“Lovers At Midnight” by Jordy (Video)

jordy del plata

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.

Check Jordy’s Facebook fanpage to know more about future dates and upcoming releases.

An Interview With MiXTi FORi

mixti fori

(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

“Extrañándote” by Nadia Costa (Live at the Sala Zitarrosa)

nadia costa sala zitarrosa

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.

“Mirame” by Nicolás Sánchez (Music Video)

nicolas sanchez cooltivarte

After fronting a rock & roll band called Suburbio for more than 6 years, Uruguayan musician Nicolás Sánchez decided to go solo last year. When he asked me for a review to promote his first single (“Lejos”) [Far Away], little did I know he was actually going to be performing the day I released my first book of prose, “Ayer La Lluvia” [Yesterday The Rain].

“Mirame” [Look At Me] is a song included on his first solo album, “Temporales” ¨[Storms] – an album you can download for free here.

mirame nicolas sanchez

The song is very important to me, if only because it came to define my feelings in the aftermath of writing the book – a time in which lots of people started coming and going from my life.

We shot this clip in order to open up the main event for “Ayer La Lluvia”, held on the 24th of July at the Sala Zitarrosa (one of the most revered venues in Uruguay).
That night, both Nicolás Sánchez and pop musician Nadia Costa played full sets. Their songs actually embody aspects of the book in close detail, so they ended up reenacting the story of “Ayer La Lluvia” onstage in an amazingly accurate way.

The clip itself was directed by Agustín Fagetti Methol, and edited by Félix Pérez. Model Angela Tassano and Nicolás Sánchez himself did the acting. And the female voice you can hear throughout is that of Uruguayan singer-songwriter Laura Chinelli.

Emil Montgomery’s FAROSUR: Shining a Light of Peace and Change from Uruguay to the World

farosur

Just last week I had the pleasure of having a work interview with hallowed musician/producer Emil Montgomery. Montgomery is a legendary figure that managed to gather the largest crowd in any show in Uruguay ever – over 300,000 people attended his “Concert for Tolerance and the Environment” in 1995.

At the end of the conversation, I was invited by him to join his current project, FAROSUR. Acting as a biographer for now on, my job is to set down the story of this project in words for all to read.

Emil (who is a UNESCO and UNICEF ambassador) defines the whole initiative as “the project of his life”. FAROSUR is a collective of artists that convey ethical values such as peace, tolerance and respect via live performances that combine music and visual arts, along with many different workshops. The first performance (or “pulse”) was held about this time last year, and the next one is happening in a couple of months.

Personally, to be involved in a project of this scope is the ultimate distinction. All the people who are part of FAROSUR subscribe to the very same belief, that of art being a catalyst for positive change, and a medium which brings out the best in people. As someone who believes in the therapeutic qualities of art in general (and music in particular), having the chance to chronicle such a project is nothing short of a blessing.

Artists involved in FAROSUR include Japanese composer Kitaro, and American composer Suzanne Ciani, along with countless Uruguayan and Argentinean performers of renown.

I’ll keep you posted on the evolution of this project both on MusicKO, and on my personal blog (emilioperezmiguel.com). There is a fascinating story unfolding here, and I’ll make sure to tell it as vividly and faithfully as it deserves to be told.