Me Derrito Por Ti (Un Compilado De Amor)

It’s fairly obvious that we have a soft spot for Las Acevedo, but now, we have this insatiable sweet tooth for their latest baked curation, Me Derrito Por Ti ("Un Compilado De Amor”). A couple of months ago, the Dominican twins did a call for a Valentine's Day compilation, and a handful of acts showed up. Feast your ears on a lovely melodic assemblage by Latin American indie bands, including new treats from Fonograma favorites Lucila Ines, Adrian Juarez, and El Medio. We are also hand-delivered Valentine Day’s cards from familiar voices, Loocila (of Jovenes y Sexys) and Juan Manuel Torreblanca, both finding this a good opportunity to showcase solo efforts. Thanks again to Las Acevedo for being so generous with their friends and their good vibes. Much love. Stream the compilation below, and download it HERE.

El Medio - "No tengas miedo al Amor"

"No tengas miedo al Amor," El Medio
Independiente, Puerto Rico
Rating: 79
by Enrique Coyotzi

“Don’t be afraid of love” is the forthright premise of El Medio’s second effort this year (without counting that recent lovely split with Sr. Amable). Following the abundantly bleeping, synth-led, at occasions Wendy Carlos-esque EP Crónicas del hombre orquesta vol. 1, the Boricua affecting composer Leonardo Balasques adapts a more customary, acoustic instrumentation (fiddle and wind instruments), along with post-rock winks, twee breaths and his ever tender harmonies in the heartbreaking “No tengas miedo al Amor”. The quotation marks in the title are to be highlighted, just like in David Bowie’s “Heroes”. A popular phrase among daydreamers, it’s not to be interpreted here as something imperative, but rather inviting to something passionate, profound and surely tumultuous: the great chance of falling in love, assuming all of its consequences, whether good or bad.

There’s a devastating story to be found in here. A dramatic arch nuanced from the first to the last track. Wind blowing exhibits a desolate state of being in first seconds of opener “Hasta Caer”, where, brightly, solemn drumming and shining guitar strumming announce the new-found infatuation of our perceptive protagonist. The singer raises his hopes high, picturing absolute surrender (“Tomar su mano/Dejarlo todo”), yet realizing the sacrifices this decision will imply, foreseeing future –and for a fact inevitable- changes and losses. After warming violin presence, courtesy of Balún’s Angélica Negrón, boisterous electric guitar soundscapes à la Slint, injected of raucous distortion stain this blooming whirlwind of emotions, resembling internal turmoil. Continuing songs, in a heartwarming fashion, retake the possibilities of a beautiful pair up, at the same time leaving behind a bittersweet taste. “La máquina lo hace todo mejor” is pretty, melodious and certainly acutely sincere (“Hoy la noche no acaba/Siempre que hayan momentos como éste”), while “En primavera” captures the love-is-in-the-air essence of this season accompanied by a sunny, joyful beginning infused by synths and güiro, culminating in a colorful explosion of electronic gravity.

Afterwards, the record goes in decrescendo acquiring a much more melancholic tone. Short emotive piece “' '” is a striking exploration of heartbeating affection expressed through body discovery via touching. “'Alguien'/El tierno retorno” is the central backbone of “No tengas miedo al Amor”. After an enchanting introduction based on Paloma San Basilio's “Alguien”, El Medio displays his soul in a naked, personal declaration of letting in someone new into your life, to the point where happiness may be too much to handle. “Alguien nuevo llega a tu vida/ Y quieres que se vaya ya,” he declares in the final line as the marimba-like outro partially sweetens. Wind blowing once again is present in “Distancias pares”, only this time around the circumstances have changed. Over a minimalist simple-chord structure, the artist laments what could have turned out into an enduring friendship, but now is blackened. In “Todas las cosas”, which strongly evokes Sigur Rós' ( ) era, he furthermore deepens into his now dissolved, intense relationship, asking his ex-lover to value the things learnt. “Es bueno seguir vivo/Ver qué queda por vivir,” he claims looking forward to the future in a probably hopeful, but ultimately self-convincing manner -self-defense all the way. Fortunately, the album ends in a blissful note with favorite “Publio Ovidio Nasón”, making a magnificent return as a sort of savior following such a depressing final ride.

“No tengas miedo al Amor” is a deep work fueled by vast honesty and many of El Medio’s best songs to date. It’s best enjoyed during lonely, cold nights where a bottle of cheap wine or a pair of caguamas are the only and best friends. With this album, Leonardo Balasques reaffirms his status as one of our favorite songwriters. And while it may not be a very drastic improvement to his previous releases or incorporate few new ideas to his music, its universal discourse, transparent frankness and powerful development are the main qualities why this revealing piece is not to be missed. Clearly one of the year's most despondent achievements and another essential in Balasques' transcendental career.

