Royalty
let's talk
tue 3/25/2008
Los Angeles rapper Royalty has built an remarkable fanbase on MySpace with a grassroots hustle and unofficial remixes of hit songs like Rihanna's "Unfaithful" and Chris Brown's "With You." The self-proclaimed "King of MySpace" talks to us about his grind, why he posted his phone number on MySpace and getting sandwiched between Baby Bash and Pitbull.
Why Royalty?
I'm glad you asked this question because I love to answer this. People on the street always ask me this question as well. My biggest inspiration and idol in music would be the legendary Prince. I love everything about this dude – his style, his swag, the way people hate on him for being different. Yet they still love him. His presence just demands attention and respect. I've always wanted to walk in the same footsteps and could only hope my career to be like 10 percent of his. I couldn't take the name "Prince, Jr.", so I took the next closest thing, Royalty!
Are you Latino?
My father is Puerto Rican, he came from the island when he was 20 years old. He fell for this amazing white woman who nine months later would become my mom. Haha. So I'm mixed, Puerto Rican and white.
What makes you different from the thousands of "MySpace MCs" out there?
Other MCs try too hard to become accepted. A lot of people expect fans to just fall in love with them and praise them. That's not the way the game works. Instead of focusing all my time and effort in my local area, I've spent hours upon hours on MySpace, reaching out to fans from all over the world. So while these other artists sell 100 copies of their mix-tapes or albums to friends and fans in their neighborhood, I'm selling my records to people in different countries.
How do you plan on taking over the world?
As an artist, I just want to have one or two great years and have a worldwide hit record. Then I will branch off and pass the torch to the next in line. I don't want to be in the spotlight when I'm 30 or above. I'd rather be doing TV and movies at that age. Or sitting back being the CEO of a record company that gives people with real talent a chance. Because these days, major labels seem to overlook talent and sign artists with some bullsh** album sales or radio play. I'm in the industry to make great music and I want to help those who want to do the same.
What's up with all those remixes popping up on your MySpace?
Remixes have always played a huge role in my career. My first huge opportunity actually came from an unofficial remix of Rihanna's single Unfaithful. The song blew up on Myspace, receiving over 1,000 downloads per day. It soon crossed over from MySpace to radio, and over 30 radio stations across the U.S had the remix in full rotation. Def Jam was not to happy about that! Haha! I now have five mix-tapes full of remixes available for sale. I only make remixes to songs that I truly vibe with and feel it would sound better with a Royalty verse on it.
Is MySpace the only way for an independent artist to survive?
I don't think it is the only way for an indie artist to survive, but I do feel it is vital. I have booked over 200 shows and appearances through MySpace. I have sold over 10,000 albums through MySpace, I have a clothing line for sale on my page. MySpace has given me an opportunity that would have taken me at least five to 10 years to achieve. I have over 115,000 fans worldwide on the site. Over 10 million plays and six million profile views. MySpace is helping me become a household name.
You have 115,000 friends on MySpace? Are you using bots (computer programs that add friends)? Be honest.
Honestly, when I first started MySpace there were no bots. I was putting in about eight to 12 hours per day, going through the "browse" section just begging women to check out my music. Eventually people started to grow a bit curious about me when all these girls suddenly had me in their "Top 8" next to Baby Bash and Pitbull.
I've never used a bot, I wish they would have been around when I started. Not to spam people, though. But they do make it a lot less time consuming. With 115,000 friends, it's hard to reply to every message and comment, a lot of people get upset that I don't always respond. I just try to tell everyone that I do appreciate and love every time they reach out to me, it's just impossible to respond to everything. That's why I have my cell phone number on my MySpace page now. I'm in the studio so much or traveling – I can't always get on MySpace. But I love my fans enough to want to stay in contact with them. So I gave them access to reach me directly. Holla!
Visit Royalty on MySpace.
Chikita Violenta
let's talk
thu 3/20/2008
Mexican indie rockers Chikita Violenta just wrapped up a packed week at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas in support of their new album The Stars and Suns Sessions. Produced by Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene, Super Furry Animals and Los Campesinos), The Stars is like no other album by a Mexican rock band.
We chatted with Luis "RC" Arce (bass), Armando "Mums" David (keyboards), Eduardo “Pachulo” Pacheco (drums), Esteban “Cheech” Suárez (guitar) and Andés “Güero” Velasco (guitar and vocals) after they got back from The Live Music Capital of the World.
What's up? How was SXSW?
Honestly, SXSW was a pleasant surprise for us. We had never played outside of México, much less a festival. We were lucky enough to perform five gigs at some cool venues with international bands and some fellow Mexican bands.
We were curious to see what kind of reception our music would get at the shows and we ended up getting a really positive response. The gigs were packed and we heard some great compliments from fans and the music press. We're really happy with the whole "SXSW experience." We hope we can do it again. Playing outside of México more wouldn't hurt, either.
