Latest news with #música
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Adrian Quesada's Psychedelic Journey: How the Black Pumas Co-Founder Delved Into Latin America's Romantic Past
In music and art, the search for identity is fundamental. Perhaps that's why Adrian Quesada has achieved such a deep connection with Latin American romantic ballads, an eccentric musical style that the prolific Grammy-nominated songwriter, musician and producer discovered during his teenage years in his hometown of Laredo, a border city between Texas and Mexico. There, he grew up in a Mexican family speaking both English and Spanish. Now, almost 30 years later, the co-founder of the soul, jazz and funk duo Black Pumas revisits songs from acts like Los Pasteles Verdes, Los Ángeles Negros and Joseles in his new album Boleros Psicodélicos II, released Friday (June 27). His goal: to preserve the timeless essence of this musical genre and contribute to modernizing its sound by fusing it with hip-hop and electrifying guitars to connect with a younger audience. More from Billboard Black Pumas on 'Surprise' Grammy Nod, Success of 'Colors' & More | Billboard News 'Let's Get Sexy': Cardi B Hits LadyLand Stage After Surprise Guest Scarlet Envy Brings the Drama LL Cool J Gives Fans an NYC Rap History Crash Course in 'Hip Hop Was Born Here' Trailer 'My idea in creating all this was to find a way to have one foot in the roots, in the past, and another foot in the future. That was the concept: to go between two worlds,' Quesada tells Billboard Español. 'So I don't think I'm inventing anything. For me, these are songs inspired by another era.' In this new production — a sequel to Boleros Psicodélicos from 2022 — Quesada wanted to combine psychedelia with emotion. To do so, he brought together multi-generational artists from the Latin alternative music scene, such as California indie star Cuco, Swedish-Ecuadorian duo Hermanos Gutiérrez, Colombian ensemble Monsieur Periné, and lo-fi troubadour from Chihuahua Ed Maverick. Joining them are Mireya Ramos from Flor de Toloache, Puerto Rican artist iLe, and pop singer-songwriter Angélica Garcia, all of whom participated in the first album. But unlike Boleros Psicodélicos, which was recorded remotely during the pandemic, this second volume gave Quesada the chance to invite his collaborators to his studio in Austin and reimagine songs like 'Hoy que Llueve' by Los Pasteles Verdes and 'Te Vas y Yo Te Dejo' by Joseles. 'I wanted to make this album a more intimate experience, an exchange of ideas, while being in the same room full of energy with the people who participated,' the artist explains. 'And another thing is that on this new album, I worked with another producer, Alex Goose, and he comes from the hip-hop world —a musical genre that didn't invent anything but reinvented everything.' Opening the set is 'Ojos Secos,' a heartfelt vintage track performed as a duet with Cuco, blending smooth melodies with contemporary atmospheres. It's followed by 'Bravo,' a classic from Cuban artist Olga Guillot's repertoire that iLe recommended and recorded for this project; 'No Juego,' a dramatic trip-hop ballad performed by Angélica Garcia; and 'Cuatro Vidas,' popularized in the 1960s by American singer Eydie Gorme and the trio Los Panchos, among others. With Mexican artist Ed Maverick, Quesada recorded 'Afuera,' an atmospheric ballad with subtle touches of hip-hop, folk, and psychedelic guitars — a seductive and hypnotizing combination. 'This collaboration was the perfect opportunity for me to delve into a territory I wanted to explore: psychedelia and contemporary music,' Maverick tells Billboard Español. 'The upcoming music I have is very much in this style, so it fit like a glove.' 'Afuera' also served as a way to celebrate the Mexican roots of both musicians, at a turbulent time amidst new anti-immigration policies introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump. 