CLUB QUE(R)ER

   By Sam Rodgers | Nov 6th, 2019

    Artwork by Alonso Ayala (@ouchal)

In the past decade the Iberoamerican world has stepped up to the plate in regards to LGBTQIA+ rights. Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, the United States, Colombia, and Ecuador have legalized same-sex marriage nationwide within the past ten years. In Mexico, same-sex marriage has been recognized in a majority of states, while Canada and Spain legalized the practice in the 2000s. Latin America has also seen some of the more progressive legislation for trans* people adopted in the last ten years compared with other countries. Politcally, it would seem that the rainbow is bursting out of the Western Hemisphere – indeed, over the last decade not just Iberoamerican, but queer artists worldwide have become more visible and celebrated by an ever growing audience. 

This past decade, at least in the Club Fonograma world, has been dominated by high profile queer Latinxs, Alex Anwandter and Javiera Mena. Both artists have seen tremendous growth over the decade as their fanbases expand outside of their homeland, Chile. Anwandter won a Teddy Award for his first feature film, Nunca vas a estar solo (2016), and has sung the words “el maricón del pueblo” in a Latin Grammy performance. He referenced seminal ballroom scene documentary Paris Is Burning (1990) in the video for “Cómo Puedes Vivir Contigo Mismo?” (2012). He’s also led the way for newcomers like fellow Chileans Francisco Victoria, Entrópica, and Playa Gótica’s Fanny Leona. Meanwhile, Mena created an iconic lesbian music video for her single, “Espada” (2014), and more recently collaborated with Colombia’s gay pop idol Esteman on “Amor Libre” (2019). That’s not to exclude other Chilean queer icons Kali Mutsa and Dënver, the latter producing the very homoerotic video for their song “Los Bikers/Segundas Destrezas” in 2011. 

Across the Andes, Argentine band Miranda! has continued their run of dizzying camp pop, while Uruguay’s Carmen Sandiego’s “Mi Novio Gremlin” (2010) was one of the best-received indie songs of the decade. In Brazil, trans artist/activist Linn da Quebrada (“Linn from the margins”) raps about the issues she faced growing up queer and black in a São Paulo favela. Joining her are São Paulo’s Quebrada Queer, a hip hop cypher which is gaining popularity among young Brazilians living under Jair Bolsonaro, showcasing the argument that being visibly queer and pissed off is the new punk. Their videos have millions of views, but nowhere near the success of Pabllo Vittar, “the Most Popular Drag Queen In The World,” who has over a billion total YouTube views. Just as much in the Brazilian national consciousness now is Club Fonograma favorite SILVA, who, with his 2016 video for “Feliz e Ponto,” cheekily came out as bisexual. 

Staying in the Lusophone world, Titica, Angola’s trans “kuduro” artist, has been a UNAIDS goodwill ambassador following her breakout single with Ary, “Olha O Boneco” (2012), which remains a guaranteed slap. 

Venezuela’s Arca, who is non-binary, has risen to be a worldwide critical darling, not to mention his collaborations with the venerable Björk. Queer Colombian artist Lido Pimienta received the Polaris Music Prize in 2017 for La Papessa (2016) and the world eagerly awaits for the follow-up, Miss Colombia, which should propel her to even greater heights. Dominican author and Club Fonograma heroine Rita Indiana was voted one of the 100 most influential Latinx personalities in 2011 by the newspaper El País, even though we might wait forever for new music from Los Misterios. Meanwhile, this year in Mexico, Juan Manuel Torreblanca went all out with “Maricón” (2019), a song proclaiming reclamation against the slur, haters be damned. And riding the zeitgeist of YouTube makeup tutorials, drag, and anime is Sailorfag, a Sonora native studying fashion in Guadalajara, spitting rhymes about gender performance and homophobia. 

But while there seems to be a wave of LGBTQ artists reaching not-just-niche audiences, not all has been felicitous. The aforementioned President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, is a “proud” homophobe. In 2018 alone, there were a reported 420 murders of LGBT people in the country, and hate crimes are on the rise around the world. In the United States, the Trump administration wants to instill the Religious Freedom Bill giving legal protections to religious organizations to discriminate against LGBT workers. But nothing exemplifies the daily terror experienced by the marginalized more than the second deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida in 2016. Forty-nine people were murdered by a single gunman, while over fifty were wounded. What hit me hardest was that the majority of victims were Latinx and queer. Their tragic deaths remind us that there is still so much work to be done, moving ahead in solidarity, pushing for human rights every person under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella deserves. While queer art can seem the most fun, most colorful, and most human in complexity, it is often underpinned by so much pain and trauma. We’re so proud of the leaps and bounds the queer Latinx artist community has made in the 2010s and we celebrate the bravery it takes to put the self, and the work, “out” there. Judging by the positive support so far, the artists included in this piece (and others you can find here) are blazing a trail to more acceptance and, for their own community, more love.

Remembering those we lost at the Pulse tragedy:

Stanley Almodovar III, 23

Amanda Alvear, 25

Oscar A. Aracena-Montero, 26

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21

Martin Benitez Torres, 33

Antonio D. Brown, 30

Darryl R. Burt II, 29

Jonathan A. Camuy Vega, 24

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28

Simon A. Carrillo Fernandez, 31

Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25

Luis D. Conde, 39

Cory J. Connell, 21

Tevin E. Crosby, 25

Franky J. Dejesus Velazquez, 50

Deonka D. Drayton, 32

Mercedez M. Flores, 26

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22

Juan R. Guerrero, 22

Paul T. Henry, 41

Frank Hernandez, 27

Miguel A. Honorato, 30

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40

Jason B. Josaphat, 19

Eddie J. Justice, 30

Anthony L. Laureano Disla, 25

Christopher A. Leinonen, 32

Brenda L. Marquez McCool, 49

Jean C. Mendez Perez, 35

Akyra Monet Murray, 18

Kimberly Morris, 37

Jean C. Nieves Rodriguez, 27

Luis O. Ocasio-Capo, 20

Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32

Enrique L. Rios Jr., 25

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24

Christopher J. Sanfeliz, 24

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34

Shane E. Tomlinson, 33

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25

Luis S. Vielma, 22

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37

Jerald A. Wright, 31

Sam Rodgers is a writer and ESL teacher living in Sydney, Australia. He joined the Club Fonograma team in 2012 after years of fanaticism and he feels so honored to have been part of the family. You can follow him everywhere @anoddgeography.