Does this mean your future fanbase lies outside of México?
Not necessarily, although it's exciting to know that people outside of México listen to you. We feel that music doesn't belong to one scene or one country. It should be made for the whole world. There's always people who reject your art, but in general, fans here at home have treated us well. We dig it when our music crosses borders. Ideally, we'd like to have fans at home and abroad. We hope we can do it.
You sing in English. Will that help?
Well, it'll definitely make it much easier, although we didn't decide to make music in English for that reason. We've been doing it for years and we're sticking to it. We've been getting more opportunities outside of México and we're sure that the whole language thing helps.
Either way, it doesn't guarantee anything. There are bands who only play instrumentals or sing in Spanish and they've been able to "make it."
What can you tell us about the indie scene in México? Where do you fit in?
Things are looking good, the scene is getting better and it continues to grow. We've been around for a while and we've noticed that there are a bunch of bands out now, compared to four years ago. The media is starting to pay attention. Radio is playing new indie music and there a lot of festivals, record labels, promoters and venues all over the country. Stuff that wasn't really happening a few years ago. It used to be that the only "known" rock bands were on major labels: [Café] Tacvba, Molotov, Fobia, etc.
So, of course we feel we're in the indie scene, we like being a part of it. We like the camaraderie between artists, we enjoy being one of the bands that is helping the scene flourish. Obviously, there's still a long way to go, the scene here is small and the infrastructure needs to grow. The quality of the bands gets better and better and fans expect more, so we think we're going down the right path.
Whose idea was it to work with producer Dave Newfeld? Aren't there any talented Mexican producers?
When we were recording demos of our last album, The Stars and Suns Sessions, we made a wishlist with the names of producers that worked on some of our favorite albums. Dave Newfeld was one of them, we loved his work with Broken Social Scene. We started to send emails to anyone and everyone, we figured we didn't have anything to lose. Much to our surprise, we received a few replies and one of them was from Dave.
There was chemistry between us from the very beginning – he liked the stuff he heard and we would exchange emails. We sent him demos and the rest is history. We know that there are great producers in México, we worked with one of them, Paco Huidobro of Fobia. There's plenty of talent but sometimes you don't have a lot of options when it comes to producers. Despite the cool sh*t being made, it's expensive to record in a nice studio with a top-notch producer here in México. We asked ourselves: "Is it really that expensive for all those indie bands who make quality recordings in the U.S.?" When we added it up, it ended up being cheaper to record in the U.S.
What do you think about the comparisons to Canadian rock collective Broken Social Scene?
We figured it would happen. Music always get labeled a certain way – "Oh, it sounds like this or that," or "You can hear the influence of X or Y." It's really common, and in our case, it was obvious it would happen not only because of the producer, but also because five members of Broken Social Scene guested on the album. So the comparisons to Broken Social Scene are inescapable, especially when a band is "new." Listeners try to pin your sound – and your "scene" – down right away. It's normal and we don't look at it as a bad thing.
It was a honor to work with the guys from Broken Social Scene, we formed a strong friendship and they welcomed us into their "family" with open arms. As time passes and your art progresses, listeners start to respect your identity, although some influences are always going to hang around. Hopefully we can keep putting out more albums and time will tell.
People aren't buying CDs anymore. How do you deal?
Chale, well like everyone knows by now, it's not easy to survive as musicians with the current state of the record industry. Album sales don't really figure into the income of a band. We're pretty "old school" and we still like buying albums instead of [illegally] downloading music. You don't want to bite the hand that feeds you. We think buying an album is worth it, even if it's a digital download. We hope CDs don't disappear but it seems like things are headed in that direction. So how do we survive? We play gigs as often as we can, we sell merch, we take side jobs and we pray! As long as we get to do what we love.
Visit Chikita Violenta on MySpace.
Camila
let's talk
mon 10/29/2007
Mexican pop trio Camila emerged in 2006 and scored an instant hit with their debut album, Todo Cambió. We chatted with Mario, Samo and Pablo as they prepare their highly-anticpated sophomore release.
How do you plan on following up the success of your first album, Todo Cambió?
Our second album will be a challenge, especially since our first album did so well. It's the first time we're creating music with the knowledge that people out there have certain expectations of us. It's also the first time that we've been writing music while during lots of touring...in the middle of lots of hard work.
Our fans will compare our second album to the first – there's no way of escaping criticism. If you repeat a formula, there will be someone who says, "They're doing the same thing, they've used up all of their creativity." If you do something completely different, there will be someone who says, "I used to like them, but they've changed too much." It's not easy to please everyone.
We think the secret is to forget about all of that and make music with the same passion and intensity that we did the first album. Taking time to make sure you have enough songs and waiting to record them until they're ready is essential. We don't want to put too much pressure on ourselves. We want to enjoy the process and have fun. We want to make music from the heart and let everything flow. We're confident in the magic we feel when we enter the studio and create music together; we're sure that we won't rest until we have an album that we can be proud of.
