By José Gandue @Gandour Los Makana Archive Photos
And yes, we're going to confess: We have said on several occasions that rock is dead. And yes, after a while, many come out to deny it. They scold us, challenge us, and confront us for our assertion, and they bombard us again with guitar riffs, shouts of high alcohol content, libertarian nostalgia, and dreams of adventure. It's the same old discourse, which at times is very well delivered by some and clumsily argued by others. But confidence in the genre returns when a song stands out, a single song, that restores our faith in the genre, that makes us return to celebrate rock and roll itself (or, as others call it more locally, "rock and roll"). In this case, the tune that brings us back to the fold lasts nine minutes and seventeen seconds (a whole bible, for God's sake!), called Southern Wind, made by the Chilean band The Makana. This recording, which closes the newly released album It's raining rock and roll, It takes us back to the road, to feeling the wind on our faces again, And it helps us to understand again what they call "attitude," that word we always use to support the argument for the survival of a musical history that has already completed seventy years in the world. It's raining rock and roll It's an eleven-track album (ten of them half as short as the anthem we referred to) that are used for dancing, getting drunk, escaping sadness, and celebrating life. It's a fun compilation and at the same time an unequivocal sign of the maturity of a group that has been sailing on the road for a long time. To mark the release of this production, we contacted Jimi, the band's vocalist and guitarist, to talk about our existential doubts and our desire to celebrate:
What does Rock and roll mean to Los Makana?
It's everything to us, a lifestyle. A wonderful way to see the world and connect with the world of music.
In these uncertain times, when many are wondering if rock is still alive, what would you tell them?
Rock and roll is not dead and never will be. There are thousands of artists influenced by rock, and there will always be new waves of bands looking to the past, searching for the roots of rock and blues. We've been kicking rock and roll for fifteen years now.
How is what you do different from what other bands in the genre do?
Our "Chileanness." We infuse everything we create with Chilean roots, whether lyrically, melodically, or rhythmically. In this way, we create a groundbreaking musical combination by blending sounds that originated in places like Mississippi or Nashville with our own unique character.
How would you describe your latest album?
The album title says it all. It's a rock 'n' roll onslaught born from a selection of over 150 songs composed by our vocalist, Jimi, over the course of a year. Lyrically, it's an album that explores themes of protest, nostalgia, celebration, and apocalypse.
150 tracks? Wow, were they releasing songs like hotcakes?
That's the idea. I'm still writing in these books. (He sends us a photo with a summary of his texts), I now have over 200 songs to record. The idea is to release one per month on digital platforms.
What if you end up recording them all?
We hope to record as many songs as possible professionally, and we'll at least have the rest in digital format. demo So they'll be preserved for posterity. Who knows, maybe in 70 years someone will discover them and record them with their rock and roll band.