads. With vast influences ranging from alt-rock and heavy metal to folk, Analog Lab create soundscapes that transport you and live shows that entrance you. You can find Arballo on guitar, vocals, and bass, while McCune's talents include drums, programming, and vocals. Together the pair released a debut EP, a handful of singles, and their most recent endeavor, a new EP titled Anti Dove.



The penultimate song on the four-track EP, Anti Dove, is their longest on the record, "Monet." The song begins just with drums and bass, setting the audio scene like smoke rolling in before revealing a movie set. At 0:58, vocals enter, sounding more indie, and at 1:40, the alt-rock energy hits. You hear angst and grit with heavy-hitting drums and distorted guitars.


The lyrics uncover this story that's deep and emotive, as Analog Lab sings, "staring at all, the pictures/ lying in your heart Monet/ I pray, you say/ I've painted all the pictures blinding your eyes/ I pray, Monet, you see/ the lies in all the wasted time in your heart." At 2:26, we get more of what sounds like the intro, the building drums, bass, and synthesizer. We return to more of that indie sound as they sing, "no rest for the wicked/no rest for the night/no rest for my soul," which, given the band's influences, sounds like it could be a reference to Cage The Elephant's "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked." At 4:19, the grit returns, with the chorus returning before fading out to the soundscape.




LONG STORY SHORT: Analog Lab's "Monet" is like two tracks in one, indie and alt-rock. You get an audio atmosphere with a hard rock chorus, all while telling a story that feels intimate yet universal. - The Music Insight Column

Local alternative rock duo Analog Lab, comprised of Sean McCune (drums, programming, vocals) and Miguel Arballo (vocals, guitar, bass), have just released a new EP entitled “ANTI DOVE”, worldwide this month. The sonically cohesive EP contains three songs (Objectif, Monet, and the title track, ANTI DOVE) and one interlude (Imagenes).

“We’ve had a very positive reception to the EP in the community, but also from outside sources, which is something that came as a full surprise to me. We poured a lot of effort into this piece of work and are proud of its final product,” shared Arballo.

The songwriting process for the ANTI DOVE EP began around October of last year. Arballo and McCune set their intentions, and performed the songs live throughout sets to get a feel of what the duo wanted out of them. Some of the songs morphed drastically during this time, but they actually sat down and started recording the songs in January and February.

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“I don’t write lyrics until I have the full song in front of me, but Sean is constantly writing and had his parts for the title track solid way ahead of time. We really came together as a band, and became even better friends during this EP’s creation,” stated Arballo.

“These are the first songs we’ve sat down and written together. We created it sitting in a room with our instruments just jamming and also some producing through Ableton,” added McCune.

Analog Lab’s performance at Brick by Brick in San Diego last year gave the band a taste of a receptive crowd, but the free EP release show on June 9 has been one of their favorite performances.

“The release show was quite an experience. It was really an excuse to hang out with some of our favorite local artists and bring our communities together. Sean and I wanted to give back some love to our local supporters, and have people who have never seen us, or our supporting acts, live, a chance to experience what we do. We also got a chance of sharing some new music we’re currently working on,” said Arballo.

“I personally have never played a show like that before. A whole room packed with people all there to listen to you and enjoy your creation. The other artists and bands we had there really made the night. Their performances were incredible. It was a great circle of love and a great reminder to the local community that we can all play shows together regardless of genre or background or identity. The Coachella Valley really has a special group of talent on the rise,” continued McCune.

Analog Lab’s sound became more cohesive on the ANTI DOVE EP. The songs have elements of different genres, but maintains the band’s alternative rock feel. It’s moody, and wild at times, but also has some hope hidden in the songs.

There are several upcoming performances Analog Lab has planned to showcase songs from the EP, including Moonvibez Festival, which is an underground festival, in LA on June 24. The band is also scheduled to perform at MOAH Cedar, in Lancaster, CA, on August 26, and Packing House Brewery, in Riverside, CA, on September 9th.

Analog Lab is also currently working on their full length album, which the band hopes to finish by September/October of this year.

“We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback from the people who support us and newer fans we’ve made since our release show. The love we’ve gotten recently has been really uplifting and motivational… This last show we played when we played one of our unreleased songs “Juke,” the crowd reaction was exactly what we had imagined it to be and it was so fun to play,” said McCune.

Listen to Analog Lab’s new ANTI DOVE EP on Spotify, Youtube Music, Pandora, and Bandcamp. Listeners can also follow the band on social media and their website, www.analoglabband.com, for more musical updates. - Coachella Valley Weekly