I Wanted to Know/ Silvio Rodríguez

Silvio Rodríguez has survived every decade, whether things are good or bad, whether the dollar goes up or down, whether Industriales wins or loses. For many years he has had autonomy: he does not depend on the record companies, he has his own studio; he is not dependent on marketing or launching campaigns; he has social networks, and the streaming fits him like a glove. It also doesn't depend on making music for a soap opera (which seems to be about the only way a non-urban song will stick right now), although having done the music for The Fern BalconyThe new century, at the beginning of the century, was good for him and for the novel. He is not even at the mercy of private bars, nor state theaters in which to perform. He himself created an "endless tour" through underprivileged neighborhoods, as if he were a traveling vernacular theater, totally free of charge, demonstrating that even performing his work in "marginality", Silvio is still Silvio.

Accompanied by great musicians who come from genres such as jazz or classical music, from this performative and creative exercise have emerged many new works that follow the poetic and musical thread of his classics of the last century; but above all, the arrangements of the works have taken advantage of the timbre resources of the other instruments, giving it a halo of modernity, without losing his style. Because, as it usually happens with the giants, he has a rather toxic fan base that does not want him to change, to restructure, to break his schemes. Despite this, he always has an ace up his sleeve.

But what does the new stuff from the old Silvio sound like?

His twenty-second album is entitled I wanted to know. Recorded at Silvio's own Ojalá studios, it was released on digital platforms on June 7 and is made up of 10 songs composed in the 21st century and one in the 20th century (the first one in the 20th).Tonada for two poems Rubén Martínez Villena), which he had already recorded years ago and retakes with a fresher version. He also recycles two other songs from the album for the wait (2020), but with more enriched arrangements, which are The thing is coming and Danzón for the wait.

Most of the songs feature Silvio Rodríguez on guitar and vocals; Jorge Aragón on piano; Oliver Valdés on drums, congas and percussion; Emilio Vega on keyboards; Jorge Reyes on double bass; Maykel Elizarde on tres; Rachid López on second guitars; and Niurka González on flute, clarinet and backing vocals. They are also the focusgroup and crew Silvio's team is almost like a family and is fundamental in the sonority of the album.

Except for two intimate songs, this is a very social album. Silvio has gone through several stages, but he is a creator of his time. The country he sang about when he wrote "Vivo en un país libre" no longer exists.

The phonogram breaks with America and, unlike two other famous songs with the same title -one by Nino Bravo and the other by José Luis Perales, which are an ode to natural geographic beauties, from the European point of view, and exotic loves-, this one speaks in another sense, not at all naive, about present-day America from the point of view of someone who lived through a different generation. Most of Silvio's social songs seem to be about love, and vice versa. The arrangement has many of the rhythmic elements of Latin American folklore; in terms of harmony there are some climactic moments, which are achieved through unusual contacts and modulations. The percussion rests on the cymbals, hi hat and snare, along with the military marching cells, add a lot of color to the body of the theme. Niurka's flute plays a responsorial-style contracanto and the other instruments play an accompanying role. The Spanish guitar stands out in the introduction, reminiscent of Agustín Barrios Mangoré's works for this instrument; and Elizarde's tres gives it that baroque air similar to the timbre of a harpsichord, uniting the European with the indigenous.

La Cosa Comesas I mentioned before, already appeared in his penultimate phonographic work; in that case the arrangement was for guitar and voice. In spite of being a great song that talks about the end of double standards and fantasizes about the advent of a human utopia where sincerity is the currency, the musical concept here is different. Although the son cell was the backing track of the first version, in the arrangement for the album I would like to know The influence of the blues is noticeable, which creates a very interesting sonority due to the fusion of the two genres, as in some of Van Van's works where Cuban and Anglo music converge. It reminds me a little of the bluesy sones interpreted by Frank Delgado, or popularized by Habana Abierta; maybe it is not a coincidence. The fact is that The thing is coming manages to play with the slang of "la cosa", a very Cuban code: la cosa could be "anything".

Soon La Tatagua is one of those touching songs that could very well be children's songs, but go much further, like the well-known The Dream Repairer. I particularly like it the most on the album. As if it were a lullaby, the guitar accompanies the story told through the lens of the tatagua: a witch butterfly, whose visit symbolizes many things in popular culture, foreshadowing both good and bad things. As if it were a movie camera, what happens around the tatagua is more important than the tatagua itself. The absence of the chorus and its substitution by a Phrygian chorus bridge saying "Oh", gives the La Tatagua the lightness of the brief flight of this invasive butterfly.

