A band defying the tradition which dictates that groups with the word “electric” in their names shall perish when they’re young (see “Electric Flag” for a good example), “Ovejas Eléctricas” [Electric Sheep] up the ante with the release of a new promotional video.
It revolves around the song “Ser Astronauta Hoy” [To Be A Spaceman Today], and it has been extracted from their album “Pueblo de Fantasmas” [Ghost Town], which you can download for free on their own site.
A Spanish-language album which sounds noticeably English, “Pueblo de Fantasmas” is made up of ten songs – the CD was actually started as an EP that got expanded along the way, becoming a full work on its own right. At least half the numbers are A-side quality – the physical opener “Larga Distancia” [Long Distance] with its clinging guitars and defeatist lyrics that still speak of fulfillment, the broody, Radiohead-esque “Un Pie En La Tierra” [One Foot In The Earth], “Entre Máquinas” [Between Machines] with vocals and melodies that soar as much as the lyrics demand… My personal favorite is “El Sol y Otras Mentiras” [The Sun and Other Lies], mainly on strength of the lyrics, which recapitulate the one conversation I had with the band in person not so long ago, and their stance as regards the contemporary music scene. And the seesawing fade (from minute 3:50 onwards) is also a good example of the attention they pay to detail when crafting their songs.
Jordy is a Uruguayan saxophonist who resides in New York, and he has just released an album entitled “Jordy Del Plata” (iTunes link). He is currently promoting it in the US, and soon he’ll come back to Uruguay to play some dates.
The song is called “Lovers At Midnight”, and its lilting melody is enough to carry you to the warmest of memories:
The band comprises Daniel Freelikeme on guitar, Minerva Borjas Owen on keyboards, Renzo Vargas on drums and Jose Morillo on bass.
(This interview was originally posted in Spanish on No Quiero Ser Normal. To read the original post, follow this link)
Who are the members of MiXTi FORi? And how long have you been playing together?
MiXTi FORi was started in the year 2000 by Marcos Da Silva (guitars, vocals) and its ranks have shifted a lot until arriving at its current lineup:, with Diego Nacimiento (drums and vocals) and Julio Montero (bass and backing vocals).
The band has released many EPs independently, it has been featured on several local and international compilations and it has also issued a LP titled “Incapaz de Amplificarse” in the year 2011, both online and as a physical CD. Continue reading →
Nadia Costa was one of the two artists that performed at the Sala Zitarrosa when I presented my newest book, “Ayer La Lluvia” [Yesterday The Rain].
The book is made up of short stories and a novella that deal with different types of love. So, her music was a perfect match for such a title – all of her compositions are nothing but studies on the vagaries of love and affection.
She opened up the show that night and had her live debut as a solo artist on the prized Sala Zitarrosa, a venue reserved for the highest-ranking of performers only.
This is an excerpt from her live performance. The song is titled “Extrañándote” [Missing You], and it’s one of the compositions of hers that cut the deepest. For me, it works in parallel with “Lejos De Ti” [Far Away From You], a scorching ballad that is highly-likely to be her next single.
The clip was shot by Habemus, a new audiovisual team. The music itself was recorded live by producer/composer Nelson “Cable” Silvera, and our great friend Joaquín Vinci lent us a hand, and gave the sound a little more sheen overall.
NoQuieroSerNormal is a superb new blog where you can read about up-and-coming Uruguayan artists. It’s run by Gabriel Skrilec. And from now on, you’ll be able to read the interviews posted there on MusicKO, duly translated into English. The first one I’m translating is the one Gabriel conducted with Bananas, a band that has recently come together. Click here to read the original post (in Spanish).
Enjoy!
Who are the members of “Bananas”, and how long have you been around?
Bananas are Rodrigo Curbelo on guitar and vocals, Pablo Martín on bass and backing vocals, Nicolás Bello on drums, and Rodrigo Hurtado on synths and keyboards. The band was formally started on late September/early October 2012, although a previous line-up did exist (Rodrigo Hurtado was not involved back then).
This is it. I’ve had it with pop music.
Say what you will, but the whole scene has deteriorated irrevocably.
First, Tay Tay released that trainwreck of a music video for “I Knew You Were Trouble”, which was the kind of thing Lana Del Rey would conceive before sitting down to write her suicide letter.
And then, the world was in a state of shock when it was discovered that a fan of Justin Bieber had sent multiple death threats to Kim Kardashian because of her recent comments regarding the teen idol.
That was just horrific.
The fan said she would use her lunch money to hire a hitman.
OK, sack it. Making jokes about Justin Bieber is getting stale. You have to respect an all-around singer, composer and stage-performer when you see one. That’s the last time I mention the Canadian star on MusicKO…
Incidentally, did you read about the trip that Justin Bieber and Selena Gómez made to the mountains with Taylor Swift and Harry Styles (when Taylor and Harry were still an item)???
Wow, man. That should have been radical.
I mean, can you imagine all the giggling, tickling and pillow fighting… in the boys’ room alone???!!!
Well, in view of the above, I hereby declare that trash metal will be my favorite genre from now on. And this new Uruguayan band will be the standard-bearer for me.
C.O.M.A. is a young Uruguayan band that is in the process of finishing its debut album. And they have already released a promo video for their first single, “Nada ni Nadie” [Nothing and Nobody]. Give it a look:
The band is made up of Martín Petrone (vocals/rhythm guitar), Gastón Simone (lead guitar), Dennis Noda (bass) and Marcelo De Souza (drums). This particular video was shot and edited by Cristian Montes for ValvularTV.com.
Nameless is a Uruguayan metal band that is about to release its third album, “7 Caminos” [7 Pathways]. Nameless is also one of the three bands that will be opening for Lacuna Coil on the 28th of February, when the seminal Italian band plays in Uruguay for the first time. The other two are Catarsis and Cínica.