El Medio - El Fin del Sueño del Helicóptero Personal

El Fin del Sueño del Helicóptero Personal, El Medio
Simplemente Records, Puerto Rico
Rating: 80 ★★★★
by Pierre Lestruhaut

Leonardo Velázquez’s approach to songwriting is as personal as you can get. His subjects of interest are his own life, memories and experiences; his favorite medium to express them is a room-constructed arrangement of string instruments and ambient synth washes; and finally it is shaped in the form of a lo-fi home-recorded product uploaded for free on bandcamp. As much personal as it is DIY, yet it’s through his own DIYness that his songs excel as universal entities. Take his outstanding single “Que bueno que nadie piensa en mí” from last year. While its whole construction responds to all these different levels through which Leo developed his very own personal vision of loneliness, its appeal eventually resided in how it managed to transcend the small sphere of the songwriter and actually become a universal manifesto for the lonely kids of the digital era. The ones who would rather spend a Friday night listening to the stuff they downloaded through the week and waiting for a (1) to appear on their twitter account.

Leonardo’s latest release as El Medio, a six-song EP titled El fin del sueño del helicóptero personal doesn’t see him moving away from his personified and individualistic way of writing and performing, now relying on the use of thematic unity to reach to earn the tag of the conceptual album. Though he maintains his first person narrative writing style of “Que bueno”, he doesn’t seem interested in singing about his present intimate-yet-universal concerns, but rather about observing the past as a mean to escape from the present. The desire for escapism is expressed through the craving of the imaginative life of fetal serenity, warmth and protection in “El primer azul borroso”, as well as the use of images reminiscent of childish curiosity and innocence in “En el patio”. I can guess that lines like “esas jeringuillas ya son las cuchillas que usa un policía como su arma principal” are not only personal recallings of Leo’s childhood but in fact of pretty much everyone else’s, and of how every child uses whatever means are available to them as a withdrawal from reality.

Yet even if this personal-universal duality constantly found in Leo’s lyricism is quite compelling, he actually reaches the full expression of his individual artistry in how he manages to distinguish himself as a great songcrafter, one that’s extremely apprehensive of the importance of choosing the right musical medium for sharing his singular worldview. From the acoustic vocals/strings intimacy of folk rock, to the naivety and innocence of twee pop themes and melodies, as well as the escapism of ambient sonic landscaping, not only does he manage to effectively employ these mediums, he also has his own attempts at breaking their traditional patterns and structures. They might not be as unique and accomplished as the non-linear arrangements of Phil Elvrum, or the fragmented compositions of Emilio José, but they do seem to be shyly pointing in those directions.

The two-songs-in-one concept works effectively in “En el patio - El fin del sueño del helicóptero personal” as it subtly abandons its initial twee balladry towards more dense and textured synth developments. But it’s probably with “O Futur O” where it gets the most surprising, using the constant shifting of its particular chord progressions as a mechanism to confront the intimacy of these acoustic progressions with the chaos created by deviating electronic sounds and the calmness of his laid-back vocals. Elements that would separately seem to belong in distant fields are brought together in unison. While later on, the final three tracks of the EP allow Leo to create a very personal take on lo-fi folk, as he cohesively builds his memories around the combination of ambient synth washes and constant strumming of detached melodies. A stunning example of a singular lyricist expanding his influences to create something truly personal, even if it might not be the most thematically consistent of concept albums or the most innovative demonstration of songwriting, it’s still a very rewarding experience.

♫♫♫ "O Futur O"
Download EP

El Medio - "Que bueno que nadie piensa en mí"

If you follow us on any of our social network profiles, you’re probably getting tired of our Fonogramaticos Vol.9 promo. Sorry, we’re just super excited because we truly feel it’s one of, if not the best volume of Fonogramaticos yet. While it is a compilation on our favorite stuff out there, you know this is also an upfront of what’s coming up on our blog content as we start to extract the individual pieces, mostly comprised of brand new songs from up and coming Club Fonograma-approved bands.

Having said that, let’s get into the most loved, most talked about song in the compilation so far, El Medio’s “Que Bueno Que Nadie Piensa En Mí.” Prior to our compilation’s release, I mentioned to my Twitter followers that my favorite track came from Puerto Rico, and that it sounded like Franny Glass meeting Joe Crepusculo. El Medio is the solo project of “Leo," a visual designer and one of the members of Balun, who are also Fonograma favorites. He confessed he was a bit concerned with the production quality of the song, but it’s that room-constructed melody what makes it special in the first place. From the tender Bolivian charango, to the hooks and Leo’s vocal styling, this is one of the prettiest songs of the year.

“Que bueno que nadie piensa en mí” is a heart-filling song that is also the most beautiful sorrow. As Javiera Mena and Gepe sing, “es una tristeza tan linda.” It’s a bitch-slap to all those friends of yours that ask why you don’t go ‘out’ as much, arguing life is too short. Well, that’s exactly why some of us sometimes decide to thrive within walls, “solo en mi cuarto es donde siempre estoy contento.” The song goes even deeper, presuming to have found tranquility… and an empty “yimeil” (gmail) inbox. It reaches its finest moment at the end, just when I was about to cheer for the song’s left-alone spirit, it resounds-repeats-redefines the entire song with that last-minute twist “piensa en mi… piensa en mi,” almost whispering a cry for your thought-consideration. Gorgeous.