Tag Archives: mal yo

The Uruguayan Version Of “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” Is Here: “Ay Que Me Quemo” By Mal Yo

Posted on by

Mal Yo

They say that revenge is a dish best served cold, but sometimes you just have to strike while the iron’s hot… That’s what these nice folks from Mal Yo (remember them?) have done. All through the summer, we were subjected to Michel Telo’s “Ai Se Eu Te Pego”, a song that our charming Brazilian neighbors more or less force-fed the whole continent. Just for the record, I must say the song isn’t half bad. It’s just that listening to it even when you’re scuba diving is enough to make you sick. And so, it’s payback time…

Thanks to our three sonorous crusaders, “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” has now become “Ay Que Me Quemo” [This Is Bleeding Hot], and you can watch the full clip below.

Does the melody ring a bell? Well, it should. There’s an English language version of “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” that’s called “If I Catch You”. Chances are you have already listened to it. But just in case…

Month In Review – August 2010

Posted on by

As I am sure you’ve noticed that MusicKO now has got a “Questions & Answers” section. The idea is to feature not only questions about the artists that have got a category of their very own, but also questions concerning bands and performers that are yet to be covered on the blog. Of course, if you have any questions that you’d like answered just drop me a line. I’ll do my best to help you out, the address is emiliomusicko [at]gmail [dot] com.

This month I covered a frankly superb Uruguayan band named El Cardenal Sebastíán. This is the review. And check their songs on their MySpace profile.

And I have begun reviewing Joni Mitchell’s oeuvre, too. That was the one artist I added to the blog during August. This is the introductory page, and here you can read the review I wrote of her “Hits” album.

The startups that were featured during the course of the month were Double Lyrics, Music 180 and The Melody Master.

And the month’s interviewees were David Trejo (from Mixest) and Thomas Veitch (from The Melody Master). Besides, I sat down with the guys from the Uruguayan band Mal Yo for a full interview.

Mal Yo (Interview)

Posted on by

(Hagan click aquí para leer esta nota en español)

Well, here you can read a small interview I conducted with the cool guys from Mal Yo (remember them?). They are as funny as ever, and they have begun playing more shows around Montevideo Way to go, folks!

Mal Yo

Band Information

Name: Mal Yo

Genre: Rock Pop

Band Members: Diego da Silva (guitar & vocals), Rodrigo Camejo (bass) and Sergio Alastra (drums & backing vocals)

Been Together Since: 21st of November, 2009 (first gig).

Main Claim To Fame So Far: We were number one in the ranking of Cadena de la Costa FM 102.1 (La Paloma)

Some Questions

Where did the name of the band come from?

It came from Sergio’s head – unable to think of anything better (like always) he thought up that name, as a way of asking advance pardon from the listener for what he is going to be put through.

How will you make to leave your mark in the history of Uruguayan music? Is that a concern, or will you just let time determine the role played by Mal Yo?

We play for fun. We love music and we don’t think about “leaving a mark”… if it happens, then that’s great. But come to think of it, we are not really ready for such a challenge.

What is the first thing that someone who is outside of Uruguay will think about when he listens to your songs?

We have seen that our page got a lot of visitors from abroad, but they didn’t stay for long. The probably thought the music was a pile of crap, or something like that!

In which sense being in Uruguay gives you an edge over musicians in other parts of the world? And how does it hinder you?

Well, residing here doesn’t really give you a lot of advantages, The market is small, it is hard to find pubs to play, and even to arrange your own gigs. Musicians here usually earn a living by doing other things that are unrelated, not being able to devote half as much time to it as we’d like… though that doesn’t apply to us and our ineptitude.

How are you building up your following? What role do social tools and services like Twitter, MySpace and Facebook play in your strategy? Would you say that kind of service has redefined how artists and fans connect, or do you believe that nothing beats a face-to-face with your audience?

We use all three, but Facebook is the main one for us. Lots of people have become acquainted with us like that, friends of friends and so on. We advertise our gigs, we upload pictures, videos and make comments. Our goal is to get through to people, and it is actually happening not only in Facebook, but also live. We have good chemistry with the audience. After each gig, we stay to meet people, take pics that we upload to our site… a close, nice group of friends is beginning to manifest itself. That is unbeatable. Well, that’s what we pay these guys for – to go and support us at gigs! Continue reading →

Mal Yo (Entrevista)

Posted on by

(Click here for the English version of this post)

Finalmente encontramos un momento con los muchachos de Mal Yo para hacer una entrevista, la banda ha empezado a tocar con más frecuencia en los boliches de Montevideo y me alegro mucho por ellos. ¡A ver si para el próximo toque no estoy engripado! ; )

Mal Yo

Información de la Banda

Nombre: Mal Yo

Género: Rock Pop

Miembros de la banda: Diego da Silva (guitarra y voz), Rodrigo Camejo (Bajo) y Sergio Alastra (Batería y coros)

Fecha de nacimiento: Fecha del primer toque de ésta formación 21/11/09

Lo más cercano que han estado de la fama hasta ahora: Fuimos Nº 1 del ranking de Cadena de la Costa FM 102.1 de La Paloma

Algunas Preguntas

¿De dónde surge el nombre de la banda?

Surge de la cabeza de Sergio, que ante la ausencia de ideas (cosa normal) aportó este nombre aplicando la filosofía de pedir disculpas de antemano por lo que se va a escuchar.

¿Cómo harán para dejar su huella en la historia de la música Uruguaya? ¿Piensan en ello, o dejarán que el tiempo determine el papel que jugó Mal Yo?

Tocamos para divertirnos, porque nos gusta la música y no nos cuestionamos el “dejar una huella”, si viene… bárbaro, pero pensándolo bien… no nos consideramos muy aptos para tal desafío.

