By Nico Rojo @NicoRojoOficial
Editor's note: Some of our Chilean musician friends alerted us to his talent. His name is Nico Rojo, And after various projects in North America and Europe, he returns to his country to present the first single from his solo album Movimiento Americano. He premieres his song "Huyendo de la religión" on Zonagirante.com, And while he's at it, he takes the opportunity to tell us what his favorite songs in the history of Latin American music are.
Fleeing from Religion – Nico Rojo (Chile). Skipping protocol and good manners, I'll start by presenting the first single from my solo album, American Movement. Fleeing from religion It's a song I both love to listen to and play (those two things don't always happen in a song!). It's one of those songs that I find hard to imagine another musician playing or composing. Not because I consider it a masterpiece, but because it develops a certain language and sound that I feel is my own. I often compose songs that I feel like giving away because they don't seem like my own, but with this song I feel in tune. I feel it as my own, even though it speaks of social realities that exceed my personal experience. As the first single from my album, I love it like you love your firstborn, even if it's a bit plain or naughty—that is, unconditionally, beyond all criticism (although I'd love for many people to like it!). I started composing it while living in Toronto's Latin Quarter and finished it upon returning to Santiago, Chile, a city that was becoming increasingly contradictory, unequal, conservative, and rebellious. Perhaps as a product of that journey, that migration, Fleeing from Religion It gained a certain uniqueness and identity. I hope it evokes something new and different in you.
Move the industries – The Prisoners (Chile). González's keen insight into the social and economic transformation that Chile experienced under the neoliberal dictatorship in the eighties seems extraordinary to me, and in this song he achieves a collector's item. Adding Kraftwerk's deep sonic darkness to the danceable new wave, González goes beyond the industrialization and robotization discussed by the Germans, addressing another facet of the new capitalism that is equally, if not more, devastating: the deindustrialization that Chile was experiencing alongside the political persecution of the working class. Nevertheless, his message moves me because, at its core, it is both hopeful and subversive. “The workers didn’t leave, they hid, they’re still roaming the city today.”.
Fall – Bullying (Puerto Rico). From the intro, this song captivates me with its strange, underwater riff. It's elegance I hear in every arrangement and harmony of Buscabulla. and in Fall Added to this is the Latin groove that always makes the difference. Heard Fall And I enjoy every timbre of the instruments, the rhythms of the voices, and inevitably I wonder about the production process that Buscabulla develops. They're just a duo! This band and this song are a display of impeccable taste. A marvel. I truly think it's a step beyond Latin pop-rock.
Flight–City Center (4:00 AM) – X Alfonso (Cuba). This song captivated me with its mantra-like riff and the accomplished simplicity of a virtuoso composer like X Alfonso, that the less he says, the more he expresses. Like probably many South Americans, I only recently discovered the work of X Alfonso thanks to the spectacular soundtrack he composed for Havana Blues. Hoping to encounter a blues musician or an exponent of Hendrixian psychedelia, I found in their albums a constant sonic experimentation and skill in the use of samplers, drum machines and synthesizers. During a time living in Europe, the album Civilización was one of the records that accompanied me on long walks and awakened in me a strong reconnection with Latin American music. Even though it was possibly composed in Havana, Flight-City Center It's a perfect song for long walks through cloudy European or Southern Cone cities.
Cordillera – Alex Anwandter (Chile). When Anwandter performed Cordillera alongside José Seves of Inti-Illimani at the launch of his latest album, Friend, It became clear to me that this was a new masterpiece of Chilean pop. Fortunately, the impressive production of the music video also did justice to the quality of this lucid and brilliant composition. I was deeply moved when I saw the video. Songs like this demonstrate that the superficiality associated with pop is artificial., Pop, like rock, can be conservative or lighthearted, but also profoundly critical and reflective. Anwandter achieves this in Cordillera, with a melody for posterity, to scrutinize the still burning ashes upon which a country with little memory is built.
You don't dare to take off – Charly García (Argentina). Charly's slow songs have always seemed like true gems to me. It's difficult to choose one among so many masterpieces, and even more so to select a song from Piano Bar, such a complete album. I'm moved by Charly's harmonic structures, his lyrics, and the perfection of each instrument's register, but this song is special. It doesn't show us the carefree, sarcastic rock star, but rather the fragile and sensitive composer, haunted by someone slipping through his fingers. Here I hear a heartfelt lament for another person (Fabiana Cantilo?) whom he refuses to lose and watch sink, like anyone else, into the tempting vices and mediocrity of the world. Simply, Charly in his deepest and most sensitive aspect.
The Mighty Death – Los Jaivas (Chili). My favorite song in the history of music. Yes, I admit it, deep down, way deep down, I'm a hippie in disguise. The perfect articulation between the monumental General Song Neruda's song, combined with the genius of Los Jaivas, gave us a song that could only be composed by demigods dressed in white in the heights of the majestic Machu Picchu. “High reef of the human dawn…”.
Atomic Caribbean – Velvety (Colombia). Aterciopelados is one of the few bands that, I believe, have achieved crossover success beyond a single song, but rather throughout their entire discography. When identity transforms into a permanent dialogue with different roots, sounds, and musical traditions, The possible combinations are infinite and the results are usually unique, as in Atomic Caribbean. This song strikes me as an intelligent cocktail of surrealism and psychedelic protest that has always invited me to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground and project my gaze as far as possible. Extravagant and streetwise environmentalism. This song is a good example of Aterciopelados' unique talent and boldness.
Kanishka – The Witches (Argentina). Argentina is clearly not limited to Rolling Stones-style rock and Ramones-style punk (which I also love!), and Bands like Los Brujos have shown that in the underground, everything is always happening. Kanishka, Beyond having the reputation of having been plagiarized by Nirvana (Very Ape), it functions for me as a highly seditious and agitational device. Its lyrics and riff are crazy, They are all we need to shake our heads and, incidentally, our withered neurons.
Not being here – Fiskales Ad-Hok (Chile). This song moves me just like it did when I was a teenager. In particular the album Swallow Fiskales' album is my favorite Chilean punk album, Even though at times it's more stoner than punk. I learned to play guitar watching the legendary Víbora, guitarist of Fiskales, and I was always impressed by the distinctive, fuzzy sound of his. The particularity of Not being here The fact is that in all its darkness it is truly a pop hit, which played for years on mainstream radio in Chile alongside songs by U2 and today continues to play and ignite the sullen hearts of steppe wolves. “And I stand here…and I feel so stupid among so many balls that keep bouncing around…”.
