Bero Bero

Local band Bero Bero has become known for their explorations of synth-based music, and they’ve always relied heavily on groove as a central part of their endeavors. Over the course of the last few years, during which time they’ve released EPs and singles, the duo—comprised of Veronica Garcia-Melendez and David Murray—has earned a reputation for not just being great songwriters and producers but also captivating live performers.

What makes that fact important to the evolution of Bero Bero is that it’s the entire foundation of their new EP Dance, out Jan. 4 on House of Strut Records. All of the songs on the EP were crafted with the idea that they would be danceable songs that are optimal for playing live. It’s a concept they employed after noticing that their more dance-oriented material went over best during shows, so they took the excitement and ran with it.

The results of Dance recall the best of 80s synth pop (Yaz, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, etc.), fused with the sleekness of more modern electronic music. It’s a captivating work that places the groove in a new place, and a new pace, for Bero Bero. - Connect Savannah

The retro percussive synthpop duo, Bero Bero, featuring vocalist/keyboardist Veronica Garcia-Melendez and drummer Dave Murray, just released a brand new four song EP on House of Strut Records, and are celebrating with a launch party at the Jinx before they strike out on tour. Bero Bero’s latest EP is called “Dance” because it is a bit of a departure from their previous releases which leaned more heavily on a ’90s influenced sultry, trip-hop sound.

“That was the vibe,” said Garcia-Melendez. “Because I guess our live performances are higher energy even on those songs from the other EPs, it comes off stronger or more energized live, so people would say, ‘I didn’t expect you guys to be like that.’ They thought we were really mellow. So they would see us live and have a lot of energy on stage. We thought, ‘Oh, let’s try on this third recording to really get some more of that energy.’ That was the goal there.”

It wasn’t just fans that were reacting to Bero Bero’s fiery live performances—the band noticed that repeat gigs were easier to come by if they got the crowd dancing. “We’ve been getting a better reaction from venues with the more uptempo numbers,” said Murray. “We’ve noticed that we’ve been getting invited back to places a lot more when we keep it dancier, so we set out to make a dance album and this is what came of it. We’ve been playing these songs out for awhile, tweaking them here and there, and it finally all came together in the studio with Peter Mavrogeorgis at Dollhouse Productions in Atlanta.”

Bero Bero had worked with Mavrogeorgis before on their previous EPs and as session musicians on other projects. Their familiarity with each other made it easier to find the new sounds they were looking for. “We know Peter pretty well and have a great working relationship with him,” said Garcia-Melendez. “We all like to bounce ideas off each other and we’re just a good team.”

“We discussed a lot with Peter how we wanted the mix to sound,” Garcia-Melendez continued. “I think our previous EPs were a more sexy, moody, darker sound and we wanted this one to be brighter.”

One of the stand out tracks on the record is the shimmery ’80s strut, “Pop Song,” which the band had the most difficultly perfecting.

“That one took a while for me to like that song,” admitted Garcia-Melendez. “David came up with the lyric, it’s a pop song about love, so I had to write a song about that. It started out with a lyric and not a melody, so it was tricky for me to write music that fit that lyric. We had the wrong tempo or we had the wrong form. We would play it live and then go back to the drawing board each time until we finally felt like we got it."

Along with the “Dance” EP, Bero Bero shot a music video for the song “Pieces of Hurt” with director Brittin Richter, and plan to collaborate with rapper Dope KNIfe on a future trip-hop project. Dope KNIfe and Charleston dance-pop group 2 Slices are opening for Bero Bero. - DO Savannah

Bero Bero, comprised of Veronica Garcia-Melendez and David Murray, turned some heads earlier this year with the release of the video for their single, “Symbiosis.” The lyrical concept for the song was actually inspired by Danny Devito’s character in an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in which he pretends to be an art collector named Ongo Gablogian.

“There’s a scene where he’s talking about a piece of art that’s actually an air conditioner. He says, ‘I love it! It’s everything - it’s symbiotic. I want it!’ I started thinking about the idea of symbiosis - two organisms building off of each other,” Melendez says.

Musically, the song took shape earlier and the lyrics were written around a small melodic concept.

“The music started with an idea that that David had sitting in the backyard late one night,” Melendez says. “He started hearing a little melody in the drone of the air conditioner. He brought it to me, and I built the rest out of that.”

The video was naturally an extension of the lyrical concept, with Melendez explaining that it involves two people searching for each other and trying to find a symbiotic relationship. The duo enlisted the help of talented friends in the world of film and video to help with the striking imagery, drone shots, choreography, and fashion to create a video that feels similar to some of Kate Bush’s notable videos of the 80s.

The video for “Symbiosis” is one that serves as the perfect visual compliment to a dynamic song, and hopefully serves as just the beginning for Bero Bero in terms of using visuals to elevate their art. - Connect Savannah