Monthly Archives: May 2012

“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

New Music From The Blueberries: “The West” & “Newbie”

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"The West" by The Blueberries is being issued on November 2012

A teaser for you, two songs from The Blueberries’ next album, “The West”. These are the title track, and a Spanish language song named “Newbie”.
The album is due on November 2012, it’s going to have ten original compositions, and it’s being produced by the band and Max Capote. On a recent conversation, Ernesto Pasarisa (the Blueberries’ singer, guitarist and composer) told me how great it was getting the whole band involved in the songwriting process. The results are auspicious, with the melody of “The West” being resolved more effortlessly than on previous offerings, and “Newby” featuring the most remarkable interplay on any song of theirs I have listened to yet.
Listen to both songs here:

http://soundcloud.com/the_blueberries/sets/the-west-advance/

And if the band’s all-new to you, their first eponymous album can be streamed for free here.

The Blueberries at a recent gig. Left to right: Virginia Álvarez, Ernesto Pasarisa, Fede Hell and Santiago Jaureguy

Van Velthoven (Uruguayan Artist)

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Van Velthoven

Fully aware of where he’s come from and where he intends to go, Van Velthoven is a Uruguayan artist with a sharply-defined vision.

From his Facebook profile:

“On his project, Van Velthoven nods to some of the greatest rock/pop artists in history. He pays homage to their aesthetics without losing his musical and artistic personality. The lyrics deal with revolution, the inner self, social issues, nature, power, love… The artist aims to reflect his inner self, and he invites us to walk besides him along the pathway of art in its fullest expression. The idea is that every person who does it will be transported to a different world, a parallel dimension called “Van Velthoven”.

Below you’ll find a video for the song “El Juego de la Muerte” [The Game of Death] in which he is joined by legendary Uruguayan rapper Jazzy Mel.

Van Velthoven’s website is found at www.vanvelthoven.com.uy. This is his YouTube channel. And you can both listen to his music and download it for free on his Bandcamp profile.

 

UPDATE:

A new video of Van Velthoven playing live with his band and Uruguayan journalist Martín Sarthou. The song is named “¿A Dónde Irás?” [Where Will You Go?]:

A new version of “El Juego de la Muerte” (also featuring Jazzy Mel):

And his album “Rey” [King] has recently been issued. I hope to review it soon. In the meantime, take a look at the artwork:

Van Velthoven cover

Van Velthoven back

For more info, head to Van Velthoven’s brand-new Facebook fanpage.

“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.

Plug.dj – Create A Party, And Share Your Music With The World

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Name: Plug.dj
URL: http://www.plug.dj

Sharing music videos by cutting and pasting URLs is so Web 2.0. In the age of social media, a new way of sharing music is needed. And you know, Plug.dj might as well take up that mantle. This new site lets you have songs and music videos shared in a virtual setting of its very own. By signing in with your Facebook, Twitter or Google account, you’ll be able to start streaming songs to all of your friends in a really lively setting. Or (to use the expression used on the site) to “start a party”. You’ll have your own avatar, and so will your friends. And these avatars will dance to any song that you play.

What’s even better, Plug.dj comes with a multilingual chat. Anything you type there can be translated into 8 different languages, so that using the site to make new friends is really easy. And the more you use the site then the more features you’ll unlock for your profile. These include new dance steps, strobe lights and laser shows. And also, all-new avatars. In more places than one, Plug.dj resembles a big social game.

And leaving aside how cool something like this is for making new friends, there’s no denying how useful Plug.dj can be to DJs and artists. The former will get to share their latest mixes with everybody, and the latter to release new music videos in the most interactive of settings – one that will encourage new fans to provide their feedback like never before.

“Empujen”, The First Music Video By El Gallinero

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El Gallinero is a Uruguayan funk band that's just released its first album after 10 years of touring and gigging

“Empujen” [Push] is the first music video by El Gallinero [The Henhouse], a Uruguayan funk band that has actually been around for ten years. It currently comprises Nacho Cejas, Andrés Arnicho, Gerardo Alonso, Pedro Alemany, Leo Méndez, Juan Olivera, Gerónimo De León and Claudio Martínez.

The clip has been shot at the Centro Cultural Florencio Sánchez (named after one of Uruguay’s most celebrated playwrights), and it features Rubén Rada, one of the seminal figures in the development of Uruguayan music in the 20th Century. Along with Eduardo Mateo, Rada was at the forefront of the “Candombe Beat” movement – a movement that married candombe and murga with rock & roll music.

It’s well-known that one day Paul McCartney wanted to know more about South American music, and he asked his assistants to gather as many albums and singles as they could. And out of all the singers and performers they presented him with, Rada was the one that marveled the former Beatle more.

And as if that wasn’t impressive enough, “Empujen” also features a cameo by… Max Headroom! Gotta love it…

Visit El Gallinero’s MySpace profile to know more about the band. In Uruguay, their debut album has been published by Sondor.

 

BaxoBeat – All The Songs Your Facebook And Twitter Friends Share In The Same Place

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Name: BaxoBeat
URL: http://www.baxobeat.com

More and more each day, social networks are becoming the way in which we catch wind of new stuff. It happens with movies, it happens with TV shows. And it also happens with music, of course. Who hasn’t tweeted a song he’s just discovered, or posted a music video he’s fallen in love with on Facebook? I have done it, you have done it. And so have all our friends. And the result is a mountain of links as big as a small country. Because a fact is a fact: who hasn’t got tons of Facebook and Twitter contacts? If we went by what experts say, we should have no more than about 150 of them. That’s the number normal people can handle, it seems. But no, we’re all born show-offs that have to friend every single thing that moves. And so, we end up having news feeds where the good stuff and the stuff which is insignificant go hand in hand.

And that’s what this new site is here to remedy. BaxoBeat is a service that creates an online library of music links, as posted by you and your social network friends. BaxoBeat lets everybody check his feed everyday, and find nothing but these songs posted by his Facebook buddies and Twitter friends from all over the world. And nothing but that.

As a user of BaxoBeat, you can create a portfolio and share it as publicly or privately as you want. You can let just anybody listen to the same music you listen to, and you can also restrict the access that people have to your music library. Which is important if you claim to listen incessantly to nothing but Lamb Of God and Slayer, when the truth is you also “happen” to listen to a song or two by Maroon 5. Continue reading →