Balún - "La Nueva Ciudad"

Balún is a band from Puerto Rico with an acute sense of creating ethereal moments of the sad kind. Could the tropigoth tagline apply? As sunset approaches on the Summer of Love 2016 (a cosmic event that last took place during the tumultuous social uprisings of 1967) the Brooklyn-based via Borinken four-piece return by making ripples across waters with a trademark sound they call dreambow. Incorporeal dream-pop, techno, shoegaze, folkloric sounds of South America, & dembow (one of reggaetón’s rhythmic daughters) are the amalgamation of the band’s idiosyncratic soundscape. A formula that after almost 7 years since Balún’s first contribution to Club Fonograma has stood the test of time.

With Afro Caribbean sounds like tipple, bomba barrel drum, dembow & a hazy, humid sense of a transcendent melancholy at work, “La Nueva Ciudad” joins the cannon of unorthodox, reggaetón-based classics of late. The sonic transmutations of established greats like J Balvin, Arca, Gepe, Javiera Mena & newcomers like MULA, Coral Casino, & Tomasa del Real have been expanding our understanding of the infinitely mesmerizing possibilities of the genre. Even Ibiza Pareo expressed interest in flirting with reggaetón during their Ruido Fest showcase in Chicago this summer. Clearly, our collective sonic future still belongs to the iconic, Afro-Caribbean sound. 

Balún’s return feels accomplished, academic and ancestral. The chorus of “La Nueva Ciudad” invokes collective rapture (the spiritual power of reggaetón at work here) while Angélica Negron's vocals communicate intimacy & distance, discussing the circular nature of time, planets, & the need to create a city without mirrors. The prolific percussionist/producer Lawson White (Shakira, Wilco, Jamie xx) has been working behind the scenes with Balún, whose current lineup boasts PhD ethnomusicologist and Puerto Rican folk music expert Noraliz Ruiz (playing cuatro and on “La Nueva Ciudad”), Raul Reymundi, along with veteran players Angélica Negron & José Olivares. It would seem as though Balún have become curators of globopop. “La Nueva Ciudad” is the lead single from the forthcoming Prisma Tropical LP which is due in 2017. Listen to it below and its b-side, “Esta En Tus Manos,” a cover of the pioneer of indietronica reggaetón herself, Javiera Mena.

Ivy Queen - "Que Se Jodan"

A photo posted by @ivyqueendiva on Apr 1, 2016 at 5:43pm PDT

Ivy Queen's 2016 return is buzz worthy by its own merit, but these are no ordinary times for Ivy Queen to release a single. Javiera Mena's revelation to Club Fonograma last week that she is determined to work with Ivy Queen has our musical mythologies reeling. The prospect of such a collaboration is the stuff pop dreams are made of. As legend would have it, Shakira released three merengue singles from 2010's Sale El Sol as per Club Fonograma's suggestion. Evidently, Rita Indiana's excellent El Juidero made it to the ears of Shakira's production team, thereby inspiring the Caribbean sounds found in her last decent album. Or so the legend goes. Since 2009, Club Fonograma has been a haven for the analysis of provocative sounds from both the underground and the mainstream. It is our belief that a Javiera Mena / Ivy Queen collaboration could pave a road towards a certain type of immortality for both artists. On one hand, Javiera Mena could gain the notoriety and respect of going to the source- the Queen herself- for the reggaetón backdrops she employs on everything from "Cuando Hablamos" to a few tracks from Otra Era. On the other, Ivy Queen could steer her industry towards a different plateau by incorporating emerging left field talent from Latin America into her repertoire. Javiera Mena could be Ivy Queen's first of many fortuitous collaborations with a hipster underground. I mean, "Que Se Jodan" already sounds like Ivy and her producers have been listening to Puerto Rico heavyweight, Füete Billete.

"Que Se Jodan" is hip-hop, showcasing the strong rap element Ivy Queen honed in on for 2014's ambitious Vendetta, a multi-part album that dedicated itself to substantiating four different genres of music: reggaetón, bachata, salsa, and hip-hop. Ivy Queen does a lot of posturing during "Que Se Jodan," a nefarious if short lived number. Ivy Queen flaunts her two decades-long artistic career, her rap skills ("¿Qué sabes tú de letra?), and proclaims her love for hip-hop ("esa es mi medicina"). Ivy Queen is a good enough rapper, but it should be noted that some of the braggadocio on "Que Se Jodan" is not befitting a 20 year veteran. Still, her claim that she reminds womn to fill themselves up with greatness is pretty powerful. Consider "Que Se Jodan" a reintroduction to Ivy Queen, a good enough track that has us hoping she can channel the brilliance of 2003's "Yo Quiero Bailar" at least one more time.

Javiera Mena x Club Fonograma: Otra Era Tour 2016

Photo cred: Nacho G Riaza

Javier Mena has cordially invited Club Fonograma to attend her Otra Era 2016 Tour. We will be spending some intimate moments with the Queen of Chilean Pop on May 4, 2016. Club Fonograma will report back on our encounter with Javiera Mena as soon as we return from LA. We would love for our readers to be able to contribute to our discussion with Javiera Mena and we invite questions via our Twitter account or directly to Zé Garcia Puga's Instagram.

Javiera Mena, #OtraEra Tour 2016: 

Saturday, April 30, 2016 @ Juvia, Miami, USA 

Free Admission 

Wednesday, May 4, 2016, Resident, Los Angeles, USA - Tickets: 

www.smarturl.it/javieramenaLA

Thursday, May 5, 2016 @ Festival CincoTeca, San Diego, USA

Free Admission 

Saturday, May 7, 2016 @ Escena Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico - Tickets: www.smarturl.it/escenamonterrey

Wednesday, May 11, 2016 @ doppler, Texcoco, Mexico 

Friday, May 13, 2016 @ BMLS Showcenter, Guadalajara, Mexico 

Free Admission with Registration: goo.gl/6ef9Ft

Saturday, May 14, 2016 @ Food Truck Fest, Morelia, Mexico - Tickets: 

Garcia Obeso 169 Colonia Centro 

Sunday, May 15, 2016 @ Lunario, Mexico City - Tickets: 

www.smarturl.it/javieramenalunario

Club FonoGRAMMYS - Best Alternative Song

Los nominados al #grammylatino @astrosonidoespa 🌈🌈🌈🌈

A photo posted by JAVIERA 🌹 (@javieramena) on Sep 25, 2015 at 3:39pm PDT

Finally, after years of twisting Carlos's arm, Club Fonograma presents it's First Annual Latin Grammy coverage! Join a few of the crew as we give our thoughts on various categories. And, if you're catching this early, hang around our Twitter account during showtime as Andrew Casillas provides real-time analysis of presenters' hairstyles and identifies which performers sweat more than Patrick Ewing. So without further ado, let's kick off the 2015 Club FonoGRAMMYS!

