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

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.

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.

The Full Lineup Of Closet

Originally formed in 2005, Closet is a Uruguayan band whose repertoire pays an equal debt to rock instrumentation and electronic beats. The band has already released two EPs – one that goes by the great name of “Nociones Utilitarias Del Amor” [Utilitarian Love Concepts], and another that goes by the even better name of “Dildo”. They also released a full-length album named “Lengua” [Tongue] in 2010. One can but wonder (and rejoice at the thought of) what their next work will be named… answers to the usual address on a postcard with a picture of Benny Santini, please.

This is the band’s latest video. The song is “POU”, from the “Lengua” album.  The clip has been produced by Metropolis Films, and it has been directed by Oliver Garland.

The current lineup of Closet comprises Camila Sapin (vocals), Germán Pérez (vocals, guitars and programming), Charly Servetto (guitars and programming), Flavio Galmarini (drums and programming) and Patricia Iccardi (bass).

This is their official website. You can download “Lengua” there. And at zero cost, it must be added. This means the IRS won’t be getting anything. Ha. That will serve them right. Let’s avenge what they did to Willie Nelson, and download it in droves. Me? I’ve already downloaded it five times.

Andrea Deleón Santos

A new Uruguayan pop artist, Andrea Deleón Santos issued “Bruja” [Witch] at the tail end of 2010. “Decidir” [Decide] was chosen as the first single from the album.

The song stands as a very lilting ballad, with a clean cut arrangement that gives Andrea’s voice a great chance to shine. The song is also well-devised in structural terms, and although personally I don’t like the middle eight that much the whole composition holds together undeniably well.

I hope to review “Bruja” sometime soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the official video for “Decidir” below. (Lyrics in Spanish and in English attached at the end of the post).

DECIDIR

No puedo comprender que más tengo que hacer
No puedo entender que estés pero no estés
No puedo descifrar tus claves para amar
Ya no quiero fingir no me quiero mentir

Un día prometiste
Volver
Pero nunca lo hiciste
Un día prometiste
Ceder
Pero te arrepentiste

Cuanto hay que esperar
Cuanto tiempo pasará
Para encontrar tu amor

Quisiera escapar y arrancarme el amor
Pasa siempre al revés y aparece el dolor
Si vas a decidir, no quiero solo un sí
Quiero un corazón dispuesto a ser feliz

Un día prometiste
Volver
Pero nunca lo hiciste
Un día prometiste
Ceder
Pero te arrepentiste

Cuánto hay que esperar
Cuánto tiempo pasará
Para encontrar tu amor

Dejé atrás el tiempo de hacer
Dejé todo lo que pudo ser
Ya no alcanza una explicación
Conocí tu verdadero yo

Ya no hay tiempo que contemplar
Ilusiones que alimentar
Ya no hay nada que pueda ser
Tus mentiras ya se dejan ver

Cuánto hay que esperar
Cuánto tiempo pasará
Para encontrar tu amor

DECIDE

I can’t understand what else I’ve got to do
I can’t understand you being and not being here
I can’t decipher your codes for loving
I don’t want to pretend, don’t want to tell myself more lies

One day you promised
You’d come back
But you never did it
One day you promised
You’d surrender
But you changed your mind

How long must I wait
How much time must go on
Before I can find your love

I wish I could escape and throw my love away
But it never works out and pain is what comes up
If you’re going to decide, I want more than a “Yes”
I want a heart willing to be happy

One day you promised
You’d come back
But you never did it
One day you promised
You’d surrender
But you changed your mind

I left the time to do things behind
I left all that could’ve been behind
No explanations would suffice
I got to know your true self

There’s no more time to contemplate
Or illusions to thrive
There’s nothing that could come to be
Your lies are on your sleeve

How long must I wait
How much time must go on
Before I can find your love

The winners of the Grafitti Awards were announced last Friday. The
Grafitti Awards are the exact equivalent to the American Grammy
Awards, as the work of musicians across different genres and styles
is distinguished and honored.

What I want to share with you now is the clip that romped home with the
“Best  Video Award” accolade. The song is named “Gigantes” [Giants],
and it is by the Uruguayan band Orgánica. The clip was directed by Pablo Riera, and arranged by Paristexeas.

A new Uruguayan record label has launched. It is named NADIEQUIERE Discos (official page here, Facebook fan page here), and it has some bands I already covered on MusicKO (such as Casablancas), and other bands like The Bear Season that I’ve always meant to review but that are still on the pipeline because I’m as peripatetic as Ryan Adams. You know, I actually look a lot like Ryan – the only differences are that he has tons of hair, that he can sing and that he can play guitar. Oh, and that he has dated Winona Ryder.

The label also has a good handful of artists that are completely new to me, which isn’t surprising because (as those fabtastic Swedes sang) “I’m living in a box but I come out when opportunity nox”. I hope to get to know them better soon…

In the meantime, give NADIEQUIERE Discos a look (official page, Facebook fan page – whatever excites you more). Of course, you need to understand Spanish to read these pages. But if you don’t, that shouldn’t be that much of a problem. I mean, how many people who are regular opera-goers know Italian? Eh? And how many people could make sense out of the wreck that Tommy was narrative-wise when it was first issued? Poor Pete Townshend, I read he did almost 1,000 interviews to cover those narrative deficiencies. Lessons learned, kids? Do things right the first time around.

