El sábado 28 de febrero el club Niceto de Buenos Aires recibe a Manu Hattom & La Joven Pandilla Del Oeste, quienes comparten la velada con la banda Dulse.
El músico de la localidad de Haedo formó La Joven Pandilla Del Oeste en 2013 para que lo acompañe en sus presentaciones eléctricas, luego de una gira Europea que alcanzó España, Alemania e Inglaterra en la cual presentó su disco Benalmadena Despierta. Continue reading
El destacado músico argentino se presentó junto a un cuarteto de cuerdas en el Teatro El Galpón de Montevideo, en un espectáculo donde dio a relucir las mejores composiciones de los cinco discos que ya lleva editados.
Es la primera vez que veo a Lisandro Aristimuño en vivo, la primera posibilidad que tengo de experimentar su música en esta suerte de milagro cotidiano que es un concierto.
Es el artista que escucho y me maravilla desde hace años con su fusión de estilos siempre atinada. El músico de Viedma (Provincia de Río Negro) hoy se presenta junto a dos cellos y dos violines que acompañan los cantos aborígenes y las secuencias que enmarcan el sentir de su obra. Es exactamente el mismo formato con el que viene haciendo acopio de elogios en Argentina desde hace meses.
Es el que comienza con “Vi Tu Foto”, canción incluida en el puntal de su emancipación artística (“Las Crónicas Del Viento”, disco con el cual inauguró su discográfica propia en 2009), y a lo largo de dos horas nos muestra latitudes que obvian esas constantes que de otro modo pueden sumir a la música en estructuras harto encasillables.
Es el que destapa el miedo en una canción como “Ella”, que recuerda a Rilke cuando rezaba “todo ángel es terrible”, y luego entona “Me Hice Cargo De Tu Luz”, tema compuesto como auto–regalo de cumpleaños, y que ejemplifica cómo la orfandad misma puede convertirse en un reparador de sueños.
Es el que pondera lo más terrenal de la felicidad con “Azúcar del Estero” y “Demasiado”, composición en la que ya no suelen recalar sus presentaciones en vivo, pero que hoy integra el set al igual que “Sun” (de su disco debut, “Azules Turquesas”).
Es el que explica jocosamente que al margen de la referencia temporal, el título de “How Long” es una excusa para “joder a los yankees un ratito”, puesto que la canción realmente alude a un jaulón (!).
During my last trip to Argentina I became acquainted with Javier Yunes, the founder and frontman of a band called The Plethora Project. The band is currently introducing audiences to its second record, “Split Album” – a collection of songs that converse back and forth among themselves, showcasing identical realities from opposing viewpoints. Javi is as much of a filmmaker as a musician, having studied art school in the past, so the full conversation with him keep that very same spirit alive – it fluctuated between different artistic conceptions until arriving at some sort of realization about the nature of what he has set to create, and how.
Thank you very much for being here today and sharing the story of your band with the readers of MusicKO. First of all, I’d like to ask you to introduce yourself, so that people who are new to your music will have a basic understanding of who you are, and how that translates into what you do.
Hey, I’m Javi Yunes from the Plethora Project. The band has been around for about ten years. In 2007, we had our first recording experience via a 4-song EP. Afterwards, in 2010/2011 we issued our first long play. It was named “This House Talks”. We were lucky enough to tour many Argentinean provinces, and nowadays we are introducing audiences to our newest record, which is called “Split Album”.
Which part of Argentina do you hail from?
I was born in Córdoba, and when I was three my parents moved to Catamarca. I lived there for fifteen years, I studied elementary and secondary school there, and then I came to Buenos Aires to get a sound degree, and keep moving towards my chosen path.
When was The Plethora Project started?
I moved to Buenos Aires in 2002. The Plethora Project came to be in 2005, after I had been on other bands. It started when I released an album bearing that same name. I listened to it the other day, incidentally. And I found myself thinking how cool it would be to record it exactly as it was, but with a better sound overall.
What makes your new album stand apart from your previous body of work?
This is our first record with both compositions in English and in Spanish – hence, the “split” Concept.
We have always sang in English. And we did so because of aesthetic reasons, it just fitted our music better. Yet, we understand that the language spoken here is Spanish. And this time around we could include it, and we feel it all coalesces together quite well.
Anyway, music is a language we all understand. And we strive to create a special mood. What we want is you to feel as if you were walking through a thousand different worlds when you are listening to our music. We aim to make your mind fly – and we’re not talking about drugs. I don’t believe I am entitled to “change” anybody’s mind, but what I want is to share a piece of mine with other people. Continue reading
One of the wonders of the Internet is how you can become acquainted with people who live a million miles away, but who nonetheless redefine the meaning of the word “synergy”. A musician who lives in Concordia (Argentina), and who has recently issued his first album of original compositions is bringing all this to mind right now. His name is Franco Martinz, and a fellow musician connected us on Facebook. And the rapport we have struck is just atomic.
This is his first promotional video: “It’s So Fine”. The song is included on his CD (“Latinoamericana”) as a bonus track.
Franco is a true admirer of Sir Paul McCartney and I think such an electricity is what powers this song, and results in a melody that passes the test with flying colors.
The band that plays on Franco’s album comprises Ochi Castillo on drumpad/percussion, Ángel Gabriel López on guitars and Matías José Solana on keyboards. Matías is also the producer of Francisco’s album – give it a spin, you can stream it for free on his own website. I particularly like the piano-driven “Caminante Nocturno” [Night Walker] and “Ella” [She] – on both songs, his appreciation of Wings is put to the best possible use.
Incidentally, the four of them also have a parallel project called CHIPSZ, which focuses on covering material from seminal 80s bands such as The Police, Queen et al. (That’s why the name nods to the quintissential TV show “California Highway Patrol”)
You can learn more about Francisco on his Facebook fanpage. And you can follow him on Twitter, too.
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.
Something bizarre for the weekend… Cindy Lauper recently found herself stranded at Jorge Newbery Airport in Argentina, and when the wait became just too bloody long for everybody she did the only thing she could do: seize a microphone and entertain the crowd.
This is her performing her signature song, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”:
It is hard to watch this and not think of Kanye West’s recent stunt on a Delta flight in which he took over the PA and regaled passengers with performances of the songs “Gold Digger” and “Good Life.”
Which was not bad a move at all. Yet, the “Imma let you finish” incident is a hard bone to chew. He will have to exert himself even more…
