"Missio" is Latin for mission. And what at one time began as a side project for singer-songwriter Matthew Brue has now shifted into the main mission. Accompanied by producer and instrumentalist David Butler, MISSIO sports an alternative/electronic sound with beat-driven hip-hop undertones. Atmospheric and expressive, this electro-alternative act is keen on a spirit of experimentation.
Based in Austin, Texas, MISSIO broke out in 2017 with their single Middle Fingers which reached top 10 at U.S. Alternative Radio, later leading to an appearance on the Conan O’Brien late night show amid the launch of their debut album Loner. That same album also spawned heavily rotated songs like Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea, Everybody Gets High, and Twisted, which all reached over 50 million streams each (and counting) on streaming platforms.
MISSIO released their second album The Darker the Weather // The Better the Man in mid 2019, broadening their sonic palette with songs like I See You which was the #1 song on the Sirius XM Alt 18 for 9 total weeks. During this album campaign, their streaming audience tripled and they capped off their album cycle by releasing the single Sing to Me as part of the soundtrack to the global video game phenomenon ‘Death Stranding’ alongside artists such as Chvrches, Major Lazer, Khalid, & Bring Me the Horizon. The band decided to document their creative process and personal growth during the recording process of this album, and ended up also releasing a documentary with accompanying soundtrack which they wrote and scored titled Love Me Whole.
MISSIO has now accumulated close to one billion streams within three years and two album releases.
Beginning the next stage in their music evolution, Matthew and David landed back in their home base of Austin, Texas this past November with their producer, co-writer, and creative partner Dwight Baker, and over a feverish 21 day period wrote and recorded the entirety of their upcoming album, Can You Feel The Sun released on October 23rd via 2B Recordings / BMG).
“We started talking with Dwight last summer about recording new music even though our second album had just released,” says Matthew Brue. “I felt inspired after coming back from our first European shows in some of the most beautiful cities in the world and seeing our music translate across the ocean, which was incredibly surreal. I instantly began writing new demos, taking hold of the many feelings that come along with living out your own dreams.”
David Butler adds “We wanted to create music on our own terms, separate and apart from any label deadlines or industry pressure. We were the only ones we wanted to impress.”
The band started with a range of demos that eventually snowballed into being a complete and finished full-length album.
“We worked until we felt like we were done and then one day woke up and knew we had a finished album”, says David. “Even from the very beginning of the process I already knew that ‘Can You Feel the Sun’ was one of the best songs we’d ever written and knew that we had something special.”
MISSIO has always been a band that is known for their thoughtful lyrics, raw emotion, but also pure, and unadulterated fun. Tracks like Wolves, Hoodie Up, Cry Baby (feat. Paul Wall), Vagabond (feat. Esoteric of Czarface), and Roman Empire might get the fans incredibly hyped up, but songs like Don’t Forget to Open Your Eyes, We All Burn to the Ground, and the title track Can You Feel the Sun glimmer with an introspective insight that now takes on an even deeper meaning in a pandemic ravaged world.
“With a song like Don’t Forget to Open Your Eyes I honestly don’t know where those lyrics came from”, says Matthew. “I had never taken the time to view the sunrise or the sunset and somehow this song has helped me personally heal when I’m overloaded with anxiety or depression. It continues to prove its message is bigger than ourselves.”
David adds “The reason we create and release music is because we love the process of making it all. Being able to write songs for ourselves has to be its own reward even though we’re hoping we can get out on the road and play music for people again soon. Until then we’re hoping, through our music and lyrics, to encourage people to ask questions and to open their minds.”
MISSIO have toured the United States extensively as headliners, and through several large support slots for the likes of MUSE, 30 Seconds to Mars, Yungblud, and K. Flay. The duo have also performed at major festivals like Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Firefly, Hangout, Bottle Rock, and Voodoo Fest. As part of a wider European tour, they made their UK (sold out) live debut at London’s Old Blue Last in May 2019. Their high energy live performances and custom-built light shows easily set them apart from their peers.
MISSIO returned to play a second sold out UK show at London’s Colours early March 2020, but the second half of their most recent European tour ended up being cancelled. The band were pulled off their tour bus at 2AM while crossing the Czech border, so that men in hazmat suits could check their temperatures to ensure that the touring party didn’t have COVID-19. They raced to get home on the final day before the U.S. borders were closed.
Regardless of not being able to tour for an undetermined amount of time, the band decided to forge ahead with releasing their new music. They put out the first single Wolves on June 24, 2020 which reached #1 on the Sirius XM Alt Nation ‘Top 18’ within three weeks. The duo now have 5 #1 singles on the countdown to date.
