la espiral with toto peña
Thoughtful singer-songwriter Toto Peña talks nature & Latin food
On a bright, late summer day, Toto Peña and I shared Venezuelan snacks and chatted about his recent release, “Now.” Inspired by the earthwork and public art installation Spiral Jetty, the track captures a sweltering yearning.
Read our conversation below and check out the video for “Now,” here.
Tell us about your music; for those who haven’t heard you:
I’m Toto Pena, a singer-songwriter and producer from West Valley, Utah. I’ve been playing out in public for 12 or 13 years now. My music has evolved as I’ve been inspired by different styles and genres throughout the year, but right now I’m really inspired by American soul, R&B, and the type of Latin-American salsa music I grew up on. I write on guitar or keyboard, but I wouldn’t say I compose music. The songs just come out.
What kind of songwriting did the pandemic inspire for you?
At the time, I had a band in Baltimore and I was finishing university. My last semester was right when the pandemic hit, so I returned to Utah to be with my family. I was going through a lot of personal changes. I had a lot of living backed up, and the pandemic flooded me. I was shut in at my folks home, so I ended up writing and recording music there. I had already adopted this effort against perfectionism, but it still took me a long time to get anything out.
I started compiling this collection of songs, and then I was driving from the west coast in Oregon when the California wildfires hit this peak, and everything turned red. Everything was red. It locked in for me how finite everything is and how you never know how much time you really have. I took all the tracks in the state they were in and released them, and I called that record PANDEMIA 2020.
How has sobriety changed your relationship with your music?
I played a show at my favorite venue in New York City last April, and it was a dream. I went out that night and drank, and I slipped into a blackout. The next day, it was Easter, and I was walking around Prospect Park thinking. I realized that for me, with alcohol, 80% is fine and doesn't have much impact, but that last 20% is like a roll of the dice that can slip out of my hand. I think I normalized that for so long. The way my best friend puts it– I already have this fire, I’m very high energy, I want to make sure everyone's happy. When I start drinking, it adds fuel to the fire. I have to make sure my fire is warm enough for those around me but not so hot I burn anyone.
In general, my sobriety helps me have longevity and keeps this music thing sustainable. It keeps me safe, it keeps the people around me safe. I just make better decisions when I’m sober.
sharing bocadillos
What was it like seeing your last album through production?
With “Now,” it was the first time that I was able to allot the time to be able to tackle all the different ideas I had while also mixing it myself. It was intense because I had this lit-up sense of urgency to get it done. There was a lot of like, “Alright, I can’t spend too much time on this stuff” and a feeling that I had to keep it going. But I can stand behind the production and say “That has my seal.”
What do you love about the Spiral Jetty?
The Spiral Jetty is conserved by the Dia Art Foundation in New York, and I was lucky to visit that museum. The jetty is a connection or portal to me between two worlds– Utah and New York. It’s a trek, and it’s not super easy to get to it. On the way to it, you have to pass through the Golden Spike which is where the coasts met, so that’s very beautiful.
Another thing I love about the jetty is that I had never really heard about it when I was here in Utah. When I was out in New York and I’d tell people I was from Utah, most folks would either say, “Oh, the Mormons!” or, “Oh, the Spiral Jetty!”
One of my most emotional years was 2022. There were so many emotions flooding me that I was spiraling out. I talk about that in the song, but the spiral shape came to my mind– first through the lyrics. It wasn’t until May of 2023 that I put things together as I was starting to think about the music video. The jetty ties my sense of work to the environment.
I read that a specific Cuban meal you ate fantastically impacted your work. Tell us about the meal!
I went to this salsa record store in the Bronx the day I was supposed to be filming the second half of the video for “Now”. I felt really deeply in my instinct that I was supposed to go to this record store, a famous salsa record store. I met a famous salsero named Tito Allen who happened to walk in. I decided that instead of shooting the rest of the day, I should have dinner. I met my friend in Bedstuy at a Cuban restaurant. I started my meal with espresso and then we both ordered vaca frita. Vaca frita is a dish that I picked up during the pandemic because it’s close in flavor to the Venezuelan dish pabellón. Our vaca frita had plantains, beans, rice, flank steak, and cheese. That was a very special dinner that inspired me to shoot the rest of my video in Salt Lake City instead of New York.
Where can we hear your music?
My website is https://www.totopena.com/
My music can be streamed on all major platforms and is available to purchase on Bandcamp
I’m also on Instagram @toto.pena
bonus rapid fire interview!