¿Qué es lo primero que va a pensar un extranjero que escuche sus canciones?

Estuvimos viendo que en nuestra página hubo bastantes visitas del exterior pero no han sido muy duraderas, por lo que sacamos en conclusión que deben de haber pensado algo así como que somos una porquería, una bosta o algo así.

¿En qué sentido estar radicados en Uruguay les da una ventaja sobre músicos en otras partes del mundo? ¿Y en qué sentido los limita?

La verdad que no creemos que haya muchas ventajas por estar radicados acá, es un mercado pequeño, difícil por esta misma característica y donde no es fácil tocar en boliches ni hacer movidas para tocar por cuenta propia. Generalmente los músicos vivimos de otras cosas que no son la música y no podemos dedicarle el tiempo que quisiéramos a la ella… aunque en nuestro caso sería caer en un saco roto… por propias ineptitudes claro está.

¿Cómo están utilizando herramientas sociales (Twitter, MySpace, Facebook…) para promocionar la  banda? ¿Qué tan efectivo ha sido todo ello hasta ahora? ¿Dirían que esos servicios han redefinido cómo una banda interactúa con el público? ¿O nada se compara con una cara a cara con la audiencia?

Usamos las tres pero la que mas usamos es Facebook,  nos han conocido muchas personas por este medio, amigos de amigos y cosas así. Publicitamos los toques, las actualizaciones de  nuestra web, subimos fotos, videos y hacemos comentarios. Nuestra meta es comunicarnos con la gente, y de hecho se está dando no sólo por facebook sino también en vivo, tenemos una buena química con el público, después de los toques nos quedamos a hablar con la gente, nos sacamos fotos, las subimos a la página, se ha formado un grupo de amigos muy lindo que nos siguen a todos lados y eso no tiene precio… por eso les pagamos lo que sea para que nos vayan a ver. Continue reading →

Month In Review – June 2010

Posted on by

June was very rewarding if only because I managed to cover three unsigned Uruguayan artists over the course of the month: Mal Yo, Laiojan Sebastian and Lucía Ferreira. The three of them are very promising bands and solo performers, and Laiojan Sebastian in particular was the reason I began writing about unsigned artists on MusicKO. Their inclusion on the blog was long due.

The one new artist that I added to the blog was The Divine Comedy – you can read the general introduction here, and a review of “A Secret History – The Best Of The Divine Comedy” here.

The startups that I covered during June were the social network SeeJoeRock, Mixtap.in (a site that brings mixtapes back for good), and the Tony-B Machine, a great resource for those wanting to create electronic music. I also covered TasteBuds, a site that will let you find that special other based on the music that you like.

And the entrepreneurs and startup founders that I interviewed were Majid ALSarra (from Lyreach), Caroline Bottomley (from Radar Music Videos) and Tony Bouchereau (creator of The Tony-B Machine)

Lastly, make sure to check out the most visited post of the whole month: Steve Moore, the mad drummer!

Mal Yo (Uruguayan Unsigned Artist)

Posted on by

Mal Yo

“Mal Yo” [My Fault] is a Uruguayan trio that plays good ol’ rock & roll. It comprises guitarist/lead singer Diego Da Silva, bassist Martín Bernasconi and drummer Sergio Alastra. Sergio is actually slightly older than the rest, and (to my ear) he is the standout musician in the band. Yes, I have some catching up with the doctor to do.

Seriously, now, he provides the most memorable passages in their songs – look at the way in which he sustains the tension during the choruses to “La 22”, or the killer triplet that he uses to wrap up “A Tiempo” after having shifted beats all through the song. Besides, any person who has had the nerve to play in a band named “El Tatú Lunar” [The Lunar Tattoo] and then in another that was named “Monos Con Navajas” [Monkeys With Blades] has earned my absolute admiration. He must get invited to fewer parties than me.

The band is currently recording its debut album, and a couple of their songs can be downloaded for free on their website. (They can also be streamed on their MySpace page). These are “A Tiempo” [In Time], “Tu Lugar” [Your Place] and “La 22” [Table Number 22]. I have to admit that I am not really bowled over by their music on the whole, but one of these three songs has got me interested like little else. I must have listened to the song “A Tiempo” more than the three guys combined with all of their families and friends. Cubed. I honestly don’t recall having done something like that before, and that was the reason I decided to write about them. Because I don’t really like the other two songs they have, as I find the main riffs just a tad too generic – the main riff in “La 22”, for example, reminds me too much of songs like “Tu Dei” by Dsus4 (another Uruguayan band, and one that is sadly playing the great gig in the sky after having released a reasonably good debut album in 2006 entitled “Nada Permanece Quieto” [Nothing Remains Still]).

Mal You Playing Live: Martín Bernasconi, Sergio Alastra & Diego Da Silva

Mal Yo Playing Live: Martín Bernasconi, Sergio Alastra & Diego Da Silva

“A Tiempo” is the one song of theirs that sounds fresh and invigorating, and the lyrics display a very realized use of alliterative figures. Each verse is topped and tailed with the expressions “A veces” [Sometimes] and “A tiempo” [In Time], and the chorus is quite impacting, especially the second time around. The song also has a distinctive structure, as it comprises only two verses and a chorus that is played once and then repeated after the solo before the song concludes. That shifts the thematic emphasis of the lyrics, which being topped and tailed as described above would be imbued with a sort of conciliatory (or at least conclusive) air. This turns the song into something that ends up expressing losses that one would have thought were to be averted: “Y nosotros dos añoramos/nuestra vida perfecta” [And the two of us long for/our perfect life]. Continue reading →