Category 1: Best Alternative Song

Famasloop — "Allí Estás"

Astro — "Caribbean"

Natalia Lafourcade — "Hasta la Raíz"

El Cuarteto de Nos — "No Llora"

Javiera Mena — "Otra Era"

Zé Garcia: The Alt Record of the Year category shows the expanding spectrum of the Academy's considerations. On the (as expected) terrible end, we have Venezuela's Famasloop with "Allí Estás." Clearly, we can think of dozens of recordings more deserving than what sounds like background music for a Comcast commercial.  El Cuarteto de Nos is not as terrible as the Febreeze pop of "Allí Estás" but "No Llora" is still pretty annoying. Visually, "No Llora" channels the work of Kraft Mac & Cheese commercials complete with cute (read: obnoxious) child. The "Gloria Estefan-but-on-acid" bros of Astro also land a nomination with the pretty cool "Caribbean," but clearly one of our girls is taking home that prize and it's probably the recording industry's darling, Natalia Lafourcade. Yes, "Hasta La Raiz" is clearly one of the finest recordings of the last year, a song whose poetry and strings measure up to the word "epic." But it's going up against "Otra Era," one of the best songs of this young century. "Otra Era," our pick for 2014's best song, would probably land the top stop in a Club Fonograma mid-decade's best list. And why shouldn't it? "Otra Era" is sublime. It contemplates empires--a time-space pop gem composed of an ulterior reggaeton beat, the urge of a disco house piano, and a final climax that sounds like a doomsday siren. Mena's vocals get pitch shifted into a malformed future in the song's final moments and the effects are both terrifying and exhilarating. The transcendent quality of "Otra Era" has the ability to drive a perceptive listener to tears- a recording to match a beautiful & tragic existential crisis.

Andrew Casillas: I legit lol'd at your comment that "Allí Estás" sounding like a Comcast ad. I mean, you can't be mad at El Cuarteto de Nos sneaking in here--I mean, there are way worse dinosaur bands getting Latin Grammy nods. By the way, when did "Caribbean" become Astro's breakthrough? DID NO ONE LISTEN TO "DIMENSIÓN SUPREMA?!" That song's got bars, son. So yeah, it comes down to the CF darlings Natalia and Javiera. I think we can agree that "Otra Era's" mere presence is a legitimate win for the 21st century Chilean pop monolith. And it's certainly the most innovative song in the category. But I'm not 100% certain that "Hasta la Raiz" isn't the better song. I may prefer "Otra Era" as a whole, but Natalia Lafourcade's spent an entire career working her craft to make something as instant and delicate as "Hasta la Raiz." And let's take a minute to understand how difficult it probably was to craft something like that. Is it her best song? No. But is it something worth giving an award to? Damn right.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Javiera Mena, "Otra Era"
WHO WILL WIN: Natalia Lafourcade, "Hasta la Raíz"

Javiera Mena - Otra Era

Otra Era, Javiera Mena
Unión del Sur, Chile
Rating: 92
by Andrew Casillas 

How do you follow-up your masterpiece? The common theory is that great artists deliberately evade the sounds of their great works in the name of aural evolution (think of Café Tacuba chasing Reves/Yosoy with Cuatro Caminos, or every album the Beatles made from 1965 to 1969). Students of history, however, will see the past sixty years of popular music as deviations on a common theme. Except in very rare cases (say, Radiohead following up OK Computer with Kid A), the rock era celebrates artists that formulate an unimpeachable template and harvest that sound to diminishing returns. This is why the Rolling Stones are celebrated for their perseverance; Prince for his idiosyncrasies; Spoon for their Spoon-ness. This is the route to immortality.

Javiera Mena has certainly established a distinctive sound, which is impressive considering the cumulative length of her output is shorter than Goodfellas. In essence: Casio keys, electric drums, sound effects, bass-centric melodies, simple and direct lyrics; again, deviations on a common theme. What made her first two albums (not to mention Prissa’s Ni Tu Ni Yo, her collaboration album with Francisca Villela), so compelling was its infectious nature—big beats giving way to big choruses giving way to big emotions. Her first solo single, “Al Siguiente Nivel,” was a mission statement of her musical ambitions. And it just happened to be a perfect pop song. For 2010’s Mena, Javiera diversified her sound, adding gloss and intricacy to her arrangements, resulting in one of the seminal pop albums of this century.

So one more time: how do you follow-up your masterpiece? For her new album, Otra Era, Javiera Mena chooses to ride the formula to its purest version. Otra Era is the sensational dance-pop classic in the vein of Kylie Minogue’s Fever and the Pet Shops Boys’ Very, combining the giddy bombast of the former with the pulsating Euro-dance rhythms of the latter. Indeed, this is the first Javiera Mena album to reject disco as a foundation. Instead, Javiera reconfigures her sound to fixate on either house music rhythms or frenetic dance-pop. The result is a bouncy, confident beast of a record, and the most uniform-sounding Javiera Mena album to date, with grooves and hooks creeping at every turn.

Much of Otra Era’s pre-release buzz centered about Javiera recording in Miami, aiming to create her “pop album,” as if Paulino Rubio needed to watch her seat on La Voz Kids. While Otra Era is certainly unabashedly pop, it’s not packed full of saccharine, in part because of Cristian Heyne’s production. Javiera’s right hand man across each album, Heyne operates almost like another vocalist, with tempo changes and well-placed percussion lifting ostensibly generic-pop beats into punch-drunk bangers.

And the bangers come as quickly as you can hit play. Opener “Los Olores De Tu Alma” pulsates like a jetliner at takeoff. A pounding backbeat thumps away as Javiera pushes her vocals in a fit of exasperated lust. Then the chorus hits, and the vocals stretch the words “como todo el sonido” into yearning, the beat breaks away into a swirling keyboard cacophony. It’s a dynamite section of music, and perhaps the most aggressive section she’s recorded since the breakdown on Esquemas Juveniles’ “Cuando Hablamos.”

Aggression is certainly the best word to describe Otra Era in relation to Esquemas Juveniles and Mena. In fact, the album’s strength lies in the teeth imbued within the production. Take “Esa Fuerza” for example. The song rides along on high synth notes for two minutes, sounding like a simple dance number reminiscent of Kylie’s “Love at First Sight.” Then, two minutes in, the middle eight hits, and the vocals chant “la unica que ser” until dissolving into a sweaty keyboard breakdown continuing throughout the remainder of the track, a key tempo change that effectively changes it into a different (and better) song. For all its charms, however, “Esa Fuerza” is not the strongest song of the record.

