By José Gandue
Photo: @matiphotox
I admit it: I have overused the word "avant-garde" to describe the work of Chilean artist Fran Straube, especially when describing her project. Blond. I'm sorry. The thing is, in a space where we have potentially impressive talents and, at the same time, risk-averse spirits in their pursuit of glory, Straube's creative attitude goes far beyond the rules established by commercial constraints. Even so, in her own way, she has managed to captivate an ever-growing audience in Latin America. She, as we can see from her figures on digital platforms, has managed to break down audience barriers on the continent without the support of a multinational corporation and without resorting to obvious musical contrivances that, according to some, would facilitate her reaching the masses. His work is impeccable and undoubtedly courageous, and sets his own standard. Perhaps it doesn't get the airplay it deserves (we already know the hypocritical and dismissive behavior of most radio stations on this side of the world), but, thankfully thanks to Spotify, iTunes and other similar companies, we have seen that artists like Straube, by dint of presenting exciting songs constructed in a peculiar way, have built a wide audience that is ignored and vilified by the mainstream media.
Rubio presents his album Fish, A compilation of all the EPs he has released over the past few months. The novelty is that, in its arrangement, The artist has found an exquisitely coherent way to propose her sound journey and better understand her work. For those who haven't encountered his work before and haven't heard this album broken into pieces simply named R, U, B, I, O, this is an opportunity to embark on a captivating auditory journey over forty-seven minutes, where, amidst the intense vocal reverberations and the diverse acoustic and electronic textures built in pursuit of finding a new way of making pop, the listener will feel that everything flows like water for the soul., a jungle of sounds tied together to move you from beginning to end.
Fish, Without a doubt, it is a masterpiece that deserves our full attention. Its publication in full format represents the opportunity to experience Fran Straube's reinvention of the new Latin sound, one created without fear, exploring the alteration of the senses., perceiving that poison that we all need to feel alive.
