July Outlook: Bolivia
By Duck Peters / sounds from here
Julio flew away (insert Julio Iglesias meme here), and now we can talk about a new normality. Public events are more and more and people have completely lost their fear of the coronavirus, despite the reports that the three cities of the trunk axis exceed a thousand cases a day, while the historical one in these two years has just placed us over one million infections since March 2020.
We see with joy how the artists regularly occupy the main spaces and many dare to go on tour around the country (one or another outside our borders), in some cases debuting outside their cities.
As for the releases of the month, these are some of the most outstanding:
After having left an unfinished album, first due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and then due to a change in the city of residence, the singer-songwriter from Oruro Vadik Barrón published a new studio album, the successor to Bee Suite of 2018. Under the title of Valley, alluding to his new home in the city of Cochabamba, the work brings seven songs, including Karma which served as the first promo. Having had Mao Khan (Quimbando) as producer, it had the participation of well-known musicians such as Mauricio Cardona (drums), Inti Medina (bass) and Juan Ernesto Saavedra (guitar), and moves between rock, folk, waltz and Andean rhythms such as huayño and kaluyo. Valley is the ninth album by the singer, guitarist, writer and poet who ⸺after the dissolution of the band Camaleón⸺ has been publishing music since 2007. If you want to know more about Barrón's work, you can listen to this Sounds from Here podcast episode.
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Silverbones- silverbones (album): Under the leadership of the Bolivian Ibelisse Guardia, the Dutch band Silverbones released their self-titled debut album on platforms, a six-song work that takes inspiration from the singer-songwriter's country of origin. With titles like Plateau, Tinku and into captivity, the material is a sound journey that goes from rock, through electronics, Andean folklore and experimentation. silverbones will give you the best 30 minutes of your day, don't stop listening to it.
Mariana Massiel – the day will come (single/video): After the success of lunita camba (Sep, 2021), the soloist from Santa Cruz presents a song with an autobiographical tint that once again highlights her great ability as a composer, and also as a co-producer, together with Marko Lukana. The theme has a video clip created and directed by the audiovisual production company QiFrame.
Alvaro Mendoza – Looking at the moon (single): After his participation in the Contest of Emerging Singer-songwriters of Sounds from here, the talented musician from Chuquisaca made available his debut song, an emotional number that was part of his repertoire in the different phases of the event. Inspired by her mother, it is one of those songs that carries a lot of feeling.
Sercha Ramirez – Astrolabe (EP): As one of the best voices of his generation, and after leading bands like Ragga Ki and Son Fusión, the musician from La Paz launches his first solo material, a four-song EP produced by Jotape Villalba. In addition to For all of us who were, which was the first single, the artist promotes I want to be with you, a collaboration with Nia Cole.
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On July 10, the final of the Contest of Emerging Singer-songwriters of Sounds from here, with two participants from the city of Cochabamba, one from La Paz and another from Santa Cruz. The winner of the second version was Camilo Caetano from La Paz, who won the recording of a single (including production, mixing and mastering) and a video clip, all together with some of the best studios and producers in the country. Currently, the 22-year-old singer-songwriter is recording his first song at the Gravity studio in the city of La Paz.
