Deftones say their new record is nearly complete in backstage Coachella interview

In a recent backstage interview before their performance tonight at Coachella, Deftones members, drummer Abe Cunningham and vocalist Chino Moreno, discussed their unexpected inclusion in the festival lineup, and offered a bit of insight on how soon we'll hear some new music from the group.

The two attributed the band's presence at the event to being asked for the first time, noting that it was somewhat of a spontaneous decision whether to participate or not. 

We were asked. I guess that's the that's the quickest easiest answer I got for you. 

I don't think we expected it either.

I mean, it was honestly the first time we were asked to do it. In the beginning we weren't quite sure if we were or not and it was kind of last minute that we kind of just pulled the trigger and yeah, we're here.

Reflecting on their career trajectory spanning 30 years, Moreno feels like there was never a moment where they felt like they'd made it, rather experiencing consistent growth over time, from skateboarding troublemakers to music veterans still engaged in their craft.

Moreno shared:

You know, it's weird, with our career it was it's such a slow build. I mean it still feels like we're still building for some crazy reason after 30 years. I've never like felt like one day I woke up and went like "wow" because it's been so gradual. But when I do look back in retrospect, I mean it's crazy, him and I talk about all the time, we've known each other since the seventh grade, when we were just little kids skateboarding behind the school getting in trouble. It's crazy to think that we're here now and still doing it after all these years.

Regarding upcoming music, Moreno revealed a work-in-progress album that has been musically completed, with ongoing vocal work slated for completion after Moreno gets home from their Coachella performances this week and next.

He revealed:

We've just sort of been working on and off over the last year and a half. From when we started writing to where we're sitting right now is we have a whole record recorded, all musically, and it's pretty much my job now to finish up the vocals. 

I have this show again next week and then straight after that I go back home to Oregon and I go in the studio. So as long as that takes, I hate to put a definite time frame, because we're not really in a rush. 

We want it to be great, I think that's most important. But it is coming and it's really good. We're really excited with what we what we've been working on, and everybody's jazzed.

In terms of the upcoming record's surprises for fans, Moreno hinted at an invigorated sound, marking a refreshing return to the creative process after a hiatus since their last studio work. The band emphasized the collaborative aspect of creating new music and the thrill of seeing something emerge organically from their sessions.

That's a big question. I feel like overall it's just an invigorated kind of sound. What I was saying earlier, it's like after all these years you go in, we haven't written a record since what was it, like pre-covid I think when we were last in the studio? So it's been a while since we had actually… I mean we've been playing shows, but we hadn't really got to start being creative. 

The creative part to me is always kind of the funnest part of being in a band. Performing is great, but coming up with something out of nothing that feeling is like cannot be topped.  So when you get in the room with your friends, we're laughing, we're having fun, and then someone does something, and then I react to it, or they react to what I'm doing, or you know, it goes in a circle and then all of a sudden we lift our heads up, and there's something that exists that didn't exist before we walked in that room.