CHICAGO — The earliest iterations of Así Así may have begun in a different country and under a different name, but this rising indie-rock four-piece is now firmly a Chicago music act. And on their debut record, “Mal de Otros,” which comes out Aug. 19, listeners new and old alike can hear the fruits of their labor, largely perfected in the dark and disparate days of the early pandemic.
According to songwriter and frontman Fernando de Buen López, Así Así originated in Mexico City, where he lived before moving to Chicago more than a decade ago. In Mexico City, de Buen López was part of a different musical project, El Mañana. But after arriving in Chicago, he took a break from creating. “I didn’t do much music-wise for about five years,” de Buen López recalled. Then in 2018, after meeting future band member and drummer Ben Geissel, he decided to revive his old Mexico City-based band here in Chicago.
Unfortunately, another band registered their same name right before de Buen López decided to revive his old group, forcing them to truly begin anew.