Has the dynamic of the group changed at all?
Our friendship has only gotten stronger. Trying to coexist in a group can be trying but in Camila we don't see ourselves as business partners, we consider ourselves brothers. We firmly believe in honesty and respect; the mutual admiration that we have for each other gives us a solid foundation to work with. We work in a very relaxed and harmonious environment.
Are there specific elements in your music that you can attribute your popularity to?
We don't think there's a particular formula to success. We feel fortunate because we're getting an opportunity to live our dream. A lot of things had to fall in place so this could happen to us; the three of us have our own history prior to meeting each other. We met each other at the right time because we had already paid dues on our own.
What each one of us brings to the project is only a piece of the puzzle, which includes our songs as well as the support of our label, management, the media and fans – the ones who have the last word. That's why we always say that it's not just three of us, there are a lot of people behind the scenes working hard to help our dreams come true.
How will you celebrate if "Todo Cambió" wins the Latin Grammy for "Song of the Year"?
Well, we'll have a huge party! (Laughter.) Actually, we're already celebrating since the nomination went not to the group itself, but one of the songs that was so momentous in our careers and lives. Being nominated alongside Maná and Juan Luis Guerra is special, but the best thing is that we'll get the chance to perform the song live during the awards ceremony.
What are the positives and negatives of being in Camila?
One of the negatives is that you have to sacrifice spending time with family and loved ones. You sacrifice precious hours of sleep. It's worth the sacrifice, because at the end of the night, after you've been on three flights with little sleep and bad food, you find yourself onstage with thousands of people singing your songs. It's the most rewarding thing that you can experience. It's so much better than receiving nominations and winning awards.
Does your spirituality keep you humble?
It has something to do with it. We're not trying to promote a certain religion, we're spiritual people and we know that success and fame are fleeting. We do this because we love music. We see fame as something that goes hand in hand with success. It's not something we're chasing, nor do we allow it to blind us. We're grateful for the lives we lead. We're also grateful for the fans who give us an opportunity to present our music in different places and connect with them when they hear our songs.
You have devoted fans who identify with your songs. What does that say about your fans?
It tells us that our fans have big hearts. Our fan base is broad, we see kids, teenagers and adults – men and women. It reinforces our idea that love is universal.
Is there a healthy competition going on between Camila and Reik? Are you guys cool with each other?
We've never seen Reik as our competition. They're our friends and we get along really well. We've had the chance to share the stage with them on many occasions in the U.S. and Central America. We really enjoy it, we support them completely and always wish them the best.
¿Qué es lo que Camila tendrá que hacer tras el éxito de Todo Cambió, para evitar una decepción con su siguiente disco?
El segundo disco siempre será un reto, especialmente cuando se tuvo un primer disco exitoso. Es la primera vez que haces música teniendo allá afuera un público que está a la expectativa de lo que vas a hacer. La primera vez en que la composición de canciones ocurre mientras te encuentras de gira, en medio de muchísimo trabajo.
La gente buscará comparar el segundo disco con el primero, y no hay forma de escapar a las críticas: Si repites la fórmula, habrá quien diga “ya se quedaron en lo mismo, se les acabó la creatividad” y si haces algo diferente habrá quien diga “me gustaban antes pero ya cambiaron” así que es muy complicado darle gusto a todos.
Creo que el secreto está en olvidarse de todo esto, y hacer tu música con la misma pasión y entrega que en el primer disco. Tomarte el tiempo para tener las canciones adecuadas, y no grabar hasta que éstas estén listas, todas y cada una de ellas. No nos dejaremos presionar, queremos disfrutar el proceso, divertirnos, hacer música desde el corazón y dejar que todo fluya. Confiamos en la magia que sentimos cuando subimos al estudio y hacemos música juntos, y estamos seguros que no descansaremos hasta tener en las manos un segundo disco del cuál nos sintamos orgullosos.
El éxito que han tenido, ¿ha “cambiado todo” dentro de la dinámica del grupo? ¿O su amistad se basa en una relación de trabajo?
Yo creo que la amistad se ha hecho cada vez más fuerte. La convivencia diaria entre los integrantes de un grupo puede llegar a ser complicada, pero en Camila no nos basamos en una relación de trabajo, nos consideramos como hermanos y creemos firmemente en la honestidad, respeto y admiración mutua que nos tenemos como base para una dinámica de trabajo donde se respira un ambiente relajado y lleno de buena vibra.
¿A qué atribuyen su éxito? ¿Qué factores fueron decisivos para estar donde están en este momento?