Instead, the three-song combo opening side two are the true showcase for Otra Era’s sonic attack. In single “La Joya,” which still sounds like it’ll be running your summers ten years from now, the exuberant “Que Me Tome la Noche,” and the perfectly titled “La Carretera,” Mena and Heyne have three numbers that allow them to operate on all cylinders. “La Joya” allows the pair to indulge headfirst in 80s nostalgia, sounding like the unintended mix of Lisa Lisa and Madonna you could have sworn already existed. This is before (again) hitting the accelerator at the bridge, tearing the fucking lid off the song and letting the keys ride it into another dimension. “Que Me Tome la Noche” is freestyle on steroids, lifting those keyboards Britney Spears used on “Til the World Ends” that sounded like fire from the sky (or foam falling on the dance floor, I can’t really tell). And “La Carretera” is a 90 mph slice of brash beachside firework pop, launching hooks the way 30 Rock launched jokes. Javiera Mena always held a debt to Gloria Estefan (see "Luz de Piedra de Luna") and this track pays it back by riding the Miami Sound Machine (with a tint of Capullo) into the goddamn ocean.

Of course, this is still a Javiera Mena album, meaning it must be judged according to its slow jamz. And while “Pide” and “Quedate un Ratito Mas” are tender, sometimes blissful songs, the heart of this album is its title track. As a standalone single “Otra Era” was charming and lovely, but as heard within the parent album it is as gorgeous as Javiera Mena has ever sounded. Atypical of the rest of the album, “Otra Era” revels in minimalism and is built solely on an array of keys and basic drum effects. The ethereal “Fool on the Hill”-like melody sustains the track, but it’s Javiera’s lyrics and cadence that grounds the song. Long derided (and sometimes rightly) for writing overly naïve lyrics, “Otra Era” doubles-down on the mantras. Here, however, the music acts as an emotional reinforcement. Note how, after a dizzying array of stadium synths, the final chorus shuts down so Javiera Mena can address the audience (“Piensa en mi como soy / Piensa lejos de mí”). Then, in the turn of an eye: madness; synthesizers exploding at every turn; “llévame a otra era.” It’s the type of dance song you would prefer to listen to sitting down and holding hands.

Making a fun dance-pop album is not hard so long as you remember that people want to dance. But making a great dance-pop album requires the artist to have the confidence to establish an identity and not cater to the lowest common denominator. Otra Era is a great album, genre be damned, because Javiera Mena knows what she is and what how to package her sound. This is why “Espada,” almost a year after its release, still sounds urgently brazen and satisfying far after it’s debut. Javiera’s artistic maturity has allowed her to tinker with her formula like an aural wizard—knowing when to let hooks sink and when to unleash her bag of tricks. Now, let’s make this clear: Otra Era is not the equal of Mena. But very few albums are. And even after the inevitable nitpicking, Otra Era still sounds like a modern classic from one of the classic artists of this generation. One that is clearly on the road to immortality.

Javiera Mena - "Otra era"

So, it's finally happening. The full details of Javiera Mena's new album are out and Otra Era is due to arrive in a mere two weeks. Our written track record on her recent material might reflect some closeted skepticism, yet in spite of our weak faith, we have been rewarded with a third single. "Otra era," by far the most transcendent and memorable moment of the new album cycle, succeeds where "Espada" and "La Joya" did not. There are no vocal leaps that test the ear palate, no messy structures that overindulge in dance rhythms. Javiera sounds wistful and enlightened: a rare pop wisdom now on full display.

The synth grooves on "Otra era" sound foggy, the house pianos muted. One can feel a distance between the beats, which easily affect the body, but cannot reach the afflicted mind. Not when it's busy contemplating such a mesmerizing and haunting beauty ("¿Acaso no eres de acá?"). Javiera pulls on every resource she can: on history and the impact of great empires, on the metaphysical and platonic ideals. When no lasting conclusions can be reached, she finally surpasses the limitations of language: those altered pitch shifts come in and signal a complete reset. Only through rebirth can she acquire what she really wants, ("contigo llévame a una nueva, nueva, era, era, era...").

Video: Javiera Mena - "La Joya"

My dissection of “La Joya” (at first glimpse) was one of mixed emotions. In fact, I doubted the single’s self-sustainability and joined the club of skeptics for what was to come. Three months have past and I must say that there’s not another song I’ve listen to the most all year long. The song went from middling to becoming one of her best singles to date (better than “Espada” for sure). At around the 50th play, “La Joya” dusts away its tongue-in-cheek polish to reveal itself as daring and brilliant piece of pop composition. The clip for the song, directed by slurpTV & Vladimir Crvenkovic celebrate the song’s ever-shifting melodic directions, rejecting to become a template (and pushing for platforms instead). The frame is overstuffed and at times too busy to look out, but it sure services as one of Javiera’s most colorful moments –a bold step towards pop stardom.

Javiera Mena - "La Joya"

People often refer to us as Chilean pop insiders. And although we don’t shy away from calling her our diva, we’ve been very distant to Javiera Mena’s highly anticipated follow up to Mena –the only album to have ever received a perfect score from us. Considering someone leaked Mena about six months before its release date, it’s understandable that Javiera and producer Cristian Heyne have opted to keep the new album (out in September) under extreme vigilance. Today, on her birthday, Javiera has released “La Joya,” the second single off her third album. If first single “Espada” had some people claiming we had “lost her to the mainstream” and comparing the pop agency of the song to something Paulina Rubio would do, the new single will complicate things even further.

The music in “La Joya” is vibrant and the melody is eventually catchy. It’s the further reduction in the lyrics (particularly in the bridge towards the chorus) that builds a barricade that prevents it from being truly engaging during its first half. Things get much better once the song re-structures its proposition on its second half. The synths get bold, the melodies find a direction, and some very militant vocals provide the track with roundness and pop prowess. “Espada” wasn’t an easy swallow either. For some people, it was resolved once the music clip came out. For me, I realized I loved it when Sam Rodgers referred to the performance as “an 8-bit character in a fantasy quest game, collecting coins.” Perhaps something will resolve “La Joya” for us too –hopefully the album itself. It’s okay to be skeptical –that’s why we’re here. Javiera is doing her job, acquiring visibility and keeping momentum until it’s time to open her vault.

Javiera Mena - "Espada"

I think Meek Mill summed up the mood in the Club Fonograma virtual offices today: JAVIERA BACK, ALL THE HIPSTERS SCREAMING THAT JAVIERA BACK. "Espada" begins with the simultaneous bang of a snare drum and Casio key, (appropriately) cutting an earworm so large you could fit twelve Paulina Rubio singles in comfortably. Lest anyone think that Mena would play it safe and choose a more subtle comeback entry, she makes it damn clear from the outset that her third album likely won't be about playing to expectations. "Espada" is big, bold, and catchy as all hell. Particularly the last minute and fifteen seconds, where Timbaland synths crash with Europop hooks topped with Mena's brashest vocals to date. This is gonna be the hottest Christmas ever, y'all.

Video: Marineros - "Espero"

Assuming we're all on the same page here, it was just a few months ago that the name Marineros began popping up like news of Gabbo's debut. And all there was to go on was a Radio Zero/Super 45 session that saw two young unknowns casually cover Mazzy Star and sneak in morsels of original material, sleek and confident tracks with a solemn performance that immediately earned them the title of a Chilean xx. Within weeks they quietly launched the standard fare of social media profiles, but then enough time passed where it felt like all we got were the fixings but no beef. The wait is finally over, and whether or not their approach was presumptuous or fully-earned is too soon to tell, what we do know is that right now Marineros has our complete attention.

"Espero" in its finished form is even more rousing than we were led to believe. The Álvaro Puentes-directed clip is about as auspicious as they come, expertly linking restrained anamorphic scenes in black and white to the anxious cries found in its single. While other bands are content to let nature play the lead in their own music videos, Marineros are thrown right in, acting out a nearly insatiable effort to find answers, wherever they come from. An overcast sky lingers for the majority of the video, and indeed there's a sense that a storm is approaching. It never happens, but as the motorbike engine sounds hint at, a confrontation is inevitable, and Marineros are ready to take on all forms, physical, emotional, and existential. Just pray there's a part two in the works. Marineros is the first artist signed by Unión del Sur (a label founded by Javiera Mena and Cristián Heyne). "Espero" will be released as a single (with the accompanying track "Oh Oh") and is produced by Heyne and mastered by Joe Lambert (Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Washed Out).

Video: Aldo Benítez & Javiera Mena - "Efecto"

As we approach the final months of the year, stellar hits don't appear to stop emerging. This time around via Argentinian promise Aldo Benítez, featuring our favorite and number one Javiera Mena. Under the direction of visual producers Piel (responsible of two astounding Isla de los Estados clips), the video for the lovely “Efecto," showcasing a widescreen movie format, takes advantage of this presentation to exhibit both singers in an enchanting-to-the-eye realization. It almost feels like an extended naive movie sequence, that exalts both performer's attractive looks (take a peek at those inviting shots under the rain). "Efecto," first single off Benítez's second album to be edited in October, Tonelada, is the ideal song to get us pumped about this release. Mena’s collaboration is minimal, but fundamental. The artists’ voice mergence, when it ocurrs, is so gorgeous it’ll turn you into jelly. And, if this is the kind of deluxe pop we’ll taste in Benítez's upcoming record, we’re all ears.

SXSW Entry #8: Javiera Mena, LA ENTREVISTA

Photo by Daniela E. Galindo

Two weeks have passed since I left Austin and said goodbye to SXSW. And even though I contracted the flu on the last weekend of the festival (shit was cray) and the memory of it all feels like a weird fading dream, I can vividly recall that Thursday of the Torreblanca y Amigas showcase because It was that magical. Being in the same room with the most powerful female players in Latin music (Andrea Balency, Ximena Sarinana, Natalia Lafourcade AND Javiera Mena) was amazing in itself, but seeing them perform left me in awe.

Following the showcase, Mena and I chatted about her time in Austin, music videos, and pochos. I don't know how, but I also managed to interview her. I would like to thank Mena and her manager for being the nicest and most approachable people in the world. I should also point out that this interview was conducted in Spanish and then later translated into inglés. Translating is hard work, and I'm starting to think it's not really my thing (just ask my Latin professor). But many thanks also to my fellow CF writers Andrew Casillas and Pierre Lestruhaut, my girlfriend Daniela, and my mom for their help when I was stuck.

Giovanni Guillén: Welcome to Austin. How are you enjoying the festival?

Javiera Mena: There are so many people here! Obviously this is my first time in the U.S. and first time participating in a festival of this scale. But it's certainly exciting and it feels great to be here.

GG: You're here promoting Mena, which came out about two years ago, correct?

JM: Year and a half, more or less. This is sort of the last wave of energy left in Mena (laughs).

GG: So, are you already thinking about the future?

JM: Definitely. What I want most right now is to return to Santiago, close myself off in the Cordillera, and just work on my new record.

GG: Any idea which direction you might take for this album?

JM: Not yet, I think when the ideas in my head are realized I'll know. Of course, if I have the lyrics and if I have the music the songs will decide that direction. I do think this next album could go a more psychedelic route.

GG: Psychedelic? Well on that note, do you see yourself once again working with electronic music exclusively or what other styles are you open to?

JM: Electronic music is something I'm drawn to because of the of punch it delivers, you know? Through drum machines, etc. I love that. But I'm very open to anything—even something stripped down to just guitar and voice, we'll see. Another reason why I'm excited about returning to Santiago.

GG: I know that you have very diverse music taste—everything from Juan Gabriel to My Bloody Valentine—what are some recent discoveries, bands you’re listening to now that might influence this upcoming record?

JM: Hmm, new things I like...obviously everything I listen to influences me in some way. When I discovered Grimes, for example, I became obsessed. I mean, just the fact that someone younger than me could move my world so much, I loved it.

GG: Wasn't she born in like '89?

JM: '88! But I love that things like that happen. And also, my friends that make music, people like Diego Morales who are always showing me things that inspire me. They don't have to be these huge biblical figures like Michael Jackson...

GG: Or the Beatles?

JM: Exactly. They can be these chiquilines that come out of nowhere. Lately Grimes has definitely moved me.

GG: I read an interview where you stated in a few years you feel as though you will have to emigrate from Chile.

JM: That's right.

GG: Could you explain that a bit more?

JM: Even though Chile is a beautiful country and the people are amazing, it's a place that geographically is just too far. I mean, so many hours just to come to a place like this. It's not like a country like Germany, which is far from here but is still close to everything else in Europe. Chile is a place with so much to offer, but in a way it's still difficult to make a career in music work. Especially in the business side. As much I would like to stay, I know that I'll have to emigrate because when I come to Austin, for example, it feels like there's a real industry here. And there is an industry in Chile, but it still has a long way to go.

GG: It's a little weird to hear that because, as someone who lives in the U.S., it feels like everything in music right now is happening in Chile or Argentina or in Brazil.

JM: There are a things happening- It's just hard to take things as far as I would like. Argentina is amazing, by the way.

GG: Well you've already toured there, and you just played in Mexico at Festival Nrmal and there's a mini-tour, correct?

JM: Yes, the plan is to go back to Mexico and play Vive Latino, that's something we've been wanting to do right.* What else do I have? Well, a few things planned that I can't talk about yet.

GG: No?! Well, I have to ask—are there any plans to tour the U.S. soon?

JM: No, no. Nothing's been set. I'm returning to do some promotion, but in fact I promised the Consul I wouldn't work because I don't have a work visa.

GG: Last question: did you see Club Fonograma's review of Mena?

JM: Of course! It came out as album of the year!

GG: It received a 100, do you feel Mena was a perfect record?

JM: Yes! (Laughs) No, I mean it's hard to say that about oneself. One keeps these things inside to be humble, but I do like Mena. I see Mena and Esquemas Juveniles, my two albums, and lately I've been feeling more attached to Esquemas. (With Mena) I wanted to make a record out of cohesive pop songs, and I think I achieved that. Of course it must happen in your work, deciding what is perfect must be difficult. It's especially difficult for me to call it perfect. I don't see it as a perfect record because to me, a perfect record is Michael Jackson's Thriller or Aphex Twin's Richard D. James. I see my album as a baby next to those gems.

GG: Well if that's a goal for you, there's still time to make a perfect record.

JM: Yes, but then again, it's like what is perfect? The issue is just far too relative.

*Javiera actually said the word "chingón" which in my head I thought was the coolest thing.

Vive Latino 2012: Day Two

by Claire Frisbie

Saturday was the day to attend Vive Latino 2012—some of the most buzzed about acts of the past year were performing, Café Tacvba was headlining, tickets were sold out, and the sun was shining. We had our day mapped out to the minute.

Columpio Asesino were already on the main stage, and I regret to report they were a bit underwhelming, but to no fault of their own, really. Their set was solid, but their music is too dark for blinding sunlight, methinks. The rather lethargic crowd did rise to the occasion, however, when they played “Toro,” cheering raucously when guitarist Cristina shouted—riffing on the song’s lyrics—, “Para que ir a Berlin si podemos estar aqui con ustedes en el Vive Latino?” (“Why go to Berlin if we can be here with you at Vive Latino?”). Seriously.

Next we dashed over to the Carpa Intolerante for Perrosky, who were the revelation of the day for me. It’s incredible the layers of garage rock, blues, and rockabilly the brothers Gomez are able to generate between just the two (2!) of them—it was as if Elvis had been somehow reincarnated in these two skinny Chilean dudes. Raw and refreshingly devoid of synthesizers and other gadgets, Perrosky rocked my world with a drum set, guitar, harmonica, and maraca.

Keeping things retro, we returned to Escenario Indio Verde for Vive veterans and música surf faves Lost Acapulco. The crowd had at least doubled if not tripled in size, and everyone was bopping, moshing, and doing the twist to hits like “Olvidemos El Romance” and “Frenesick.” I genuinely appreciate their whole shtick: the luchador masks, vintage visuals of shimmying vedettes, and misogynistic-but-we’ll-let-it-slide-this-time rapport between songs, but it kind of got redundant. We were just about ready to move on when the band started in on a cover of Los Saicos’ “Demolición,” which was easily the highlight of their set for me, even if no one else seemed to know the song.

Photo by Marlon Bishop

Then it was Astro time. We power walked over to the palm tree-flanked Carpa DanUp aka la Carpa del Yogurt aka la Carpa Tropical. I couldn’t have imagined a better setting to see Astro for the first time. The four guys burst onto the stage making monkey noises and launched into “Mono Tropical,” looking like hipster Trader Joe’s employees/Miami Vice extras in loud patterned shirts, skinny jeans, and sunglasses. There were some sound issues, but their energy was totally infectious, and man, what a show! Singer Andrés’s voice is absolutely incredible (and really is that high!), and keyboard player Nicolás had the lanky dude hip shake down. To the delight of the audience, they proclaimed DF their favorite place to play, and added, “En Chile nos quieren, pero acá mucho más!” (“In Chile they love us, but here [they love us] much more!”) And how. Astro was one of the bands I was most pumped to see at Vive, but part of me had been worried that their music might not translate to the outdoor stage. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Can someone please book a Panda Bear/Tanlines/Astro U.S. tour ASAP? Thanks.

Next up was one of my main motivations for coming to Vive this year: Juan Cirerol. Chicali’s bad boy troubadour has me completely enthralled, but I can conclude with absolute objectivity that he kicked some serious ass. I mean, he was trending on Twitter during the show and, if that doesn’t justify one’s badassness, I don’t know what does. Cirerol is a beast on the guitar, his singing style is so raw and earnest. He powered through “El Perro” and “La Banqueta,” and it was hard to believe that all this ruckus was coming from just one man. His stage presence is phenomenal, doused with booze and burps, his signature scrunched brow, the occasional air-split (that would be a jump and attempted split in the air—yep, he did that!), and norteño swagger for days. The overflowing Carpa Intolerante yelped and sang along with genuine fervor and joined in for a massive sing-along to “Se Vale Soñar” (extra cheers when he wailed “todos borrachos y locos”) and “La Chola,” which closed out his set. Todo más que fine, Juanito.

Cirerol’s set left me craving a stiff drink, so we breezed past the main stage (Camilo Lara aka Instituto Mexicano del Sonido in a kilt and colorful man-tights mashing up “Alocatel” and “Hey Mickey” with the guys from Calexico as his backup band), to re-fuel with sandwiches and dranks. Then it was back to the yogurt tent.

Carla Morrison. Oh my GAWD, Carla Morrison. It was truly an impressive thing to see the thousands and thousands of fans who came to see her at Vive: teenage girls with tears streaming down their faces, families with young children, embracing couples. By the time she cooed “tu me enchinas la piel” my entire body had been covered in goosebumps for, like, ever. It was refreshing to see her with a full band—her usually sparse accompaniment translates beautifully to more complex instrumentation. In the days leading up to Vive, she’d reached out to fans via social media to bring handkerchiefs to her show, and perhaps the most powerful moment of her set came when everyone waved them in the air and danced along to her latest single, “Hasta La Piel.” Next year, to the main stage!

Then there was an audience switch-up: out with the angsty teenagers, in with the fashiony hipsters. The screen to the right of the stage glowed “MENA” and chants of “Javiera, Javiera” began. I wasn’t sure what to expect given the conflicting Festival Nrmal and SXSW reviews on this blog, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I should also let it be known that I am not a diehard Javiera Mena fan (gasp!), and while I thought she sounded better than on her albums, my friends actually thought otherwise. Javiera: so polarizing! As in the case of Carla, the support of a full band (Jose and Rai from Dapuntobeat, plus a female keytarist/backup singer) worked to her benefit. Real drums added a lot to tracks like “Primera Estrella” and “Hasta La Verdad,” and the keytarist helped pick up some slack on Javiera’s sometimes weak vocals. What do you think?:

Meanwhile, la Carpa Intolerante was channeling Colombia as Monareta powered an electro-cumbia dance party. I’d like to point out that there was a dude on stage who played the cowbell with sincere concentration for the duration of their set. I can respect that. We joined the dancers and cheered in agreement as frontman Andrés shouted “Que viva la Carpa Intolerante!” Amen!

Then it was Tacvba time. I think the official headcount for Saturday was 70,000, and pretty much everyone who wasn’t moshing to Hocico over at Indio Blanco was figuring out the best spot to see Mexico’s most important band from. As we all waited for them to come on stage, anticipation growing, spotlights shot straight up from the center of the stadium, and out came a stage from behind the soundboard, Tacvbos on top.

Photo by Natalie Espinosa

As Ruben, Meme, Quique, and Joselo rose from the crowds, chants of “papa-ra-papa eo eo,” queued them up for their first song. They'd been on hiatus for the past few years, and they really brought out all the hits at this show. There was no waiting around through mediocre Sino tracks for your favorites tonight. After “El Baile y el Salón” came “Eres,” followed by a reggae/dub version of “Como te extraño.” The sound was horrible, but we didn’t care! Then came one of the coolest moments of the night. Instead of singing hits by Maldita Vecindad, Aterciopelados, and Caifanes in their standard “Popurock” medley, Café Tacvba proceeded to cover Nortec Collective, Hello Seahorse!, IMS, Porter, Carla Morrison, Quiero Club, Plastilina Mosh, Kinky, Dapuntobeat, Enjambre, and Zoé. I don’t know what was more moving: the fact that these giants of Mexican music were paying tribute to the next generation that they helped establish, or the fact that everyone in the audience seemed to know the words to the songs by these comparably smaller artists.

Post-popurock, the band ran (and Rubén, still on his cane, hobbled) through the audience to the stage. Unfortunately I can’t really tell you how the rest of their performance was because, with almost 70K people singing along at the top of their lungs, I could barely hear a thing actually coming from the stage, and honestly I didn’t mind. My inner repressed sociologist couldn’t help but stop and think how bizarre and cultish this all was, and wonder why we found it so enjoyable. But I quickly snapped out of it and joined all my new friends in screaming the lyrics to “Las Flores.” Better than therapy, I’m telling you!

Photo by Natalie Espinosa

Photo by Natalie Espinosa

You can peep the full setlist here, but it is worth noting that despite his injury, Rubén pulled through and joined the rest of the guys in the “Dejate Caer” dance (easily one of their best songs live). Oh, and they did perform one new song, “Charro Negro,” which honestly sounded pretty dull to me.

After wishing us, our parents, our uncles, grandparents, friends, etc. peace and water (seriously!), Café Tacvba bid us adieu with “El Puñal y el Corazón.” “Ya no puedo más…..” Oh what a day!

CF Point/Counterpoint: Javiera Mena live (SXSW Entry #5)

With respect to my colleague, Enrique Coyotzi, and his excellent Festival Nrmal coverage, how the hell is Javiera Mena’s live show “underwhelming”?!

To be fair, comparing a large outdoor festival in Mexico to an intimate bar in downtown Austin isn’t exactly like comparing apples to apples. And the NRMAL crowd’s apparent lack of background info on Mena’s music would certainly explain any disconnect affecting the performance on a whole. But last night? Let’s just say it’s going to take a couple of days to wash all the sweat out of my clothes.

Hanging out anonymous amongst the crowd prior to show time, it was unclear whether Mena was nervous or apprehensive prior to her first official U.S. show. As her soundcheck unfolded, Mena would look out into the small mass of festivalgoers as if she were about to BASE jump into the Amazon. The hypnotic synth line from “Perlas” marched as the lights and sound came into form and then…Mena Time.

After feeling out the crowd for the first few numbers (though “Primera Estrella” is admittedly an odd opener), it was “Hasta la Verdad” that made people take notice. Lest the newcomers think of her as some icy disco queen, she instantly upped the electro with “El Amanecer” and “Luz de Piedra de Luna.” By this point, the crowd was entirely at her command, clapping and jumping when told. Even the pedestrians from the connecting showcases began to filter in, seeing how there appeared to be a small party on hand.

By this point, there were well over 100 people in this tiny hall, and Mena went for the kill, shedding her jacket and keyboard and serenading the audience through “Sufrir.” I mean, really, if you thought Bérénice Bejo was great at playing pantomime in The Artist, she doesn’t have SHIT compared to Javiera Mena, at least for this one night. She then closed out the set with a fiery rendition of “Al Siguiente Nivel,” high-fiving everyone in sight like a much hotter (and, let’s face it, probably funnier), Jay Leno. It was a resilient, confident, and downright amazing debut.

I know there may be some in our readership who take everything Club Fonograma writes about Javiera Mena with a huge grain of salt. Sure, parts of what we do can come off like a personal PR service, but I’m not bullshitting when I say this was one of the greatest live performances I’ve seen in all my years at SXSW. That doesn’t mean everything she does is amazing, and maybe the NRMAL crowd didn’t get the same sort of energy as the one at Maggie Mae’s, but there’s something about genius that’s impossible to contain once it gains momentum, and yesterday, genius and momentum came dressed in a black and white polka dotted skirt. Of course, the moral of the story is: ALWAYS LISTEN TO #PINCHEANDREW.

El Guincho feat. Javiera Mena - "Novias"

During the weekend, our inbox flooded with emails from readers asking about an out-of-nowhere collaboration between house favorites El Guincho and Javiera Mena. Apparently the track received a quiet run on Mexican FM airplay last week. The pairing of these pop virtuosos shouted historic (both artists have had #1 albums with us) and, although we were hoping for a new track made from scratch (to prevent all aural and sentimental attachment), this is still material worthy of some excitement. This collaboration comes just in time for Mena's planned U.S. tour and El Guincho's current visit across Latin America. Well, to be fair, we could hardly call this a collaboration because its tags should read more on the lines of, "the Javiera Mena Remix."

This new edit of Pop Negro’s catchy as hell “Novias” (premiered by Spain’s Esta Pasando!) is a bit misplaced: it's spotty in its production, conservative on every turn (for a rework), and perhaps even unnecessary. But it does push the right buttons when expanding its percussion lines into an interestingly dense, boy meets girl narrative. The jumpy, almost uncomfortable vocals by Mena make this version seem more like a b-side out of Piratas de Sudamerica than something from the almost flamboyant Pop Negro. Yes, this is forgettable and middling at best, considering we're talking about indie royalty, but El Guincho doesn’t collaborate too often, and we’re glad he’s chosen ladies like Julieta Venegas (“Mientes”) and Javiera Mena for his intercontinental affairs.

Video: Javiera Mena - "Primera Estrella"

Did we get over it yet? No. Mena is still the pop reference that we play in its entirety at least once a week. It must be tough to pick a single when you have a full-caliber album filled with potential hits from the first track to the last one, so it’s best you go with the catchiest number. In this case, it's “Primera Estrella.” Earlier this year, an unofficial version of the video, starring Mena in an exploratory journey to the woods, was uploaded to Vimeo. In it, a couple of extraterrestrial silver-skinned, look-alike individuals searching for the protagonist employ tarot cards to get rid of her buddies, expose her hidden identity, and get her back home with them in an aesthetically inspired Blair Witch Project meets Equinox kind of scenario. The sci-fi influenced clip was premiered in April at Madrid’s Planetario, an ideal venue for the song’s astral nature.

After a long wait of almost four months, director Julia Bande unleashes the definitive version of “Primera Estrella,” a clip that finds the Chilean royal in her most diva-esque performance yet. The video doesn’t get too complicated; it mostly features medium shots of Javiera singing in front of a window that illuminates a white room with a very simple visual composition (some marble animal sculptures to the sides and long stairs in the background), while the popstress shows her best dance moves, along with some wardrobe changes and different hairstyles. Spectral images of two guys with instruments occasionally show up beside her. A few simple visual effects are also utilized, like the division of the screen as a mirror or a delay that multiplies the singer’s body like an echo. We get wonderful extreme close ups of Javiera’s gorgeous eyes frequently, and there’s an unforgettable shot in which she passes an elegantly gloved hand in front of her face, while the song reaches that airy, wind-blowing sound effect. This is a classic Javiera Mena moment, an overwhelming frame of a visionary’s sight.

Varias Artistas - Se Puede

Se Puede, Varias Artistas
Popart, Argentina
Rating: 76
by Andrew Casillas

In the interests of complete transparency, I must disclose that I am a huge believer in the theory that women should sing every song. It’s not very hard to rationalize (I mean, even I can see why this isn’t a good idea), but most pop songs affect emotions which women typically approach idiosyncratically, differing from case-to-case. Topics like heartbreak, confusion, frustration, boredom, infatuation, jealousy, etc. which are almost rote in the pop songwriting landscape (with good cause, obviously) can sound reinvigorated by even the most fey female pop singer in a way that a similarly dainty lad could arguably not compete with. Of course, these are solely my opinions and my opinions alone. In fact, I haven’t really found many other subscribers to this “theory,” but it appears that I have an ally in Lucas Martí. Four years ago, the prolific Argentinean singer-songwriter formed Varias Artistas, an ambitious project showcasing some of the finest and most buzzworthy female singers in the Latin pop landscape.

Varias Artistas second collection, Se Puede, continues the momentum Martí established with the first album, Papá (Popart, 2007). However, where the first record was seemingly focused on influencing a non-starter of a gender politics debate with its song collaborations and subject matter, Se Puede is a far more celebratory affair, reveling in the sheer talent at its disposal. Indeed, the intonation from track-to-track shifts like the tide off of a coastal wave. Sometimes the rhythms can be quite simple and placated, such as on Noelia Mourier’s effective title track, before quickly lifting its shirtsleeves for gritty, more confident numbers like Emme’s “El Día del Zarpado.” The mix as a whole runs the heady gamut from precociously coy to sexually charged, and at no point does it ever feel disarmingly jarring.

Mood is only part of the collection’s appeal, however. Luckily, there are more than enough real songs on here to keep this from being a mere museum piece. First and foremost are the twin highlights from the two most high-profile artists on the disc. Julieta Venegas and Javiera Mena deliver songs from seemingly opposite ends of the universe. The former’s contribution, “Actues Como Hombre” is full of the imaginative wit and deft cadence that are a hallmark of her best songs, while the latter submits “Ya No Quieras Comprenderio Todo” a bubbly yet almost sensuous piece of slick electro-pop (emphasis on “pop”). Following in their footsteps are infectiously interesting tracks like Daniela Herrero’s “Convoy” (who doesn’t love songs that have banjos that sound like trains?), Paula Meijide’s brisk, charming “Tu Momento,” or Naila Borensztein’s “Carne Humana” which is an OK song in itself except for the parts that sound like the most METAL SHIT EVER.

Really, the only thing that holds Se Puede back from greatness is the lack of consistency in song quality throughout. There are certainly enough highs on the record to make this a worthwhile addition to your collection, but you’ll be pressed to remember a few of these songs after repeated listens. Whether this is due to lackluster production (“No No No”), song selection (“Que Fuerte”), or, most unfortunately, singing (“Cursos de Corrupcion”), the wasted opportunities drag down the affair a bit. In the long run, though, these are minor matters. Martí has seen this Varias Artistas project develop into something quite promising, and into something that smart and keen fans of outside-the-box pop music will hopefully have to look forward to for years to come. And hell, he may someday even prove my theory.

Video: Javiera Mena - "Ya No Quieras Comprenderlo Todo"

NPR’s AltLatino recently unveiled Julieta Venegas’ “Actues Como Un Hombre”, her contribution to the second volume of Varias Artistas (the infamous all-women project by Argentinean pop visionary Lucas Marti). Now it’s time to listen to the other intercontinental star on the album, our beloved Javiera Mena (who also appeared on two pieces of the first album). Under the chromatic scope of Ezequiel F. Munoz and featuring animations by Marti himself, we’re presented with a cute clip of Javiera Mena as an astronaut. The frame never really shoots her into space, but she would be a great tour guide to your local planetary museum (indie stars are amazing cosmos teachers, remember El Guincho in "Bombay"?) Se Puede can be streamed on its entirety via Soy Rock.

Me Hace Ruido Presenta: Javiera Mena

Despite many attempts by fans, fellow publications and other musicians, the Vive Latino selection criminally snubbed Javiera Mena from its lineup. They’re missing out, big time. Other festivals (Lollapalooza, Primavera Sound) have embraced the new pop chanteuse, who should be able to extract more juice from the masterful Mena. She has however, decided to drop the casio-programming equipment to explore softer tones in Me Hace Ruido’s eye-striking acoustic session. There are probably dozens of video projects emulating La Blogotheque’s sessions in Mexico alone, but no one has accomplished more gorgeousness than Me Hace Ruido. Although not their intention, the MHR sessions have made the Blogotheque Mexican visit into a random event. They are ending the first season of glossy videos with Javiera Mena playing “Inhibe” in the cold forest of Jilotzingo, easily their finest clip yet.

Watch the full session (+ great pics) at MHR.