The important contribution of Madonna to the career of the Defones

In a recent interview granted to “The Irish Times”, Chino Moreno told how the Defones managed to kick off their career thanks to Madonna. In the chat the frontman of the training of Sacramento, which recently released the new album “Private Music” (here our interview), explained that the pop star is a big fan of the band, so much so that it is thanks to her that the group managed to sign a contract with Maverick, the label also led by the voice of “Like a Virgin”.

“It was Guy Oseary, A&R of the Maverick, who discovered us first,” said Moreno, as taken from “Loudersound”:

“He and Freddy Demn, manager of Madonna and partner of Maverick, then made us fly from sacrament to Los Angeles, where we played a couple of songs for them in a small test space. That same day we were invited to the offices of the record company in Beverly Hills, where I had the opportunity to meet Madonna. For me it was crazy. She certainly expressed her appreciation for us. Folding for a boy like me, 20 years old, receiving the approval of someone whose music I listened to since I was 10 years old.

During the interview, Chino Moreno also narrated as Madonna as a boss is, saying that “it was not so involved as perhaps one would expect”, leaving the defones the freedom to explore their artistic paths. “In no way dictated our creative direction or things like that,” said Moreno: “And, in general, the label let us be ourselves”. Unveiling that Madonna witnessed numerous concerts from the “White Pony” band, Moreno added: “She was almost unnerving, because you knew she was looking at you. One of the biggest artists in the world knew who we were. It was fantastic and really cool”.

The link between the Defones and the Maverick lasted for over a decade, or from the publication of their 1995 debut album “Adrenaline” to the release of “Saturday Night West in 2006”. Subsequently, Chino Moreno and associates passed to the Reprise, the label to which they are still linked, starting from the 2010 “Diamond Eyes”.