Creo que no hay una fórmula para lograr las cosas. Nos sentimos afortunados por que la vida nos esté dando esta oportunidad de vivir este sueño. Tuvieron que alinearse muchas cosas para que esto sucediera, los tres tuvimos que vivir toda una historia antes de conocernos. Nos conocimos en el momento indicado, donde ya cada quién había hecho cosas por separado dentro de la música. Lo que cada quién aporta al proyecto es básico, así como lo son las canciones, el apoyo de nuestra disquera Sony-BMG, de nuestro management Westwood, de los medios de comunicación, y del público que es finalmente quien tiene la última palabra. Por eso siempre decimos que Camila no somos tres, hay mucha gente detrás trabajando para que un sueño se convierta en una realidad.
Díganos una cosa buena y una mala de ser exitosos.
La mala podría ser que sacrificas el tiempo de estar con la familia y con tus seres queridos, así como las horas de sueño. Pero definitivamente el sacrificio vale la pena cuando al final de la noche, después de 3 aviones, horas sin dormir y malas comidas, te encuentras arriba de un escenario con miles de personas coreando tus canciones. Ese es el mejor regalo que esta carrera te puede dar, mucho más que las nominaciones y los premios.
¿Cómo celebrarán si el tema “Todo Cambió” gana el Grammy Latino de “Canción del Año”?
Pues haríamos una fiestota! (risas) En realidad ya estamos de fiesta por esta nominación pues nos encanta la idea de estar nominados en esta categoría (al lado de grandes figuras como Maná o Juan Luís Guerra), donde más que premiar al grupo se premia a la canción y ésta última ha sido un parte aguas en nuestra carrera y en nuestras vidas. Lo mejor de todo es que tendremos la oportunidad de interpretarla en vivo durante la ceremonia de
los Grammys.
Las letras de sus canciones revelan cierta espiritualidad. ¿Es esta espiritualidad lo que los ayuda a enfrentar el éxito de una manera humilde?
Creo que sí tiene que ver. Y no es que profesemos alguna religión, sin embargo somos gente de fe y sabemos que el éxito y la fama son pasajeros. Los tres somos músicos y hacemos esto porque amamos la música, vemos la fama como algo que va de la mano con el éxito, pero no es lo que estamos buscando y por lo tanto no nos deslumbra. Nos sentimos agradecidos con la vida y con la gente por darnos la oportunidad de llevar nuestra música a muchos lugares y provocar algo en la gente que escucha las canciones.
Si a su audiencia les encanta y se identifica con los temas que ustedes tocan en sus canciones, ¿qué dice esto de su audiencia?
Nos dice que es un público que se caracteriza por tener un gran corazón y una cierta sensibilidad. El público de Camila es bastante amplio pues en los conciertos vemos tanto niños como jóvenes y adultos, hombres y mujeres, y esto refuerza la idea de que el amor es universal.
¿Existirá una competencia sana y amistosa entre ustedes y Reik?, ¿Se llevan bien entre ustedes?
En ningún momento los hemos visto como competencia. Son nuestros amigos y nos llevamos muy bien. Hemos tenido la oportunidad de compartir el escenario en varias ocasiones durante la gira por Estados Unidos y Centroamérica. Disfrutamos mucho esto, los apoyamos y les deseamos siempre lo mejor.
Óptimo
let's talk
fri 8/24/2007
Óptimo is a New York City-based Dominican Bachata trio comprised of Romántico (Roberto Sánchez), Neit (Starling López), and EMJ (Emmanuel Jiménez). They recently released their debut album Óptimo FDL (Foe Da Ladies), a cooler take on the more traditional sound of Bachata. In other words, Óptimo is what some call crunkchata.
While the trio's looks may be "hustle and flow," these bachateros are as sweet as this romantic genre can be. Their current single, Conéctate, is a plea to their girlfriends to get online and… chat.
We chatted with lead singer Romántico and asked him:
Bachata urbana, crunkchata or just plain bachata?
We like to call it bachata clásica!
Reggaetón vs. bachata, which will win in the long run?
Bachata will win because it's music with a lot of feeling and you can also dance to it.
Do you guys spend a lot of time online waiting for your honeys to get on? Why not just call them on their cell?
I call her at night 'cause cell phone minutes are cheaper and it's almost free if you talk to her online. LOL.
Is Óptimo just foe da ladies? What about da bros?
We do this for the ladies on behalf of our brothers with mad respect. Donde hay mujeres hay hombres. But, as thay say: ladies first. LOL.
Dominican baseball players are pretty well known in America. Who's your favorite?
I like Sammy Sosa for representing the DR in a big way and because he dedicates time to the poor people in the Dominican Republic.
How did the Bee Gees cover happen? Are you guys big disco fans?
The song was presented by Lorenzo – an executive from Sony. I'd heard the song before y pensé que it's a good way of showing our fans that we are versatile and wanted to bring back the old days so all our fans can feel good with our record.
Who would be your biggest musical influence?
Phill Collins, Juan Luis Guerra y Ricardo Montaner.
How are you guys keeping it real against Aventura, Xtreme and Toby Love?
We love all of them, we think that our fans deserve more. United we can make wonders. Mad love to all the new groups. Lets keep giving our people the best of bachata. Mad respect.
