San Francisco trio “New Diplomat” soon to rock at 7th Street Entry

Blending indie rock with electronic pop, San Francisco trio “New Diplomat” will bring its evolving sound to Minneapolis on Aug. 26 for a performance at 7th Street Entry.

Singer Horacio O’Brien-Ferres, guitarist Paolo Von Giordano, and drummer Mikey Rhinehart make up the trio. While O’Brien-Ferres and Von Giordano are two of the original members from around 2010, Rhinehart joined a few years ago. 

“One thing that’s been consistent is that no matter the iteration of the band, we’ve all been from different places of the world, and it’s still the case,” O’Brien-Ferres said. 

Their diverse backgrounds inspired the band’s name. While discussing their story with an advertising agency, a creative mentioned it reminded them of Henry James’ novel “The Ambassadors”. From there, “ambassador” evolved into “diplomat,” and eventually, “New Diplomat.”

Performing in both Minneapolis and San Francisco has enlightened the band on the many differences in each city’s music scene. 

“In California, people are a bit jaded,” O’Brien-Ferres said. “They have almost too much access to a lot of great music, but also so much that the local scene kind of becomes an afterthought.” 

In general, the band noticed that Minnesotans were more excited to discover new music. O’Brien-Ferres observed that there has been a lot of new shoegaze rock in Minnesota, which was something he listened to growing up. 

“Minneapolis made me think of San Francisco maybe ten or 15 years ago in a good way, with the right amount of humanity in music and art,” Von Giordano said. 

In Minneapolis, people actively seek new music — oftentimes in San Francisco, people just go for the headliners, O’Brien-Ferres said. In addition, multiple venues in San Francisco are shutting down because of high costs. Minneapolis, however, is still able to keep the local music scene alive. 

“Our genre is pretty popular in California, being sort of like the forefront here could be kind of cool,” O’Brien-Ferres said.

In addition to playing on 7th Street Entry in August, the trio wants to continue their tour with other Midwestern areas, including Madison, Eau Claire, Milwaukee and Bismarck, setting dates into late October. 

Through the years, the band has continued to keep their sound current, moving from indie rock to synth pop. During the pandemic, the group worked together to develop their signature electronic sound by developing their technological skills. 

They created their most popular song, “Singular,” around this time period. 

“It was a pandemic song,” Von Giordano said. “And with the rise of AI, it feels like it has multiple dimensions and layers. In the moment, we were focusing on the weirdness about singularity and becoming one with the computer, but as the song progresses, it feels like an emotional, maybe love song. It’s one of those songs that could mean so many things.”

O’Brien-Ferres and Von Giordano said that they grew up influenced by very similar musical inspirations, including ‘90s Brit-pop, electronic pop-rock, The Stone Roses, The Beatles and Bob Dylan. 

Recently, the band has drawn inspiration from artists who blend electronic music with melodic pop and rock, including Tame Impala, Justice, The Chemical Brothers, ODESZA and RÜFÜS DU SOL.

In total, the trio said they have about five or six new songs in the works and have plans to release a single by the end of October. 

“We have a couple of unreleased songs that we’ll be playing at the show,” O’Brien-Ferres said. 

Recently, New Diplomat performed a show at the Green Room in Minneapolis. 

“The show was great. The venue is beautiful, sounded great, people are really into it, so we had a great time,” O’Brien-Ferres said. 

The trio has noticed a rise in festival culture among younger audiences, a movement they believe complements their energetic live performances.

Fans attending New Diplomat’s Aug. 26 performance at 7th Street Entry can expect a mix of electronic vibes and melodic indie rock, reflecting the band’s evolving sound.

“I discovered a lot of my favorite bands in college. You’re getting out of that awkwardness of high school, and you’re starting to find yourself as an adult. This is a formative time,” Rhinehart said.