“Anthophila”, the First LP by Uruguayan Composer Colmena Gr Is Available for Free Download

anthophila colmena gr

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:

http://www.coqigr.bandcamp.com/album/anthophila

And my official blog can be visited here:

http://www.colmenagr.blogspot.com

 

Excellent. And you’d probably be interested in checking some of his other blogs and pages. These include one for photography (www.coqigrfotografia.tumblr.com), another for writings (www.fuisteunacolmena.tumblr.com) and yet another one for his video projects (www.videogr.tumblr.com).
And there’s also his personal blog (www.coqigr.blogspot.com), and his page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/thesoundofgrgrgr).

Personally, I really liked his videos, and I’m sure there will be a post in the near future in which I’ll be analyzing them in good detail.

This is “Los Pájaros” [The Birds], the one I enjoyed the most:

Doorman (Uruguayan Independent Artist)

Gustavo "Jack" Doorman Posing With The True Star Of The Band's Debut Album.

Gustavo "Jack" Doorman Posing With The Undisputed Star Of The Band's Debut Album.

F. Scott Fitzgerald once remarked that life is a process of small ruptures that lead to a tremendous final crackdown. Fitzgerald was one of the gigantic voices of reason in the Jazz Age, an era that many scholars simply remember as “the gaudiest spree” in American history. Like it or not, his insight will always stand in that selected place in which truths that are purely forceful in themselves are found.

What I think, however, is that it is conceivable to look at everything from a different angle. What if life were also a process in which one goes through small significant moments that let him finally discover the definitive moment he wants to be in? I am sure it is not far-fetched to think that a person can form his own perception of anything like that.

Personally, I think I can remember the first time a music performance truly moved me. It was the night Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won the Academy Award for the song “Falling Slowly”. That was the central piece from “Once”, a musical ingrained in reality that didn’t deny the deep value of dreams for a single minute.

And what struck me really hard was not only the way they played that night, and the radiant chemistry they displayed onstage. It was the words they spoke as they were given their Oscars.

Marketa said “Fair play to those who dream”. Glen simply remarked “Make art… Make art!”.

That night, it dawned on me that if two independent musicians could take on giants like Melissa Etheridge and Disney and walk away victorious, then maybe it would also become possible for Uruguayan musicians to stand up in non-Spanish speaking markets and succeed on their own terms.

Sure, Uruguayan singer/songwriter Jorge Drexler had won an Oscar himself in 2004 for the song “Al Otro Lado Del Río” [Across The River], but it was a bittersweet moment. He was not allowed to take the stage to play the song. Antonio Banderas and Santana played it, with lots of energy but not a lot of precision. When Jorge was awarded the coveted accolade, he sang a portion of “Al Otro Lade Del Río” accapella. I couldn’t help but wonder if that did nothing but highlight how submissive he had had to be to reach that podium that night and walk away with an Oscar. It all felt a little childish, like a girl who kicks a friend in the shin while his parents are holding him, telling him off for something he had done to her.

But that night in 2007, as those two virtually unknown European musicians had left everybody at the Kodak Theater mesmerized with their interpretative skills and integrity I stood as energized as I could be. If there was ever a moment I felt a sense of true possibility materializing, then that was it. I felt (nay, I knew) Uruguayan musicians would one day be able to stand up on their own two feet, and present their art uncompromisingly to the world.

The independent artist I want to cover today has got me thinking about that, along with the best bands currently active in the Uruguayan scene such as The Bear Season and Casablancas. Doorman is an electronic outfit that takes after the name of its frontman, Gustavo “Jack” Doorman. He writes everything and sings the lead, while the remainder of the band comprises Federico Recarey (bass), Ariel Scarpitta (sequencers), Hangel (drums) and Oscar Naya and Lucas Kanopa (guitars).

The band has already issued an album (“Supermal”, produced by Daniel Anselmi) and it stands as an entrancing mixture of buoyant rhythms and lyrics that are mostly hedonistic, although there is also room for contemplation and sheer regret, as in the song “Sad Situations” (one of their most rock-oriented numbers, and a personal favorite of mine). Continue reading

RjDj – Turning Music Into Something Truly Interactive

RJDJ

Name: RjDj
URL: http://www.rjdj.me

The technology we have available today might not have been put to the best use when it came to engaging users. That is the lasting impression I was left with after browsing through this site. The company (a transatlantic one) builds iPhone apps that take the music created by electronic artists, and then it lets you come up with tunes of your own by using the accelerometer from the iPhone along with the sounds that surround you. This is what the company calls “reactive music”. That is, music marked by activeness on the user instead of the passiveness of sitting while a song is playing, merely tapping your fingers away and so on.
Continue reading