Belanova
let's talk
fri 8/10/2007
Belanova, the multi-platinum electro-pop trio from Guadalajara, Mexico will soon be back with their third studio album, Fantasia Pop. And while it won't be out until September, their new single, Baila Mi Corazón, is already getting spins on Mexican and Latin American radio. Still, the group, comprised of Denisse Guerrero, Ricardo Arreola and Edgar Huerta, is mostly unknown in the United States.
mun2 interviewed singer Denisse via mobile phone last month, while she and the rest of the band were being driven to Mexico's City airport to catch a flight for their recent South American tour.
What's new in Fantasia Pop?
It's a record where we've done all the stuff we'd not been able to do in past recordings. We were able to put some loud guitars in there. There are some new songs where the guitars rule. A lot of distortion and more new wave influences. There's also a minimal, "organic" track where Fito Páez plays, as well. A lot of stuff – the essence of Belanova is still there, 'cause we're the same three individuals writing songs, but there are lot of new things in there.
This is the second time you've worked with Grammy-winning producer "Cachorro" López. What did you learn from him this time around?
We love working with as talented person as he is. He has a great musical vision. And he respects our sound. That's why we decided to work with him again, 'cause he respects what we do. Working with him is always a humbling experience, because you learn to listen to everyone else's ideas and he also listens to our ideas. There's also the chemistry and friendship we have with him, which is essential when writing music. It's such a personal experience, that you want to share this process with someone you have an open communication with. And we have that with Cachorro. He is the extra ingredient we need for things to work out well with us.
So, there were no fights in the studio? Come on, give us some dirt!
No, not at all (laughs). All the songs that end up on the record are the ones we are 100% happy with. We recorded about 27 songs for this new record, but we only stay with the ones we're totally satisfied with.
So what's up with all the heavy guitars – is it "hasta la vista, baby" for electronic sounds?
I don't think so. People are more open to experience what they have around them. We have a strong rock influence and I think that rock is the new pop for this generation. It's what you hear all the time, and as an artist you become a filter for what you're currently listening to. Belanova has always been a project that, in spite of doing electro-pop, has always used elements of rock. The three of us come from rock bands and in our live shows we always try to use guitars, we also use drums, bass, we are very organic band. I tend to think that people now just make music. The musical tags are dissolving and Belanova has always done that and we don't limit ourselves to one type of sound.
Happy pop music always gets a bad rap. How does Belanova defend itself against criticism that it's frivolous?
I'm very proud of what I do. Pop music is a genre that deserves more respect. There's a general lack of information in regards to the genre of pop music. Maybe because other bands have not given pop music the props it deserves. But there's also good pop music. Pop music is the direction you give to the music itself, where one takes it when writing a song. There's also as much bad indie and punk as there is good. People tend to equate pop with bad music and I think that's a mistake. It's up to us to demonstrate that there's well-made pop written by musicians and not just puppets who are told how to dance and sing.
Orishas
let's talk
wed 6/6/2007
Cuban hip hop trio Orishas was formed in 1997 and has released three albums, A Lo Cubano,Emigrante and El Kilo as well as several music videos. They've just released a 10-year retrospective called Antidiótico which features an appearance by Pitbull on "Quien Te Dijo."
We called Ruzzo who was chillin in Paris, France, to talk about music and politics.
One could say that you are musical ambassadors of Cuba, how do you think your success has helped the Cuban people and musicians?
Ruzzo: That is what we're hoping to do. To establish ourselves first, our work and there are still things that need to be done. And also look for that precise moment, during the work pauses we have, to inform ourselves of what is happening there, what new talent is there and see how we can help them. Right now we are working with one of the bands from down there, Oggere. It is one of the cutting-edge bands out there right now.
But time is our enemy. When we go to Cuba for vacation, we always go during the periods when there are festivals, concerts and parties. And we listen to all of the artists that give us their demos and then we get together to decide if it identifies with our project. That is the way that we have become ambassadors of this movement in Español, following the old guard since the beginning.
Orishas was formed outside of Cuba, correct?
Ruzzo: Yes, in Paris in 1997, in a cultural exchange between Cuba and Paris...and with the help of the A.D.H.E.S.I.F. association with whom we have worked in Cuba. All the non-professional talent and all of us that didn’t go to the music academy. They did all the paperwork and we got a three month visa, after that we returned to Cuba. When we got back we returned with a strong proposal from EMI in Spain. And that is how we returned to Paris to work; we lived together for a year in Paris. Roldan already was living in Paris since 1996 and then Livan (Flaco Pro), ex-member of the band and Michael Niko, a producer, started doing demos for our first tracks, “A Lo Cubano” and “Represent.” And we followed the concept of the album after that, with the rebelliousness of the times. We had just arrived there from Cuba.
Do you think you would have achieved the same level of success if the project was launched from Cuba?
Ruzzo: No, I don't think so. It would have taken very long. We would probably still be playing live in Cuba.
