RostbiF (Uruguayan Unsigned Artist) – Part 2: The Music

As I am sure you read in the first part of this article, RostbiF is a hard rock band that hails from Nueva Helvecia (an inland Uruguayan town). The guys cite AC/DC, Deep Purple and ZZ Top as their main references and musical heroes, and their sound is an effective amalgamation of what these bands have played since their inception.

RostbiF Playing Live: Lukas Künzler, Pablo Gonzalez, Mauricio Rode & Guido Quintela

RostbiF Playing Live: Lukas Künzler, Pablo Gonzalez, Mauricio Rode & Guido Quintela

The band comprises Lukas Künzler (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Pablo Gonzalez (lead guitar), Mauricio Rode (bass) and Guido Quintela (drums).

I am actually acquainted with the guys since Guido e-mailed me about a year ago asking for some lyrics. I did like the fact that they were aiming for compositions that had a certain social content, and I was keen to try something different to the traditional romantic themes I have always used to favor. Thus, “Rebellion Winds” and “These Eyes” were conceived.

One thing that comes across when you listen to their music is how much they are enjoying themselves. They are no virtuosos, they know it, and that is not the point to begin with. They make up for it with a lot of stamina and passion: Guido hits the bass drum as he if were kicking a plancha in the mouth, the bass has true bursts of vigor (specially when it gets some space as on “Rebellion Winds”, their finest composition so far) and the two guitars act as the main offensive line of the band. Granted, nobody would mistake the interplay between Lukas and Pablo as the one that characterized Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, but they are clearly in the same wavelength. Plus, when singing Lukas sounds like a chain smoker who hasn’t had a cigarette in three weeks. Take all that together and the result is the soundtrack for throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the police during a riot. No wonder I have never attended one of their gigs personally. The last thing I want is someone smashing a bottle willy-nilly in my head. Continue reading

Month In Review – May 2010

One of the most eclectic months since I started the blog, in May I covered many events like the passing of Lena Horne, the emergence of Greyson Chance and the latest instrument being developed by Roger Linn – all while providing coverage on artists I had already introduced you to. Albums reviewed included Tom Petty’s “Full Moon Fever” and “Into The Great Wide Open”, whereas I also reviewed “The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3” and Richard Thompson’s “Mirror Blue”.

What’s more, The Kinks were (finally!) added to the roll of artists featured on MusicKO

The startups I reviewed this month were SongVote, Radar Music Videos, G2, Lyreach and BuyWidget. And I managed to interview James Fontana from SongVote, and the two founders of a startup I had covered in April: Earwurm.

Finally, I am very pleased with the way the coverage of Uruguayan musicians has evolved. In addition to reviewing Sordromo’s “Salvando La Distancia” I posted a classic audio clip (Jorge Nasser beating some radio hosts that got too cheeky), and I covered a new unsigned artist: Retrocedonia. Best of all, one of the bands I collaborate with shot its first video. The band is RostbiF, and the song is “En Una Lágrima”.

En Una Lágrima (RostbiF) – Video Clip

I’d like to share with you the first video clip created by one of the Uruguayan bands I collaborate with, RostbiF. The guys hail from Nueva Helvecia (an inland town) and this particular song has one of the very first lyrics in Spanish that I ever wrote. It is called “En Una Lágrima” [In A Tear].

I also penned two other lyrics for them – “Rebellion Winds” and “These Eyes”. You can listen to all of these songs in full on their PureVolume profile.

This is the video clip for “En Una Lágrima”. I have attached the lyrics below along with a translation into English.

Of course, look for a full profile and an interview with the band on MusicKO soon! Continue reading