'I can't help but be Mexican,' Maverick says. 'I think for a long time, many young people tried to reject that. It seemed like it wasn't cool to be Latin American or Spanish-speaking with our roots, but now I'm very happy that there's this current resistance, anti-colonial, and music is part of that resilience.' Released through ATO Records, all 12 tracks in Boleros Psicodélicos II are performed in Spanish, which becomes a political and social statement at a moment when Latin music finds itself at a crucial crossroads, with increasingly strict immigration policies threatening its continued explosive growth in the U.S. 'I am the artist I am now because I come from a world of two countries, two languages,' Quesada notes. 'Diversity is what they're trying to eliminate in the United States. And if it's a way to — being American, to make an album in Spanish is important to me, for my roots.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
The Guardian
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Duo Ruut: Ilmateade review – soft psych-folk channels hazy days and snowy rides
Duo Ruut (Square Duo) are Ann-Lisett Rebane and Katariina Kivi, two Estonian musicians who write, sing and play facing each other, their instrument being a single kannel (an Estonian zither). Playing with the texts and repetitive motifs of runo song, a form of traditional oral poetry specific to the Baltic Finnic languages, their music holds a glistening minimalism in its rhythms and a crossover sheen in its sound. Rebane and Kivi's voices help – often sweet, but also sharp when required. Their ambitious second album Ilmateade (Weather Report) explores the powerful yet under-sung connections between the weather and emotion. It begins with the minute-long Intro, a track that builds gorgeously on the scratchy, dying notes of their 2021 EP, Kulla Kerguseks (From the Lightness of Gold), implying both continuity and metamorphosis. Then we're in Udu (Fog), lulled along on thick, beautiful clouds of shifting time signatures, before Vastlalaul (The Sledding Song) slows and speeds, glossily, through the snow. These songs are rhythmically complex and have solid, ancient roots, but fans of ambient, Balearic dreaminess and the softer sides of indie pop and psych-folk will find woozy comforts here. Good entry points include the earwormy melancholia of Vilud Ilmad (Gloomy Weather) and the itchy handclaps, in five beats to the bar, propelling us through Suvi Rannas (Summer on the Beach), in which we're told, in Estonian, of days hot with horseflies and a sky broad and bare. Other Estonian artists brought into the fold provide different depths. Guitarist Erki Pärnoja's solos swirl around the women's wordless melodies on Interlude, while poet EiK 2509 adds spoken-word contributions to the mesmerising Enne Ööd (Nightfall). All together, these 12 tracks create a hypnotic shipping forecast transplanted to the Baltic Sea, carrying us along on its eddying tides. Jennifer Reid's The Ballad of the Gatekeeper (self-released) is a full-blooded fantastic debut from a singer who researches 19th-century broadside ballads, has acted in BBC Two's The Gallows Pole and supported Pulp and Eliza Carthy on tour. Mixing centuries-old working songs with new material about fast fashion, climate breakdown and Covid, she's a striking talent – her a cappellas especially full of bite. Brìghde Chaimbeul's Sunwise (Tak:til/Glitterbeat) eerily transports us from high summer to songs of midwinter. Her smallpipe drones are less abrasive than on 2023's brilliant, abrasive Carry Them With Us, but her canntaireachd singing (a style deliberately vocalising bagpipes) is more propulsive, heavy and completely compelling. Similarly bewitching are Norwegian trio Hekate. Their new album, Evigheten Forestår (Eternity Imagines), collects slåttetralling (Norwegian vocal dance tune improvisations) from across their homeland, their tones by turns spiky, perky, sad and sacred.
