Best Music of October, 2008: Juana Molina, "Un Día"
Why it's significant: Argentinian siren Juana Molina is a master of blissfully hypnotic soundscapes. Her 5th full-length release, Un Día, showcases her ability to layer and loop acoustic guitar, synthesizer, percussion, and Rioplantese Spanish vocals, resulting in her signature blend of beautiful noise.
Juana Molina transitioned from actress (in a popular Argentinian weekly series in the
'80s), to a veritable one woman symphony in the latter half of the '90s. After initially
crafting her songs in the traditional sense (verse, chorus, verse), she became restless and began experimenting with her own style: the artful weaving of electronic and organic sounds into loosely cohesive sonic poems. Molina is mesmerized by the sounds of daily life (hear her wax poetic about the elevator in her grandmother's apartment building.) On her fourth, release, Son, she incorporated the sounds of birds, crickets, and dogs into her songs; she claims to be inspired by their arhythmic call and response exchanges.
Molina's songs are more akin to an abstract painting, where interpretation is left to the listener, then say, a photograph, where the facts are spelled out for you. As such, I truly encourage you to listen to a sample. As she muses in her first song on Un Dia':
“Un día voy a cantar las canciones sin letra y cada uno podrá imaginar si hablo de amor, de desilusión, banalidades o sobre platón.”
(Or, in English) “One day I will sing the songs with no lyrics and everyone can imagine for themselves if it’s about love, disappointment, banalities or about Plato.”
If you do understand Spanish, you may find her lyrics nonsensical. But don't be deterred by the nebula. I bet if you venture to give Un Día a spin, you'll wake up in a pleasant trance 50-odd minutes later. And you'll be better off for the journey.
Juana Molina in her own words:
--Renata Sadunas
Renata Sadunas on October 09, 2008 at 09:59 AM
Thanks for the recommendations. I know of Juanes, but not Jaguares. Will definitely check it out.
Concert Posters on October 08, 2008 at 06:56 PM
She is definitely a one of a kind. There is a lot good spanish language music bubbling up into the zeitgeist. Something a bit more accessible (read commercial) is Juanes and the Jaguares. Both favs of mine. Cheers!