Would you say that it’s a valid argument for young musicians that want to live off their art to follow on your footsteps?
Ruzzo: Not necessarily…leaving your country to develop your artistic endeavors – it is not clear that leaving your country and coming here, that everything will be ready. Because one has to work it hard, of course. There have been many bands that have had the opportunity to travel and done cultural exchanges and they have realized that it is not as they dreamed it to be.
Sure, the reality may be the same as for any other immigrant.
Ruzzo: Exactly, it is the same deal for any other immigrant. It is the same reality, at different levels of complexity. It is the same dog but with different collar, as we say.
Now that you are talking about migration – when you guys first arrived in Europe, were you discriminated for your nationality or skin color?
Ruzzo: Both. Everything is included in the same package. Be it your color, your idiosyncrasies, your culture, your way of behaving socially – anything that catches attention and that is not common here. The social behavior of an Italian, German or French is compared to that of a Latino. When one comes from a faraway country and arrives here, one tries to create his or her own corner, his or her own Cuba inside the space one occupies here.
Were you able to find good Cuban food in Europe?
Ruzzo: Yes, of course. There are good masters here, good hands. Good hands, because Cubans are everywhere, even in the North Pole. As long as there are Cubans, pork meat, brown rice and bananas, of course ... because your heritage is very important, to have that with you, because that is the only thing that customs does not screen – yourself, who you are...no one, can take that away from you. The rest, well one finds that on one’s own, of course.
And are you guys still pro-Castro?
Ruzzo: Yes...yes.
You guys have Pitbull on your new compilation, Antidótico.
Ruzzo: Ah, yes...
Pitbull is very anti-Castro. How did that collaboration come about?
Ruzzo: Yes, yes, no, not even ... what ever he does in regards to his ideology, it has nothing to do with this song in particular. But no, he really liked the song (Quién te Dijo?). Also, he had a lot of coherence and a lot of fluidity in the way he worked. He had a good understanding of the song and his lyrics were on point, which is what we were looking for on the track. So we left a small space there for him to intervene. And he asked us for it, he loved it, he wanted to participate on this track. And we said, yeah, no problem, welcome. If everything is in the positive sense, welcome.
So politics were left out...
Ruzzo: Yeah, of course. We have nothing to do with politics. We are not a religious or political group. We talk of what needs to be talked about, be it political, economical, social, cultural, but that is not the primary concept of the band. We don't want to become a group that carries a political flag. It is a chain, anyway, because at the moment we start criticizing society, wham, you become tied to the problem. The important thing is to live now, in any society of the planet.
On your new compilation, there is a track called “Una Página” where you talk about those things.
Ruzzo: Of course, in this case, “Una Página” was the only way possible that we had as a group to try and give an answer…in the best possible way to the public…to that question that always is asked to us in every corner of the world: what is going to happen in Cuba? What is going to happen to Cuba? What do the Cuban people think and what is the Cuban public going to do?
And no one has the answers – not even a Chinese doctor. Not even the priest knows it. And that is what we try to answer in that song, through our personal criteria, which is based on what our family and friends live through every day on the island. We give our personal opinion on the matter, on what we think things are like…and give the closest answer based on what happens today or what happens in Cuba.
This album is a retrospective, a sort of “greatest hits.” Is it too early to have one? Is this a new beginning or ending?
Ruzzo: Exactly, exactly. Like we say, as we evolve on our musical path, we burn through phases. We go from decade to decade. We’ve been working for ten years and we felt we should recognize it. It was important to compile ten years of hard work and sweat, songs that satisfied each of our individual and independent tastes – each one of us made a list at home of which tracks we wanted to be present in this collection, plus some extra gifts. Some unreleased tracks were waiting to be polished and already had their place reserved there. We didn't just choose tracks to cover holes or spaces, no, no. We will never do that. Either we do a track correctly, “a full,” as we say, or not at all. And the end of this ten-year phase in our career is our way of giving our respect to our public. Because of them, we have an international presence…thanks to people who, luckily, still have excellent musical taste.
What's left of your Cuban roots after this 10-year musical evolution?
Ruzzo: Oh, everything, everything. Because the basic concept of the band has always been to preserve our idiosyncrasies, the heritage we've had – not just African, but Spanish, Chinese, French, from the Canaries, etc. And that will always be present because that is the only method, since the beginning, we have chosen to give it that native feel…in this Rap en Español movement or in this case, Rap Cubano, with an old school vibe. That will never change, but we will always experiment because we love it and we have done it that way since we were in Cuba. In this case, Yotuel, MC and I, we had our band in Havana called Amenaza. In that era that was the name of the band – to make to make matters worse – so that was hard work, but we were always investigating, it didn't matter the genre. If there was this fluidity in the work, in each different genre there is, as we say, always a musical solution.
Where do you live, Ruzzo, in France?
Ruzzo: In Milan, Italy.