Malay Mail
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Kidnapped, killed and dumped: Police nab three more suspects after Fugitivo band lured to death in Mexico
CIUDAD VICTORIA (Mexico), June 3 — Three suspects in the kidnapping and murder of Mexican musicians in Tamaulipas state were arrested during a series of raids, officials said on Monday. The five members of local band Fugitivo had been hired for a weekend performance in the crime-wracked northeastern city of Reynosa, but arrived to find a vacant lot. Their bodies were found several days later after their families reported receiving ransom demands. Investigators said the musicians had been kidnapped on May 25 while driving to a private event. Nine alleged cartel members were arrested last week, with authorities announcing another sting on Monday. 'An operation was carried out on three properties' in Reynosa, the public security office said in a statement, adding that the three suspects had been arrested there. During the operation, weapons, weapons cartridges, cocaine and methamphetamines were also seized, the ministry added. Tamaulipas is considered one of Mexico's most dangerous states due to the presence of gang members involved in drug and migrant trafficking, as well as extortion. Criminal violence has claimed more than 480,000 lives in Mexico since 2006 and left around 120,000 people missing. Mexican musicians have previously been targeted by criminal groups that pay them to compose and perform songs glorifying the exploits of their leaders. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
03-06-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
3 more suspects arrested in murder of Mexican musicians
Criminal violence has claimed more than 480,000 lives in Mexico since 2006. (AP pic) CIUDAD VICTORIA : Three suspects in the kidnapping and murder of Mexican musicians in Tamaulipas state were arrested during a series of raids, officials said yesterday. The five members of local band Fugitivo had been hired for a weekend performance in the crime-wracked northeastern city of Reynosa, but arrived to find a vacant lot. Their bodies were found several days later after their families reported receiving ransom demands. Investigators said the musicians had been kidnapped on May 25 while driving to a private event. Nine alleged cartel members were arrested last week, with authorities announcing another sting yesterday. 'An operation was carried out on three properties' in Reynosa, the public security office said in a statement, adding that the three suspects had been arrested there. During the operation, weapons, weapons cartridges, cocaine and methamphetamines were also seized, the ministry added. Tamaulipas is considered one of Mexico's most dangerous states due to the presence of gang members involved in drug and migrant trafficking, as well as extortion. Criminal violence has claimed more than 480,000 lives in Mexico since 2006 and left around 120,000 people missing. Mexican musicians have previously been targeted by criminal groups that pay them to compose and perform songs glorifying the exploits of their leaders.
Malay Mail
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Nine cartel suspects held over murder of five Mexican band members in Tamaulipas
CIUDAD VICTORIA, May 30 — Suspected drug traffickers murdered five Mexican band members who went missing over the weekend after being hired to perform in a crime-wracked northeastern city, authorities said yesterday Nine alleged drug cartel members were arrested on suspicion of killing the musicians, public prosecutor Irving Barrios told a news conference. The announcement came hours after officials said five bodies had been found in the search for the men, who were members of a local band called Fugitivo. Relatives had reported receiving ransom demands for the musicians, aged between 20 and 40 years old, who were last seen on Sunday in Reynosa, in Tamaulipas state, near the US border. The musicians were hired to put on a concert but arrived to find a vacant lot, according to family members who had held a protest urging the authorities to act. Investigators used video surveillance footage and cellphone tracking to establish the musicians' movements, Barrios said. They are believed to have been kidnapped on Sunday night while traveling in a vehicle to a private event, he said. 'Law enforcement arrested nine individuals considered likely responsible for the events. They are known to be members of a criminal cell of the Gulf Cartel,' Barrios added. Nine firearms and two vehicles were seized, he said. Tamaulipas is considered one of Mexico's most dangerous states due to the presence of gang members involved in drug and migrant trafficking, as well as other crimes including extortion. Criminal violence has claimed more than 480,000 lives in Mexico since 2006 and left around 120,000 people missing. Mexican musicians have previously been targeted by criminal groups that pay them to compose and perform songs that glorify the exploits of their leaders. Such performers often live in close proximity to their drug lord patrons, and can at times get caught up in gang turf battles. In 2013, 17 musicians from the group Kombo Kolombia were executed by alleged cartel members in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon, allegedly because of links to a rival gang. In January this year, a small plane was reported to have dropped pamphlets on a northwestern city threatening around 20 music artists and influencers for alleged dealings with a warring faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel. The popularity of 'narcocorrido' songs glamorizing the criminal underworld has prompted President Claudia Sheinbaum to launch a music competition aimed at creating 'new musical narratives that move away from the glorification of violence.' Several regions in the country have banned 'narcocorridos,' sparking a recent riot during a concert after a singer refused to perform some of his most popular songs. — AFP
