A Great Still Of One Of Our Main Squares, "Plaza Independecia"

Despite being Uruguayan and having lived my whole life in the capital of the country (Montevideo), I do not have that much of a thorough understanding of local bands. That is probably because I was always more interested in English music. That is, I was keener on anything that was English-related when I was younger: books, music, TV shows… Now I have broadened the specter considerably.

In a certain sense, I think that most people go through something similar when they are young: they sort of reject the music from the place they live in, however good it is. I am sure that young people in Rome dislike the local scene, I am sure that youngsters in Berlin look askance at their own local bands, I know that there are young people in Buenos Aires that look elsewhere for their musical kicks. It is completely natural. When we are a certain age, we are bored with the world that surrounds us. A foreign sound is always more motivating. It speaks of another way of living and a different sense of freedom. That is invaluable when we are young and we feel that the world constricts us.

Of course, what happens is that as we grow older and begin building these bonds that truly define who we are we learn to see the valuable things in the environment around us. When that happens we learn that we owe every positive thing about ourselves to that world. We begin to appreciate each and every cultural manifestation, and that includes music. I am speaking from experience, of course. But not just my experience – the experience of most people I know.

I have become acquainted with the music of my country quite recently. That is, I have begun buying Uruguayan albums not so long ago. I was obviously familiar with hit songs and popular recordings because after all I live here, and whenever I went to a party there were some guy who would blast an album by Buitres, La Trampa, La Vela Puerca or No Te Va Gustar (four of the longest standing rock bands here). But listening to something at a party and listening to something attentively in your room are two things that run diverging courses from a critical perspective, although you do sample the general feelings that a band elicits on the public firsthand.

The reviews of these albums will include a link to that band’s official website in every case. I feel that is not only fair but also necessary in order to give you a better glimpse on these bands that come from a different (and in most cases) distant part of the world.

And if you live in Uruguay and would like me to cover your band, just drop me a line. My address is (garbled on purpose):

emiliomusicko [at] gmail [dot] com