Is there Italian rap? Is it any good?
Ruzzo: Yes, yes. There are many bands there, but the scene is very small. It’s not popular. It’s recognized as a movement and genre, but it is not very popular – Italy is more about songs. More rock and pop. More romantic. But yes, the established bands like Articolo 31, Sheleibez, the street talent that is slowly getting on TV. But yes, there is a lot of interesting talent there. It is a matter of getting the ear accustomed to the music.
Is there anyone you would have liked to collaborate with on this compilation?
Ruzzo: Ahh, man! We made a list for that purpose. We forced ourselves to make up a list, all three heads. Each one of us has varying musical preferences as far as artists we would like to work with. For example, old-schoolers like Oscar de León, Rubén Blades, Manu Chao...Outkast, that is one of the bands we hope one day to work with. Common Sense, Cypress Hill are artists we know, we have shared the stage in festivals here in Europe. Yes, many artists…maybe we will repeat the experience we had with Calle 13...Pitbull.
What is your personal opinion of the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba?
Ruzzo: Oh man, I think it is shit. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it. I don't think that anything positive can come of out of an absurd law like that. We are neighbors; we live in the same hemisphere, understand? There’s no logic in struggling to make America a house with only one owner. It does not exist. It would be like trying to live with another Hitler: “I just want to be the owner of everything and the rest can be left to their luck.” It can't be like that, because every corner, every place in the world has its secrets, its charm…every country has it own riches, its own charm. Why do we want to sink it? The situation is already broken, a lot of shit – too many interests. Like one of these Cuban singer-songwriters Carlos Valera says: “Politics does not fit in the sugar jar.” Not a single grain fits anymore. Everything is business now, they don't even think of the consequences, it’s only profits – and not precisely for everyone. No, no, it’s very ugly. There are just too many barriers and walls to add to this total closure…to any country, not just Cuba. We can complain for one thousand years, but that is not the solution, to complain for a thousand years. The solution is to fix relations, and according to the comments of the people in Cuba, Raúl is trying to, or he is beginning to, try to re-establish relations, because [the embargo] makes no sense. Man.
La Gusana Ciega
let's talk
sat 5/12/2007
Let's say you're the British pop band Oasis. You've sold 50 million records worldwide. And you're playing a show in Mexico City.
Who do you ask to open for you?
Señoritas y "señoritos," introducing La Gusana Ciega – the Mexico City band that opened for Oasis, recorded with producer Martin Bisi of Sonic Youth and White Zombie fame and released three well-received albums in the late 90's before breaking up in 2002.
After a few years of side projects, La Gusana Ciega ("the blind worm") reunited in 2006 and released their fourth LP, La Rueda del Diablo.
We swapped ymeils with singer Daniel Gutierrez and asked him: ¿qué pex?
With reggaetón and other forms of Latin music getting so much exposure, do you think that rock music can compete?
I recently saw this movie, 300, about the Spartan army. In this case, rock en español would be the Spartans. We choose our battles and our battleground and we play rock because that is what we live for – no matter what is the new "in thing" for the masses. We will always play rock and do it for the same reasons. Now, more than ever, rock en español is an established art form and the means of expression for an ever-growing crowd. We were here before reggaetón and we will be here after to face the new “in thing.” So we fight on this imaginary battleground against an army of musical mercenaries without questioning, with out fear – we will not retreat. But in reality, I don’t think we compete, our target is a more critical and ambitious public.
How have La Gusana's fans reacted to your reunion?
We were pretty sure that our fan base would be there for our return, but we were surprised by the fact that we see a lot of younger fans at the concerts and on our MySpace. I think La Gusana came of age and sort of mistified as a band during our absence. Lots of kids whose older brothers or sisters listened to La Gusana passed the music down and the younger ones could only hear the records, thinking they would never see La Gusana live. When we got back all these kids new the songs from the records and at the concerts they were singing songs that we didint even play on our regular sets. Its a blessing to have a young crowd eager to listen to the music and we plan to make the most of it.
Has the internet helped you reach out to new fans?
For sure, we have fans from countries we have never been to, but we know how they heard from us. The internet is making this a smaller world and that is helping bands do their promotion directly to the people that are intrested.
How has rock music in Mexico changed?
During the time we stopped working, the music industry was changing so much that we were not involved in the vortex of things with La Gusana. By the time we got back together, we had a better view of things and had a clearer idea of how to get things going again. The music industry is going back to basics, where the most important thing is the artist and the music. Record sales have gone down and that affects major record labels directly, but still leaves a good margin for smaller labels and directly for artists. That also means that artists have more work to do and their carreers depend on that.
What's in your iPod these days?
Arctic Monkeys, Peter Bjorn and John, The Shins, Wolfmother, Yokosuna, Austin TV, Los Cosmetics.
Your video for "Angeles Educados" sorta looks like one of those "Mac vs. PC" commercials. Where did you come up with the idea for video and how involved are you in that process?
