Category Archives: Videos

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.

“Antes Del Fin” by Walter Bordoni (Video)

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This is other of the music videos that are up for a Graffiti Award next week. “Antes Del Fin” [Before The End] is a song by Walter Bordoni, a Uruguayan musician that was born in 1962. His first album was published in 1990. It was titled “El Gol De La Valija y Otros Cuentos”) [The Suitcase’s Goal and Other Stories], after a much-discussed soccer incident that took place in 1933, and that’s an indelible part of Uruguayan folklore.

Walter Bordoni, as depicted on the cover of his second album, "Flor Nueva de Películas Viejas" (1994).

An accomplished piano and guitar player, Bordoni was involved in several artistic groups and collectives. He co-founded an artistic project in 1994 known as “Aguafuertes Montevideana” with Gastón Rodríguez, and the resulting album (published in 1997) still stands as a commercial and artistic highlight.

He is currently a member of the Kafkarudos, a band made up of the collective talents of Gastón Ciarlo “Dino”, Alejando Ferradás, Tabaré Rivero and the late Eduardo Darnauchans.

“Antes Del Fin” is a song is extracted from his newest album, “La Cifra Infinita” [The Infinite Number]. Its music video takes the form of an animated short that corroborates the leaping cadence of the lyrics word by word.

“La Cifra Infinita” has been issued by Bizarro Records, and it has also received two other nominations: one for “Best Production” (Alejandro Ferradas), and another for “Best Popular Music and Urban Song Album”.

This is Walter Bordoni’s MySpace profile. And this is his blog (in Spanish only).

“A Donde Van Los Pájaros” by Luciano Supervielle (Video)

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Luciano Supervielle

This week I’m sharing with you all the music videos that have been nominated for a Graffiti award. There’s five of them, coming from artists spanning very different genres.

The one I’m sharing first is among my personal favorites, although there’s no denying all the clips that have been nominated are strong contenders for the big prize.

So, this is the video for Luciano Supervielle’s “A Donde Van Los Pájaros” [Where do birds go]. The song is featured on his 2011 album, “Rêverie”, and it tells a coming-of-age story interwoven with just the right threads of yearning and abjection to make the end result entirely relatable.

The “Premios Graffiti” [Graffiti Awards] are Uruguay’s answer to the American Grammies. As you probably remember, last year the music video that won the coveted statue was “Gigantes” by Orgánica.

In addition to Supervielle, the other artists that have been nominated this year include Walter Bordoni, Reytoro, Socio and Trotsky Vengarán. I’ll post all their respective videos as the week runs it course.

The winner will be announced on the 29th of June.

For a full list of nominees, you can check this page. Cooltivarte is a Uruguayan portal devoted to local artists.

And you can learn more about Luciano’s music on his official website, www.lucianosupervielle.com.

“Perdiste” By Nemesis (Video)

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Nemesis is a Uruguayan band that was formed in 2004 by friends Martín Hosman (vocals) and Gabriel Fuchs (guitar). They had a revolving rhythm section for years, came close to recording an album in 2007 and then split up for the first time.
One year later, Nemesis regrouped with Jorge Lira on bass and Sebastián G. Quinteros on drums. This lineup recorded the band’s first album, “Subnormal” in 2010. The track “Perdiste” [You’ve Lost] was the first to be issued as a single. And you can watch the promotional video for the song below:

The start-and-stop structure of the verses might sound a bit formulaic to some, but there’s no denying the quality of the composition on the whole. The rhythm section knows how to sound imperative and make you prick your ears when needed, and the riffs in particular distil rock & roll. All in all, it’s a winning sound. If anything, it proves that in music you don’t need to be the first to do something. The one thing that truly matters is doing it well. And “Perdiste” is an essentially exciting slab at rock, combining the different influences of each band member (classic rock, hard rock, funk) into a song that’s easy to earmark.

I hope to get a copy of “Subnormal” soon and review it. In Uruguay, the album’s been released by Montevideo Music Group. Those of you who live elsewhere can listen to “Subnormal” online in its entirety here. And this is Nemesis’ official site, too.

The band currently comprises Martín Hosman on vocals, Jorge Lira on bass, Sebastián G. Quinteros on drums and Camilo Saralegui on guitar (Gabriel Fuchs left the band once recordings for “Subnormal” wrapped).

Nemesis touring "Subnormal" in 2011

“Parámetro Paraíso” & “Entre Tu Diálogo y Mi Reacción” By Valentina Pecora (Videos)

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Valentina Pecora

Born in 1984, Valentina Pecora is a Uruguayan flute player that made her stage debut at age 10. And ever since 2008, she has been playing frequently both in Uruguay and in Argentina.

Her first solo album was released last year on Uruguayan label Perro Andaluz. Entitled “Simplerio”, it features 11 songs that were written by Valentina. She also recorded and mixed it. I will review the album soon on MusicKO. In the meantime, there’s live performances of two of the better songs from “Simplerio”: “Parámetro Paraíso” [Parameter Paradise] and “Entre Tu Diálogo y Mi Reacción” [Between Your Dialogue and My Reaction]. The band is Valentina on traverse flute and vocals, Julia Melo on guitar, Guillermo del Castillo on bass & electric sitar and Guillermo Loriente on drums & percussion.

For more information, visit Valentina’s MySpace and Facebook profiles.

Parámetro Paraíso

Entre Tu Diálogo y Mi Reacción

“Por No Saber Decir” By Alfonsina Álvarez (Video)

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Alfonsina Álvarez

A wonderful live performance by Alfonsina Álvarez, a singer-songwriter that hails from the City of Paysandú.
The song is called “Por No Saber Decir” [Because I Don’t Know How To Say], and the backing band includes Mateo Moreno (bass), Juan Pablo Chapital (guitar) and Javier Cardellino (drums).

You can listen to more music by Alfonsina on her MySpace profile. And her Facebook fanpage is also a great place for getting better-acquainted with her work.