By all accounts, it’s going to be a memorable month for the band. And just to set the ball rolling in the best of ways, they have issued an acoustic bonus video to go with their new album.
The song is called “Canción de Cuna” [Lullaby], and it’s an acoustic composition that signals a whole change of pace for the band.
Singer Betto had this to say abut the song on her Facebook profile:
“Lullaby” is a very personal song for us.
We weren’t going to include the song on the album at all, but we grew really fond of its “unplugged” or “raw” version, since it gave the CD a completely different emotional aura.
The photos you can see at the end are true, and they are really ours… each one of them tells a very specific story…
In my case, it goes along the lines of “we all have that special someone who has taught us how to tie our laces, how to ride a bike, or who has even scolded us for our own good. This is a song for all of them. Because we all have had that one person who once sang us a lullaby…”
My photo is the third one. I’m on the arms of my dad, who now has got Alzheimer. I miss our conversations more than anything in the world.
Below you’ll find the poster for the band’s upcoming gig in support of Lacuna Coil, along with the clip for the song “Partir” [Parting Away], which was featured on the band’s second album, and which is my favorite song of theirs.
Man, pause your porn and check this out, it’s worth it.
Somebody came up with a symphonic version of The Bear Season’s “Infinity”, and uploaded it to SoundCloud.
The Bear Season! My friends! My precious! They were first covered here, and I have made a point of staying on top of all their latest releases. And (as you probably don’t remember, because not even their groupies read that particular post) my favorite song of theirs is “Infinity”.
This new symphonic version of “Infinity”, now, is the one to harbor in your heart, and rediscover time and again.
If I ever walk away from an exploding building in slow motion, then I want this to be playing in the background.
Check it out, dude, it’s a sweet sweet deal. Like angels’ pay. I can only think of a couple of things that are sweeter.
One is Rocket:
The other is, obviously, Gregorian! They should have been huge! What a shame Enigma took the cake instead!
And then, there’s this version of The Police’s “Fallout”, which is memorable if only because you can’t listen to Sting’s vocals!!
Ha! Ha! Take it, your ego douche!! See what happens for having confiscated half of Stu’s kit away for the recording of “Every Breath You Take”?? Karma has no deadline, my high-pitched friend…
Seriously, what a version from the deepest abyss of hell. Stu has been miked like crap, Andy sounds like he’s making the song up as he goes along (which is highly likely, if you ask me and my monkey), and that solo is the pits! And then, Sting ends up this “stellar performance” by doing a “splenetic jump”. Dude, Pete Townshend is pushing 72, and he bounces around with more flamboyance! Do us a favor, and keep dreaming of blue turtles, will you?
A really great acquaintance I made as 2012 was ending, Colmena Gr is a young Uruguayan composer that has steadily been releasing a series of EPs over the course of the last two years. And he has just compiled the best of his work on a LP (which also includes a couple of new cuts), so what better time to feature him on MusicKO?
The way he describes his music is so accurate and full of sentiment, that I’ve transcribed the full text he sent me when I asked for some background information below.
I began writing music in 2009, but I only started recording my melodies in mid-2011. My first EP was named “Colapso”, and it comprised short-length compositions with just piano. It was a very personal piece of work.
Afterwards, I came up with “Rec”, an EP with 11 instrumental melodies which were edited and produced much more elaborately than ever before.
My music is aimed at experienced ears, the kind that can discover each and every sound (even if there are not that many of them, each sound I use is there for a very good reason).
One year later (and once I had perfected my new sound), in November 2011 I published “Pusil”. The tracks “Analepsis”, “Luminor”, “Prímula” and “Mutílido” had been issued in advance, and they were greeted with enthusiasm by most of my listeners. By mid-November three more melodies were ready – these were done in just a couple of days, the result of an intense and enlightened inspiration (I love when such magic surrounds my head). And it was right there and then that my fourth EP was born. It went by the name of “Tilda”, it included 4 tracks, and it had a mysterious cover with a black widow as its star.
I have always been attracted by little worlds, particularly these of insects. Their diminutive lives fascinate me, even more so when I’ve got a camera at hand. The worlds inhabited by ants and bees are what I like the most.
I’m specially fond of bees. I’m deeply attracted to the world of hives, and that’s where the name of my musical project is derived from. I’ve combined two words that are little conventional [“colmena” is Spanish for “hive”], and I’ve come up with a brand of its very own.
Just two weeks ago I released my first LP, and that makes me feel extremely glad. I brought together the 3 EPs I issued in 2012, and I added 3 new melodies. These 3 new tracks sound far more seasoned – or a lot less “amateur”, if you will.
I named the album “Anthophila” (after the word used to categorize these insects that love flowers, IE bees), and you can both listen and download it for free on Bandcamp. This is the link:
Uruguayan metal band Cínica was the first national artist to be featured on MusicKO, back when they were recording their eponymous EP.
And it’s a great pleasure to break the news they’ve just released their first album (“Transparente”), and that they’ve got a promotional video to go with it.
The video is for the song “Panacea”, one of the tracks that were actually included on the band’s earlier EP. All these cuts are featured on “Transparente”, newly remixed and remastered, along with seven other original compositions.
Cínica’s current line-up comprises Vico Campbell on vocals, Marcelo Simonetti on guitar and backing vocals, Gonzalo Simonetti on bass and Manuel Kastanas on drums.
Marcelo Fontanini (from Snake), Mariana Acosta (the former singer for Dr. Rocka) and Fabián Furtado (from Rey Toro) all have guest spots on the album.
“Transparente” will soon be available for digital purchase, and when that happens I’ll make sure to update this post. In any case, note that if you drop by the band’s website (www.cinica.net) you’ll be able to buy a physical copy using PayPal.
