Author Archives: Emilio Pérez Miguel

Escritos Circulares Brings Spanish-language Artists To The World

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Escritos Circulares [Circular Writings] is a Spanish-language blog that covers art in all its manifestations. The contents of this blog are split evenly between music, literature and cinema, and new posts are published daily.

Although the blogger (Claudio, AKA “An Imaginary Boy”) is based on Argentina, Escritos Circulares deals with artists from all over the Spanish-speaking world. Some of the artists that have already been featured include Dënver (Chile), Todos Los Santos (Mexico), Scars (Colombia), Ferretría (Ecuador) and Mixti Fori (Uruguay). And that’s not counting all the Argentinean bands and artist that have been covered so far, such as La Mala Vida. Coming Soon, Adrián Juarez, Kill All Hipsters and Uma Totoro.

All posts come with pictures and videos, and you’re always told how to get in touch with the featured artists via Facebook and Twitter. (The Escritos Circulares fanpage itself is found here.)

The blog also includes a “Random Thoughts” section where you can read quotes that come from established artists and personalities, along with poems from authors such as Mario Benedetti. And every Friday, a new artist is specially highlighted on the section named “Recomendado del Viernes”. Plus, the “Artista Indie de la Semana” [Indie Artist of the Week] offers exactly what its name says. Oh, and an “English Section” is included, too. So far, it’s been the recipient of just a handful of posts, but give it time.

Simplerio (Valentina Pecora) – Uruguayan Artist

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You are the one who creates the world you inhabit, and that world is going to be as peaceful as the eye through which you see it. The light that reigns in your reality comes from it, and it reaches everything as if it proceeded from a lighthouse that can cut to the very heart of the most hermetic of nights.
But in the same way that faith has got a diaphanous facet, it has also got a dark side that can thicken the world with demons, with fugitive shadows that can murk every new beginning and (eventually) envelop it in a terrible intentionality.

The frontier that separates one from the other is permeable, and what you see as radical can be deemed as insignificant by the person next t you.

And “Simplerio” moves along that mutable frontier, trying to elucidate what to believe in and what to leave alone. Issued by Perro Andaluz in 2011, “Simplerio” is the first studio album by Valentina Pecora, a young flute player that has been involved in music all her life. Her stage career started at age ten, and today she keeps a steady flow of live performances, at the same time she works as a flute teacher. Valentina wrote all the songs, designed the artwork of the album and she even produced it. Her main instrument is the transverse flute, but on “Simplerio” she also played several other flutes, guitars and many different types of percussion instruments. She was aided by  Ney Peraza, Julia Melo, Gonzalo Reyes and Ernesto Díaz on guitars, Federico Pérez on bass, Rodrigo del Castillo on Peruvian cajón, Diego Revello on violin, Leo Giovannini on percussion and Guillermo del Castillo on bass and electric sitar. Led by Valentina, this ensemble created an album with a sonority of its own, and a very distinctive intellectual depth.

At its core, “Simplerio” (which could be translated into English as “the easiest of things”) tries to cast light on a series of questions that we all can relate to.

Where should we put our faith so that we can use it to build a new world, and not to destroy the one that’s already there? Where do we place our trust? How can we bring into being an “illusion that illuminates”?  How do we close the distance that separates dialogues from reactions? How is the ritual of affection configured if (as it’s described on the lyrics) the way has got no handrails, and everything hangs precariously from a crane of crystal?

“Simplerio” poses all these questions, and it does so permanently, like a flood of thoughts that never relents. But even when the album has got such a thematic intensity, the overall mood is one of gentle caresses, not of heavy ruminations. Its songs are as sweet as the title of “Frutillas de Algodón” [Cotton Strawberries] suggests, and there’s no offhandedness on the lyrics, no matter how deep and thoughtful they are. Continue reading →

Martín Barea Mattos (Uruguayan Artist)

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Martín Barea Mattos is a Uruguayan poet, musician and performer. He was born in 1978, and (to this date) Martín has released four books of poems. His most recent title is “X Hora X Día X Mes”, a collection of poetry he published in 2008. And that also happens to be the name of the band he currently fronts. X Hora X Día X Mes recorded “Odisea en el Parking Planetario” [Odyssey in the Planetary Parking] in 2010, and the band has been playing the album ever since, honing its live act.

I became acquainted with Martín last year, when he was a guest speaker at a poetry workshop I attended. His artistic vision and commitment made a deep impact on all the people who were there that day. And I have wanted to feature him on MusicKO ever since.

A month to this date, X Hora X Día X Mes played a defining gig at the Teatro AGADU in Montevideo. At around that time, Martín was interviewed by Cooltivarte. You can read an English translation of that interview below; the original is found here. It is an excellent way to become acquainted with his work, as he elaborates not only on his role as a musician but also as an artist.

In addition to Martín on voice and guitar, the band is made up of Facundo Fernández Luna on guitar, Pelao Meneses on percussion, Luján Fernández Luna on accordion, flute and vocals and Juan Tolosa on electric bass.

All the photos that you can see on this post come from Cooltivarte’s director, Federico Meneses.


For those who are getting acquainted with this project now, how would you introduce “X Hora X Día X Mes”?

“X HORA X DÍA X MES” is a musical project that keeps the emphasis on what’s being said. The texts themselves are what shape the music. The album can be downloaded at www.feeldeagua.net.

Is there a reason the album has been issued independently? Is that an artistic gesture?

The album has been issued independently because our art is not something that could be labeled as massive. It gives us the chance to do things as we see fit. Artistically, it enables me to lead the course.

At this point, what are your musical references?

Personally speaking, my references go from Charly García and Leo Maslíah to Fernando Cabrera and Darnauchans, and certain stages in the music of Jaime Roos and Caetano Veloso. Throw the Beatles and Kiko Veneno into the mix, and that’s it!

If you had to pick three songs that are representative of your work, and that you would recommend to someone who’s new to it, which would they be?

“Autocracia”, “Para los que Sueñan Despiertos” y “La Verdad de la Milanesa”. Urbanity, waltz and hypnosis. Continue reading →

“Cuanto Más” by B01 (Video)

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B01 are Pablo Beltrán (guitar/vocals), Andrés Rivero Brandolino (Bass), André Dalla Zuanna (Guitar) and Agustin Silveira (drums/backing vocals)

A new music video by a new Uruguayan band, “Cuanto Más” [How Long] is B01’s first single.

My story with the guys who make up this rock & roll band goes a long way back, to the time in which we used to swap Super Mario Bros. trading cards. Ah, you can’t beat these memories…

In a very clever marketing ploy, they’ve made a cute dog the star of the video. And in an even cleverer move, they’ve made the doggy look absolute destitute and forlorn. The adorable puppy looks for love everywhere, only to find it and lose it. Excuse while I put the pieces of my heart together again…

And since I already love B01 more than Noah loved Allie in “The Notebook”, I’m going to get personally involved in their cause, and tell them who should star in their next music video. There, this will do:

I’m eagerly looking forwards to the band’s next video.

Incidentally, has anybody got Buzzy Beatle’s trading card? I’ve looked for it ever since David Bowie announced his first retirement…

Answers on a postcard to the usual address, please. And if the postcard also happens to feature the Dutch Field Hockey Team, then I’d be elated.

Radio El Aguantadero: The Shrine For Underground Music In Uruguay

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A radio station that has broadcast for more than two years now, El Aguantadero is unarguably one of the finest places for understanding what the underground music scene in Uruguay is like.

As “El Zapa” (the radio’s host) said on a recent interview, the project was created by him and his good friend “El Pato” because they “were (and still are) eager consumers of underground culture. We believed it was necessary to provide a radial space where all the music we saw at pubs could be brought together. We thought someone had to create a collective medium for spreading and supporting such artistic manifestations.”

You can visit El Aguantadero’s website here. There’s music playing 24/7, and a chat where you’ll be able to interact both with punters and underground musicians who are sharing their work with everybody else. And an index of bands is likewise available here.

You can also catch up with the guys and gals who make up El Aguantadero on Facebook. This is the page.

