BV Interviews: José González on ‘Against the Dying of the Light,’ punk, distortion, AI, more

“You could say that I stumbled into distortion when I was 14. Since then, I never let go.” You may associate José González with delicate acoustic guitar arpeggios, but he tells us how his punk upbringing still influences him today.

“I used to play bass and scream,” González says. “Distortion was part of the sound of hardcore music and punk, of course. But then when I started to record my solo stuff, actually the guy who recorded our hardcore band, he helped me to record this first single, ‘Deadweight On Velveteen.’ And I recorded on this tape cassette. He was a fan of tape compression and tube distortion. And if you use it, you can capture the dynamics in a way that is very appealing to me. And instead of using compressors and limiters to keep the sound very clean, you use the distortion to sort of show that, okay, this was louder.”

I talk to José González on the April 27 episode of BV Interviews, where we get into his new album, Against the Dying of the Light (grab it on vinyl) and its apocalyptic themes, including AI, which you’ll learn he has a more complicated relationship with than some do. We also talk about his North American tour, which he’s currently on, what he listens to when he runs, the acclaimed video for his cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats,” how he may be doing more covers in the future, and more.

Listen to the episode below or wherever you listen to podcasts.

JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ – US TOUR 2026

APRIL
27 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
28 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue

MAY
1 – Seattle, WA – SODO
2 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
3 – San Francisco, CA – Castro Theater (SOLD OUT)
4 – San Francisco, CA – Bimbos
5 – Los Angeles, CA – The Bellwether
8 – Austin, TX – Mohawk Outside
9 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
11 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom