By José Gandue @Gandour
This decade convinced me that on this side of the world there is enough evidence to to boast of living in one of the most interesting musical regions on the planet. This isn't just empty rhetoric to appease our readers and make them feel that Zonagirante.com has always been convinced of this. Twenty years ago, we began this journey, and at the very beginning, what got us into the business of talking about Latin American bands and artists was simply talking about them. It was about contributing to making our territory, our great homeland, a cutting-edge space, where we had everything to showcase the best songs and productions on the planet, But where we first had to let go of the fears and prejudices we had carried for countless years. When we started back then, we had interesting stories concentrated in very specific points of the continent, But in the rest of the areas there were good seeds but not too many things to boast about. Today, after all this time, we can say that here, in almost all of our countries, there are many more music scenes rich in talent, with a clearer vision of the future and with many examples to show anywhere on the planet. And you know what? We believe that Zonagirante.com has contributed in its own way to making this happen.
For several days now I've been thinking about this article, about the approach I should take. The idea behind our website has always been to primarily engage with the more independent sectors of the music market. And although I don't deny my devotion to some projects that have had the good fortune (or misfortune, they know best) to affiliate with large multinationals, I want to (and I emphasize this personally) present a list of eight albums from small or directly self-managed labels, As a listener, a fan of the subject, and a specialized journalist, I want to recommend these recordings when reflecting on what I experienced between 2010 and 2019 in this hemisphere. In these recordings, I find the right spirit to talk about the last ten years., a series of days that were inspiring, daring, dangerous and, above all, exciting. I have organized them in order of publication, from oldest to most recent, and in some cases I will take some segments from the texts that served to review them, at the time of their premiere, on our page:
Field – Field (2012)
Juan Campodónico, Uruguayan musician and DJ, best known for his work at Bajo Fondo Tango Club or as a producer of various outstanding works such as No te Va Gustar, Cuarteto de Nos, La Vela Puerca and others, starts his solo career with a brilliant album, made with all the experimental spirit we expect from a genius. This album, simply called Field, It is tremendously eclectic. It contains tango, cumbia, pop, folk, funk, and even rock. It moves through diverse energies, ranging from repose to unrestrained dancing, but the final result has a coherence that compels, if the listener is willing, listening from beginning to end in the order presented in the compilation. Another thing: despite the variety in its sonic interplay, It is undoubtedly a product from the Río de la Plata region., at its best.
Silver Revolver – Silver Revolver (2014)
Mauricio Colmenares, the main person in charge of this Colombian group, is a bold composer, one of the best in his country. He perfectly understands the meaning of a well-rounded song and, moreover, he puts his heart and soul into each of his works (and it shows). The sound of this band has a strong nostalgic feel, without ever sounding weak or corny. Colmenares also knows, to give each song its own personality, with small vocal turns, where she rasps or protects her voice, where, depending on the mood of the melody, it skillfully guides the listener to feel in a very particular way at each moment. The highest point of this production is Crows on a rope, A unique kind of blues rock, with finely distorted guitars that fill every corner of the song and imbue the listener with an inexplicable, inspiring sadness, preventing any possibility of despair in bleak moments. A great album.
rule – Following (2015)
Norma is a vital part of the generation of bands that have thrived in the last twenty years in one of the most rockin' cities on the continent: La Plata, Argentina. They certainly started strong, surprising everyone with two impressive plaques and then disappearing off the map, leaving their fans hanging. A few years later, in 2015, Norma, This cursed quartet took too long to release new material, He returned as if nothing had happened to shut us up and made us listen again to his very short songs, treasures of a few seconds that knew how to save the fury of rock. 9 songs, twenty-five minutes, total climax in a sweeping block of tunes that mostly don't reach three minutes, reinventing punk in their own way and restoring its dignity as it deserves, without teenage nonsense and instead adding the audacity of the times to their advantage.
Le Butcherettes – A Raw Youth (2015)
We love Teri Gender Bender, an artist born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and a resident of North America for quite some time now, where she develops her musical career, which we dare to call provocative, full of volatile sensations to stir rebellious hearts. Her album A Raw Youth, produced by Omar Rodríguez López (The Mars Volta, Bosnian Rainbows), we defined it at the time as a necessary revival of seventies sounds, adapted to modern times, Added to this is a well-cultivated punk spirit that feels more in the exasperation of the vocals than in the instrumental intentions. An experimental album, whose construction didn't submit to any market rules and yet still manages to satisfyingly captivate the listener with its electricity., because their tunes have no cracks anywhere. Rage at its finest.
Perrosky – Dog Sky (2016)
Brothers Alejandro and Alvaro Gómez have always been on the analog side of life, working in their own studio, which also houses their record label, Algo Records. Their duo is called Perrosky, and in 2016 they released an unforgettable album. The twelve songs on this production evoke a past, memories, and afternoons spent listening to countless records., landscapes that remained in memory, conversations with locals and strangers around the planet. This compilation has moments that smell of the Mississippi River, but also of the pogo at the best punk stages in Santiago. It has elegant postcards of the Andes and is steeped in the intelligence of old-school rock and roll. But if you listen closely, you can sense that this is an authentic band, one that, in that moment, found its soul bound to its land and tells believable, overwhelming stories—tales capable of making you laugh one moment and then bringing your most sincere tears of emotion the next. A beautiful sonic work.
He killed a motorcycle policeman – The O'Konor Synthesis (2017)
In this selection we will surely agree with many friends from the specialized press in Latin America, in describing this album as one of the best albums of this decade. It's a sensitive album, where a permanent state of intimate nostalgia is palpable., Full of solid lyrics and exciting soundscapes. Santiago Motorizado's voice is on the verge of breaking every time he hits a higher note., But it touches the limit and doesn't break; rather, it traps and shelters us. with that touch of sadness that seduces in an honest, intimate, beautiful way. Songs like The Treasury y The eternal night These are anthems sung by their fans throughout the hemisphere. Do you want to tell anyone about music that truly deserves the "independent" label, for its rebellious spirit and intelligent approach? Here it is. Their success and presence in every Spanish-speaking country and beyond are well-deserved. Oh, and one more important detail: They come from La Plata, a city that, we insist, has deserved to be recognized as the quintessential Latin rock city for many years.
Tsh Sudaca – Equilateral (2017)
We said it at the time: This album is irrefutable proof of the undeniable growth of Colombian hip hop. From this type of work, the best representatives of this genre have managed to break free from that clumsy desire to present themselves as street gang soundtracks and have shrewdly entered into the development of good lyrics, accompanied by brilliant sonic efforts. With Equilateral, South American Tsh It stands out considerably in the quality of its rhymes and the fine instrumental performance that surrounds it. It's 38 minutes of intellectual intensity and musical refinement, featuring outstanding jazz references and evolved arguments within the genre, without resorting to tired and dangerous clichés. A splendid work with a refined result.
Blond – Fish (2018)
We'll say it again, as we stated when we first listened to this entire album: Fran Straube, the protagonist of this project, is (and must be) the perfect candidate to be the musical icon of this era of modern Latin American music. We don't think we're exaggerating when we say that this Chilean artist has more than enough artistic merit to be recognized as one of the great treasures of independent music in our continent. Her work is both advanced and undoubtedly falls into the pop category., insofar as it has every chance of reaching the ears of the majority and captivating them. If we are forced to define this album with concrete words, we must say that Fish It is, at its finest, a beautiful, elegant, revolutionary album. It is pure ecstasy for our ears. It is an album that, even if we listen to it a thousand times in a row, continues to thrill, surprise, and move us. In short, it is undeniably a masterpiece.