Casablancas To Release Their Debut EP, “Please Don’t Be Like Me” (Teaser)

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Casablancas are back from the atmosphere, with drops of Jupiter in their hairs.

Well, not really. They’ve just released a new video to promote their upcoming EP, that’s all. But (if you’re a bit like me) that’s the best possible news you could ever read. I love the guys, they were the recipients of the most badass post I wrote in the history of this blog (more badass than all the characters from The Expendables I & II put together). In an alternate reality, we’re all brothers, traveling through the English countryside on the back of a train, strumming mandolins and singing about love and life with sartorial eloquence.

Their debut EP is going to be named “Please Don’t Be Like Me”. Watch the clip above, wipe the tears of joy from your eyes and then like Casablancas’ page on Facebook. If you send them a message mentioning MusicKO when doing so, you’ll be entered into a competition for a motorcycle like the one you can see below. Talk about badass…

And The Graffiti Award For Best Music Video Goes To…

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Trotsky Vengarán for “Noche de Rock”.

Pretty cool, wouldn’t you say? The winners were the ones who focused on telling a story with humor and enthusiasm, not on creating a technically-complex video.

My congratulations to Trotsky Vengarán, and also to all the other nominees – the quality of the videos that were nominated this time was uniformly high.

In case you are yet to see it, this is the video for “Noche de Rock”.

Noche De Rock by Trotsky Vengaran (Video)

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The fifth (and final) nominees for a Graffiti Award are Uruguayan punk rockers Trotsky Vengarán (MySpace profile), with their “Noche de Rock” [Night of Rock]. The song’s taken from the album “Todo Para Ser Feliz” [Everything To Be Happy], and the music video features cameos from celebrated musicians like Dani Umpi and Rubén Rada.

A to-the-point music video that tells the aftermath of a night of debacle with wry humor, “Noche de Rock” is a good alternative to all the other nominees – they all more or less rely on special effects and fancy editing to get their stories told.

We’ll see what happens this Friday, when the Graffiti Awards ceremony is held.

Just to do a quick recap, the other four nominated music videos are:

“A Donde Van Los Pájaros” by Luciano Supervielle
“Antes del Fin”  by Walter Bordoni
“Cadáver” by ReyToro
“Invierno” by Socio

“Invierno” by Socio (Video)

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Socio (Spanish for “partner”) is the latest project by Fede Lima, a Uruguayan musician who’s best-known for having fronted the bands Loop Lascano and Miss Wichita. Both bands were characterized for a constant sonic search, and that’s also the spirit that keeps Socio alive. On this new band, he’s backed by former members of No Te Va Gustar (a ska/rock outfit that has enjoyed a great deal of popularity, both in Uruguay and elsewhere) and Monoroots (a reggae band that released a tasteful tribute to Bob Marley in 2008).

The video you can watch below is from Socio’s debut album, “Aurora” [Dawn]. The song is named “Invierno” [Winter], and it’s the band’s entry into the 2011 Graffiti Awards

And just to cover all bases, I’ll mention that Fede also sang a duet with Laura Chinelli on her “Historias de Invierno”.

You can learn more about Socio’s music on the band’s MySpace profile.

“Cadáver” by ReyToro (Video)

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“Cadáver” [Corpse] is ReyToro’s entry into this year’s Graffiti Awards. The song is featured on the band’s latest album (“ReyToro II”, issued in 2008 by Bizarro Records). The video has been directed by Juan Tambolini, and it pays a good homage to the survival fiction that’s all the rage nowadays. The band is well-known for the high level of energy between its players and lyrics which are both ruminative and urgent, and all these elements can be easily appreciated on “Cadáver”.

ReyToro was formed in 1998 in Uruguay, and it is one of most popular metal bands in the country. Its current lineup comprises Norberto Arriola, Fabián Furtado, Enzo Broglia and Fernando Alfaro.

ReyToro opening for Guns ‘n’ Roses in 2010

They opened for Guns ‘n’ Roses in 2010, when Axl brought the Chinese Democracy World Tour to South America, and played many countries that the band had bypassed at the height of its popularity in the early 90s.

You can listen to ReyToro’s music both on the band’s website (in Spanish only), and on their MySpace profile.