Uruguayan label Esquizodelia Records has just released two cool compilation albums. These feature one song apiece from each artist on the label. You can get them on Esquizodelia Records’ website, absolutely for free.

A lot of genres are covered, and you are bound to find something interesting there for sure. And once you do, you can listen to even more music from these artists – the full albums can also be downloaded for free.

What do you think about these artists? Which one seems more promising to you? Leave a comment below and let everybody know!

RequeteLOCO:

1. DDD3 – Gaby Cows
2. Uoh! – ( L )
3. Siameses R.I.P – On the cremation of Chogyam Thungpa Vidyadhara
4. Relacionessexuales – Whiskeria
5. Fiesta Animal – Trafico de niños
6. 8 – Deep Flamba
7. Psiconautas – On my own
8. La Mugre Roja – Rock n Roll pt.II

RequeteFANTASTICO:

1. 3Pecados – Sin titulo 3
2. Solar – Uno menos
3. Genuflexos – Dance
4. Disaster – Leave my head
5. Lucas Meyer – Encontrar la explicación
6. Millonesdecasasconfantasmas – Hoy
7. El boulevard de lulu – Y de a poco
8. Roly Chamber – Cars

Today Uruguay’s national soccer team beat Ghana in the most dramatic match I have ever seen in my life. This puts Uruguay in the semifinals of a FIFA World Cup for the first time in 40 years.

As a way of supporting a team that has made us all proud, I would like to share two of the most popular soccer-related songs that have ever been written and recorded by Uruguayan artists. The first is “Cuando Juega Uruguay” [When Uruguay Plays] by Jaime Roos. The other is “Cielo De Un Solo Color” [Single-colored Sky] by No Te Va Gustar. That song is not really about soccer, but it has become synonymous with the sport here.

Now we are squaring up against Holland on Tuesday. I frankly believe that after today’s show of stamina and guts everything is possible.

¡Vamos Uruguay, carajo!

“Los Amigos Invisibles” was Sordromo’s Final Album. It Came Out In 2004. Julio Berta Had Been Replaced By Martín Craciun, But Otherwise It Was The Same Lineup.

Sordromo’s fourth (and valedictory) album, “Los Amigos Invisibles” [“The Invisible Friends”] contains some of their best music together, but also a number of compositions that sound like nothing but rehashes of songs they had previously offered up. These compositions do not dominate the album in any sense, but they speak of a strained creative process, and upon listening to the album today it becomes evident why Rodrigo Gómez left the band shortly after the album had been issued.

To shunt the negative songs out of the way once and for all: “Lejos De Casa” [Far Away From Home] derives its melody and tonal structure from the song “Desnorteados” from the previous album, only that this time it lacks all punch. “Tanto Control” [So Much Control] and “Llamame” [Call Me] are clear examples of volume that tries to convey sentiment and that only ends up conveying patchiness.  “Nota Para Un Viaje” [Note For A Travel] is no much better, but it is placed right before the first truly good composition of the album (the title track), and there is a thematic bond at play that makes it more palatable.

But the one song that can’t be stomached no matter how much you try is “Un Secreto” [A Secret], where Sordromo apes the brit sound of bands like Astroboy. This song alone tarnishes the first side of the album irrevocably – and most of the compositions I criticized above were already segregated there to begin with.

Still, it is on the first side of “Los Amigos Invisibles” where we find one of Sordromo’s most memorable hits, “Lucerito” (a tale of broken farewells and reconstituted memories). The song has really exciting dynamics, and the breaks are as good as the ones found on “2 + 2= 3”, where the drums virtually jump from the speakers and run over you.  And the first side also hosts the angsty “El Filo Del Tiempo” [The Edge Of Time], a song that anticipates the hat trick that will close the album. “La Calma Y La Tormenta” [The Calm And The Storm], “A Punto De Equivocarme” [Just About To Make A Mistake] and “Inevitablemente” [Inevitably].

The three songs are linked by the despondency of the lyrics, and in “A Punto De Equivocarme” [Just About To Make A Mistake] Rodrigo’s voice sounds as if he were about to break down at any moment. It is a song in which emotions strafe the listener, and not a single bullet misses the target.

It works perfectly as the prelude to “Inevitablemente” [Inevitably], of course. The song is rendered solely by Rodrigo (he sings and plays the acoustic guitar), and his voice sounds bitten, as if after the previous caterwaul of emotions he has finally wiped the tears away, but tearing a bit of skin in the process. The song makes me think a lot of The Smiths’ final song, “I Won’t Share You”. Similar circumstances (creative differences), same message (it was good until it lasted, but that was it).

I have to applaud Rodrigo’s courage to call it a day. I think the band had nowhere to go after this point, and they quit before making any horrendous blunder. That is a lesson many bands do never learn.

I am rating this album as high as the previous one – although I enjoy “Salvando La Distancia” more in general, this disc has some isolated moments that surpass the best music that they had devised up to that point. And maybe you can’t tell from the reviews I have written and how critical I have been of them, but Sordromo is probably one of my favorite Uruguayan bands ever. The fact they ended at the right time, without cheating themselves or their fans speaks books. And their body of work must be among the most consistent you can listen to in the immediate history of Uruguayan music.

Rating: 7.5/10

Sordromo’s official site is found here. And this is their MySpace profile.