By José Gandue @Gandour (Photo by Gabriela Manzo)
Forgive me, friends, for making you uncomfortable from the beginning of the article by asking, almost demanding, that you point out that It's time to listen to brave music, This is a moment for you to dedicate a good portion of your time to discovering new talent, to lay your hearts bare, to feel the pain at the very foundation of the system, to shake your stomach by demonstrating that there is life and risk. There is too much comfortable music in the world that transforms into ridiculous air pollution, repetitive without explanation. That is not good for the soul; it doesn't help us feel that everything we experience deserves change; it doesn't serve to demand a response that leaves a mark on every minute of our existence. My friend, music can make us stupid or it can give us small moments of glory. This isn't just about playing whatever's on the radio or whatever's on shuffle on your favorite digital platform. I'd like to ask your permission to talk about a rare, surprising album, larger than one initially imagines, And featuring a voice so different from the usual ones that it seems invented, seemingly made to confuse sailors with sirens in times of despair. Let's talk about Blackhead, by the Argentinian artist Julieta Laso.
From the first cut, a recording of barely one minute and seven seconds, called Proclamation, The first question arises: Why a production that, in a brief presentation description, It's expected to be something intimate, like audio for a select few, meant to barely fill a room and make you feel trapped in the familiarity of the proposal; suddenly it overwhelms you, it swallows you up., Does it hold you back in the growing excitement? This, if you want to label it, It's new tango, combined with folklore from the southern cone. It is a decades-long tradition, encompassing the 21st century, trying to convince new generations that what is heard also belongs to them, that the old stories can haunt their ears and speak in their own way about everything that happens to us in these times.
The instrumentation on this album is simple, direct, and passionate., But its power increases when Laso's voice ignites and takes over the room. It's the perfect storm, quoting devastating phrases that narrate the chaos we live in. Julieta opens her mouth and we take her words seriously, as if she were uttering them from a pulpit capable of summarizing the accounts., carrying enough drama to express the rage we need to devour in order to save ourselves and stay patching up our wounds after the editing. I insist, one must have contact with pain, feel it as one's own when it comes from the entrails of others, and Laso's discourse expresses it in a transparent, almost torturous way, beautiful in its splendor.
Listen to it all the way through; it has 12 songs and is just over thirty minutes long. I hope this album touches you deeply and moves you. I hope it gives you a necessary dose of intelligent and powerful melancholy to heal your indifference and escape the sonic mediocrity that surrounds us every day. I hope Julieta Laso touches your souls soon, as you all deserve.
