Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Hidalgo and Adam Diener.
Mike and Adam, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Adam – i started playing music in a church basement on a beat up black piano with multiple keys busted out. As I got older I started piano lessons and lost interest soon after. I felt far more interested in the chaos of sound than structure at that time. When I got into highschool I joined choir with my friends and learned how to harmonize and sing with better technique. This is the moment I truly became addicted to music. I bought my first guitar and treated it the same way I treated the piano. I obsessively started writing long music pieces that mixed classical and alternative styles together. Shortly after started gigging solo, meeting other musicians, performing in multiple bands and then as my style started to solidify the beginnings of Obsolete Machines started to develop as well.
Forming loosely in 2012, Obsolete Machines has taken on multiple iterations, slowly evolving into a hybrid of electronic and organic sounds. Being a keyboard/synth/drum project the soundscape started moving organically into a dark dreampop style. When the pandemic hit we took a hiatus. After around 3 years of disappearing we came back as a 2 piece, myself and Mike Hidalgo on drums. In the process of writing new material, and with the 3 years in between developing ourselves musically in different ways, we decided to rebuild our 2017 album “Million White Strands” giving it a bigger, more gritty sound emphasizing a more modern twist on older material. Using this album to perform and reconnect with the community was really important to us, but also testing and exploring our musical chemistry again was a big factor in this decision. Everything started to click really quickly. Our musical influences were very symbiotic and our interest in pushing ourselves to create wilder ladscapes of sound was exciting. Currently we are in the process of writing a completely new record, one single at a time and slowly releasing the record to the public in 2025. We are hoping to play shows in targeted mini tours around the US throughout the year as well.
Mike – I grew up in Austin, TX, but didn’t sit down at a kit until I was 25. Played some guitar before that but never took it seriosuly. Drums changed my life, I started practicing every day and started a band. We played a bill with Obsolete Machines, which is how I met everyone.
Over the next 8 years, I played in several bands, toured around the US as a drummer, roadie, drum tech & light guy. I learned quite a lot over during that time and am grateful for the opportunities that came as a result.
Then, in 2017, the opportunity to play with OM presented itself & I’ve been in the band since. We’ve been friends a long time now, and playing live again for the first time in about 3.5 years last month felt great.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Adam- When the pandemic hit we took it very seriously. Having a compromised immune system and heart related issues I couldn’t take the risk. I also had to keep working in service industry, and even with a mask didn’t want to take the chance of getting anyone else sick in the process. We took a 3 year break and it was hard. I started to wonder if Obsolete Machines would even be a thing again. I spent this time working alot on my studio production skills, taking classes on music mastering and playing guitar. Strangely, I don’t even think I touched my keyboard once during that time. I spent alot of time trying to figure myself out, my adhd, my mental health, and my relationships with family, friends, and the world around me. It was a really hard time and even when the pandemic started to lift, it was very difficult to pull out of that looming feeling of hopelessness. The world started opening up way before Mike and I did and the political divide revolving around health and wellness at the time was truly insane to me. I was trying my best to not lose faith in people, but it was even harder with the news being so loud and watching it all from such an isolated position.
Mike – There have been ups and downs, like with everything before Covid, but the pandemic really changed things. My wife is immunocompromised, so we’ve had to be extra careful.
We stopped playing for years, and it wasn’t til the past year or so that we began to build the performance of the set we’re playing now.
A health insurance company also made things extremely difficult for my wife to the point where she got very sick in 2022 & it took us a while to recover from that. Physically and emotionally. I also have a health issue I’m navigating.
If you’re going through it right now, know you’re not alone. If I could pick one thing to hone in and advocate for it’d be universal healthcare.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
This quote from Tim Palmer sums it up best:
“Obsolete Machines are an Austin based band whose genre-bending music is thought-provoking and dark, but still melodic and memorable. They stick out, mainly due to the fact that they don’t rely on generic or traditional song structures sounds and approach. Their unique blend of machines and traditional instruments is fresh and compelling.”
And we’re eternally grateful for the kind words.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Adam – I’ve learned that the world isn’t black and white, that the open minded conversation is worth having, that the loudest noise in the room usually isn’t the one to listen to. Now I spend more time listening and less time talking. I see now, more than ever, the importance of championing diversity and putting more emphasis on what to fighting for and less about what to fight against. I’ve realized I have a limited amount of energy and that it is sacred resource to protect and dedicate to the things that truly matter to me. I take time every day to check in with myself and make sure to remind myself that I can reflect that energy I believe in into my community and that I should take more moments to see that I am unique and strange and powerful, but most importantly that I am worth being here and that there is always something beautiful and captivating nearby that can inspire me to create and express and recharge.
Mike – Give maximum effort to the things you love to do & do your best to do right by others, unless they do wrong by you.
Drumming was something I loved immediately & worked hard at. The more I worked, the more ready I was when an opportunity came along. As a result I got to travel the country, meet some awesome people & make some music.
My 9th grade teacher had a Thomas Jefferson quote on her wall that said, “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”
It has always stuck with me. I think I just needed to find something I wanted to work hard at. Once I did it seemed like things just started happening and the wheels set in motion. Been riding this crazy music train ever since.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/obsoletemachines/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/obsoletemachinesmusic
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@obsoletemachines5027
- Other: https://obsoletemachines.bandcamp.com/music
Image Credits
Luna A. Lockhardt