I havent seen the Mac > PC commercials, but I guess we would be Mac people. I think the idea evolved into the final product from a stop motion idea. We produced and directed the video ourselves and had a small budget to do it. In order to have a good quality image and a fun video, we started changing ideas and narrowing things down until we came up with the idea. So basically, we wanted a simple video that shows the band having fun. We did a few things in reverse, at different speeds and we ended up with a happy quirky video.
Now, we knew we were not inventing anything new, but a few weeks after we finished our video, I was waching TV and I saw an '80s video of some band. I can't remember their name. But it was the same idea with the same backwards stuff and different speeds. The strange thing was, that even with the same idea, you could watch both videos and clearly place one in the '80s and one in the present.
The artwork for this record was something we were involved in from day one, and for the first time we are trying to maintain a concept from flyers, to the web page and to the cd cover – everything. We are pretty happy with that.
Patrick Macias
let's talk
fri 3/30/2007
(image via Hiroko Yoda)
Patrick Macias knows hella Japanese things. The Sacramento native has made his teen dreams into a reality, writing full-time about Japanese animation, comics and society for magazines and newspapers. He's even an authority in Japan, where he appears semi-regularly on TV show Tokyo Eye from NHK World TV.
What's your heritage – Mexican, right? Where are your parents from?
My parents are from the Fresno, CA area. Their parents came from Mexico. So I'm technically Mexican-American, but I try not to get too hung up on labels. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm proud to be of Mexican heritage, but I don't want to be defined by it, if that makes any sense.
What first got you into Japanese subcultures? Was there one thing that made you think, "This is it, this is my passion."
I got hooked on Japan thanks to whatever television pumped into my head. The UHF channels back in the '70s and '80s were full of Godzilla movies, superhero shows, and early anime like Star Blazers and Robotech. They just seemed to come from this entirely different planet called Japan. I wanted to know as much about it as possible and I'm still trying to learn as much as I can to this day.
The thing is, writing has been my passion – more so than just enjoying Japanese pop culture. I started writing professionally for a news syndicate when I was around 19 years old, mainly covering youth issues and U.S. pop culture. But my interest in Japan kept rearing its head to the point that there was no ignoring it any longer. I've since been lucky to write a lot about something I like, but its entirely possible I'll want to write about something else at some point. Clearly, I'm the sort of person who'd like to have the freedom to choose to define myself as much as possible.
Americans who follow Japanese subcultures tend to be kinda "geeky". Did growing up Latino push you towards this world?
I was raised in the Sacramento suburbs, which wasn't exactly a hotbed of Latino culture. It was basic middle-class America. My mom and dad spoke Spanish sometimes, made Mexican food every now and then, but that was about it as far as "culture" went. The same thing went for the other families in the neighborhood, who were racially and culturally a mixed bunch as well. It was an era between the belief in the "melting pot" and identity politics. I think I sort of slipped through the cracks somehow and here I am now, spending half the year in Japan, the other half in America.
Does your heritage play into your work in Japan? Do you feel like even more of an outsider there?
I had no idea what a Japanese audience was going to make of me, but I quickly discovered that I represent an American voice to them, not a Latino or Latin American voice. Maybe this is because few of them have met an actual "Mexican" before. Perhaps its because I don't carry much in the way of Latino cultural baggage with me. Either way, it's been a bit of a relief to relate to people on the basis of nationality rather than skin color for a change.
Even so, just being a foreigner gives you plenty of "outsider" status to deal with already. But I like not fitting in and seeing things from the outside. It gives you stuff to write about.
What's the most interesting thing happening in Japan right now?
I'm really interested in street culture now, which really seems to have totally dried up in the USA. Most people, I think, spend way too much time in front of the computer interacting with others electronically (myself included). But Tokyo is still a place where there's a lot to see and do and you are constantly forced to interact with others.
There's also a lot of youth "tribes" that spring up in Tokyo districts like Shibuya and Harajuku – like the Gothloli girls for instance – who turn the area into kind of a year-round outdoor festival by dressing up crazy and hanging around in public. My latest book, Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Fashion Subculture Handbook, traces the lives and times of these wild women, along with the crazy clothes they've worn over the years.
Are you seeing more Latinos showing up at anime and manga conventions and festivals in the U.S.? Does otaku-ness have anything to do with heritage?
It's pretty clear from the escalating numbers of people who attend cons that *all kinds* of people from all kinds of background are interested in Japanese pop culture now. Having said that, I do think American otaku are people who have complex feelings about their native culture and identity, sometimes racial, sometimes relating to gender. Japanese pop culture explores a lot of the same themes, so I think it's a good match for people who don't feel like they fit in elsewhere. Myself included!
Your blog asks if it's possible to make a living off of Japanese subculture. Is it?
I really don't know! I'm writing as fast as I can!
For more about the otaku lifestyle, visit Macias' blog: An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla.
ª└εx© Says:
