Martín Barea Mattos (Uruguayan Artist)

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

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 →

Radio El Aguantadero: The Shrine For Underground Music In Uruguay

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

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.

Manuales Ilustrados del Pequeño Tesla Vol. 2 (Uoh!) – Uruguayan Independent Artist

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Astute readers who’re well-acquainted with “The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy” surely remember these immortal lines, spoken by Marvin the Paranoid Android at the climax of the second series:

“Any work that references David Bowie in any way or the other partakes of his genius”.

Everybody knows that. Hugh Jackman certainly did when he signed up for “The Prestige”. He once claimed he became involved with the movie just to be close to Ziggy Stardust. My only question is why did he have to ruin Wolverine afterwards with his towering height (he gives Chewbacca a run for his money, he does) and his wooden face (he gives Orlando Bloom a run for his money, he does). On “The Prestige”, he had Christian Bale and Scarlet Johanson to cover up for his gross deficiencies. But on “Wolverine”, he had to carry all the weight by himself. Bleurgh.

Hugh Jackman. Batman. The Black Widow. Ziggy Stardust. Good.

Hugh Jackman. On his own. Not good. This way to the toilet. And don't step on my toes.

And the boys from Uoh! also knew as much. Their latest album is named “Manuales Ilustrados del Pequeño Tesla Vol2. Hagalo Usted Mismo” [Little Tesla’s Illustrated Handbook, Vol. 2. Do It Yourself], in a nod to the brilliant inventor that Bowie brought back from oblivion in “The Prestige”. Poor fella, if only 10% percent of what you can read online is true then everybody and his wife ripped him off. Either that, or the one who wrote the Wikipedia post about Tesla is one of his direct descendants, and he’s had to lead such a destitute life that he’s tattooed a “V” for vendetta on his forehead.

On to this record, now. Personally, I find reviewing it quite a departure for one simple reason. See, “Manuales Ilustrados del Pequeño Tesla Vol2. Hagalo Usted Mismo” is a 100% instrumental album. So, I can’t bob my hair like a character out from “Amélie” and start dissecting its lyrical connotations. There are none. I have to focus on the aural experience.
Fuck you, Hugh Jackman.

And a la Traveling Wilburys, this is the second part of an album that didn’t exist. Whatever you do, don’t go looking for Vol. 1. Look for happiness, look for love, look for a mountain of serenity. Look for whatever you want, but don’t look for the first installment of this record. It’s nowhere to be found. (There is, however, another EP by Uoh! that was released in 2011.) Continue reading →

Mashroom.fm – Create Music Clips Using YouTube Videos

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Name: Mashroom.fm
URL: http://mashroom.fm

Mashing up online videos is the order of the day here. Mashroom.fm is a service that lets you take different clips as found on YouTube, and then have them mixed in order to create something unique. You can choose up to six different YouTube videos, and use them to create a single track. And you can also record yourself, and add sounds to what you’re mashing up.

The end result will obviously depend on how much time and effort you’ve put into the edition of what you’ve created, but even if you’re in a bit of a hurry you’ll still be able to come up with something to make your Facebook friends laugh a little. And in any case, there’s no 1000-page treatise defining what memes are made up of. You never know what might end up happening to a video you’ve created on a whim, just as a way to humor a good friend…

Mashroom.fm is a free service, and you can start using it just by authenticating who you are via Facebook. Once your mixes are ready, then they can be spread in all the usual ways – email, Twitter, Facebook, Megaupload…

Wait a mo…

Forget that last name.

(Sobs and sighs)

Struggle (Gino Tunessi) – Uruguayan Independent Artist

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

You don’t need to.

You don’t need to listen to Josh Ritter singing with his eyes dancing on a horizon of fire and brimstone “inside this gilded cage a songbird always looks so plain” to have an idea of the entrapments an artist has to avoid as he goes his way. You don’t need to walk on the bare hum of a stage night after night to understand how anxiety can first paralyze a performer, and then bring out the best on him. And you don’t need to be a creator to understand that the most compelling works come from the greatest struggles – struggles that pitch a person both against himself, and against the very plateaus he is set to conquer. You don’t need to sample one such struggle in the flesh to know how that feels, and the eventual statures it can let you reach. You don’t need to.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

And if you’re going to do it, then this album by Uruguayan artist Gino Tunessi is ideal. Not perfect. Ideal. Because it’s pure zeitgeist. It isn’t named like it’s named for nothing. Through a very personal story, it ends up speaking of the difficulties performers aiming to break through to larger audiences have to face nowadays. Its every note rings with the contradictions that arise from having something like the Internet to make your work publicly available, and the feeling which comes from failing to get the support needed to promote your music right on your homeland. And that’s a common story for people all over the world, of course. It happens in Uruguay, and it happens everywhere there are artists that have something to communicate.

Recorded in 2009 and issued in 2010, “Struggle” was written in its entirety by Gino and produced by Álvaro Sánchez. Gino also co-produced the album, and all instruments were played by him and Álvaro.

Gino Tunessi

On the whole, the sound of “Struggle” is gentle but it doesn’t lack bite. Acoustic instruments take center stage, and polite nods to artists such as Beck abound, with sound effects that end up playing a truly melodic role. Continue reading →

Free & Legal Music From Ibero-America At CancioneroAzul.org

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Cancionero Azul [Blue Songbook] is a website that gives you free and 100% legal music downloads from all over Ibero-America. And that includes Uruguay. Artists that I hope to review in 2012 such as Ismael Collazo and Martin Barea Matos have all made their albums publicly available on CancioneroAzul.org. You can download Ismael’s “Rincones” [Corners] and Martín’s “Odisea En El Parking Planetario” [Odyssey In The Planetary Parking] at absolutely no cost on this well-designed site.

For its part, those of you who want to have your own music featured on CancioneroAzul.org should read this page.

As one of the few sites with this scope and depth, Cancionero Azul comes highly recommended. It’s not every day that you get to sample music from Spanish-speaking countries this accurately and legally.

Uruguayan Music For Download: Laura Chinelli’s “Historias De Invierno”

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Laura Chinelli

One of the most endearing Uruguayan albums of 2010 has just become available online. Laura Chinelli’s “Historias De Invierno” can now be downloaded in its entirety here.

The album (which was produced by Laura’s long-time collaborator Fran Nasser) was originally featured on MusicKO in March, 2011. People in the US and elsewhere could always listen to some of its tracks on Laura’s MySpace profile, but this is the first time that most of you will get to listen to songs like “Más Allá Del Tiempo” [Beyond Time].

Find attached the videos for the tracks that top and tail the album, “Ya No Más” [Not Any More] and “Sueño Profundo” [Deep Dream]:

PumpYouUp – Free Indie Electronic Music

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Name: PumpYouUp
URL: http://www.pumpyouup.com

Visit PumpYouUp.com when you’re in the mood for some music to rock your body to. This new site’s devoted to free electronica, trance, dubstep and techno. In all cases, we’re talking about quality selections, handpicked by the site’s creators. The idea is to include songs that aren’t too long for their own good, and which aren’t that weird either.

So, songs can be searched used a dead-simple interface. This lets you have songs found without having to sign up for an account or anything like that. It’s all done on the fly. Continue reading →

The Day Manhattan Thought Radiohead Would Play A Free Concert

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

British Rockers Radiohead Were Involved In The Latest Social Media Fiasco

Twitter is a vertiginous tool bar none. And following story shows that the actual veracity of what’s being disseminated is absolutely irrelevant. All it takes is one spark to set a mammoth wildfire going.

Last Friday, the whole of Manhattan was ecstatic at the prospect of Radiohead playing a free surprise concert that would coincide with the Occupy Wall Street protests which had been organized online. Music bloggers and publications such as Gawker, Pitchfork, Gothamist and Huffington Post reported the concert was taking place based on an announcement that had been made on the official website for the demonstration at 12:13pm EST. That read “Radiohead will play a surprise show for #occupywallstreet today at four in the afternoon.”

We now know such a message was posted because a person who claimed to be involved with Radiohead’s management contacted the Occupy Wall Street organizers via email, and expressed the band’s keenness on playing at the event (which after all, is the kind of cause Radiohead always champions).

The media picked that up, and began reporting the concert was going to be held.

When Radiohead caught wind of the rumor, they vehemently denied it. Yet, fans took it as a tactic to prevent an unmanageable crowd from gathering.

By 4:00pm Eastern Time, a crowd had congregated at Wall Street. They waited and waited for hours, and it was only when night was beginning to creep in that a spokeman for Occupy Wall Street came forth and admitted they had been hoaxed.

Occupy Wall Street organizers certainly are to blame for the confusion, as they didn’t update the post they had made earlier on the day when Radiohead made it clear they weren’t playing Friday. Even hours after the rumor had been denied by the band, the post that caused the confusion was not redacted or even updated.

This isn’t the first time Twitter is used to disseminate falsehoods. I can recall the day someone announced Gordon Lightfoot had passed away, and Canadian radio stations began paying homage to the man until he got in touch himself and made it clear he was very well alive. Continue reading →

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