Para No Botar El Sofá (editorial song) has many readings, I see it as a protest song, a real one. The title refers to a scene of costumbrismo, where the cuckold instead of ending the relationship with the unfaithful, throws away the sofa where the betrayal occurred. The song dates from 2016, but if it was selected for this album I imagine it is because the context has not changed, or rather has worsened. It has references to The ageby Silvio himself, but in a disillusioning way. Disillusionment is a recurring theme in many creators, and in the political sphere even more so, since it awakens passions that not even the most intense relationships can match. In a polarized world with the perfect breeding ground for political extremism, these songs emerge organically. The theme also highlights the denunciation of homophobia and censorship. The music and the arrangement draw from different sources: first the guitar begins with Silvio's characteristic style, the arpeggios and the troubadour-like harmonies that remind us more of the medieval minstrel than the troubadour of the 30's of the Republic. Then the song breaks the chorus into a sort of rock chachachá, with a groove in the drum and Niurka's flute motifs emulating the style of Richard Egües. The mix results in a sort of cross between La Aragón, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles in their most experimental era, with a harmony full of deceptive cadences and Neapolitan chords that play with modes and tonalities with their relative directness. Silvio has never hidden his influence of British music, here it is present in all its splendor, but with tumbao. In the B part of the song, before the chorus, he returns to the tranquility of the passive guitar and the flute that simulates the calm before the storm, to then break again with violence in the choruses. A vihuela played by Silvio himself and a vibraphone by Emilio Vega also stand out in the timbre. It is a rare, heavy and very stimulating song, like our reality.

Danzón For The Waiting was already included in the album for the waitbut, as was also the case with La Cosa ComesOn that occasion the arrangement was also for guitar and voice; and in the version for the new album the song gains muscle. It is perhaps the song of the album with more influence of the traditional trova, like those danzones where the montuno, a la Matamoros, was surprising. With the style of the Failde orchestra, Jorge Aragón's piano and the syncopated rhythm stand out in the interpretation. It breaks with a break the montuno part with the coro announcing that "Se va el danzón... -perhaps as a nod to Moises Simons' Manisero-; then the verse continues "...cuando del monte baja un son" and leads into the other genre in metamusical language. There is not much more to say, a love song to the music of enjoyment and discharge, the danceable theme of the album.

Daily Quota is the song on the album that completely modifies the format Silvio has been using. The accompaniment is mainly based on an arrangement for wind quintet, where Niurka plays all the instruments, thanks to the multi-tracking (Piccolo, flute, flute in G, clarinet and bass clarinet). It has a very renaissance sonority and is a kind of Easter egg surprise that one finds while listening to the album. About the subject matter, I only anticipate that the first verses say: "The unpunished have thrown me the pack, and among new fangs I make my way; but I am of my day with my chest, and my arms, and my current blood still: my Parnassus". It is an optimistic and challenging song.

City is a song to Havana, like so many others that have been made (and indeed there are many): Habánameby Carlos Varela, White Sheetsby Gerardo Alfonso, Beautiful Havanaby Los Zafiros, just to mention a few). But this song is sung not from the third person narration of someone who evokes the city, it is the city itself singing with its own voice, as if it had life. It is not strange that it is dedicated to Eusebio Leal. The arrangement is based on an advanced bolero, with some blocks on the timbales hitting the rim. The bridges are a bit reminiscent of Juan Luis Guerra's bachatas of the nineties.

Our After is a guitar and voice son that talks about the massive migration of the new generations and the concern for the future of the country. Dedicated to his grandson Diego, it is a philosophical song that reflects on who will tell the story if everyone leaves. The second voice is by Malva Rodríguez, his youngest daughter, who provides a high-pitched and youthful register. She has an interesting modulation to the major mode in the chorus that gives it brightness and strength, before falling back into the sad part of the structure. A son that is not exactly for dancing.

Wanted to Know is the song that gives the album its title; in Silvio's words, it should have been called "Quiero saber" (I want to know), in the present tense. It is a song that talks about the journey of life and how, throughout history, man has learned, thanks to that human tool that is curiosity. On this occasion, on the basis of a yambú-like Afro rhythm, it uses a string quartet format. The harpsichord timbre of the keyboard also gives it that baroque sonority, which he had already used before. Towards the end of the song Silvio uses a filter on the voice to distort it and give it an artificial effect. It encapsulates very well the concept of the album, it is an autobiographical song full of references.

Blind Angel is arranged and accompanied by Frank Fernández. The theme of the "angels" is a very recurrent symbol in Silvio's work, a symbol of the "angels". a leitmotiv which stars in songs such as Angel for an Ending, Appointment with Angels. It has an instrumental bridge where Alina Neira's cello takes center stage, and in the coda it returns and makes a counter song with the piano, before saying goodbye. Melancholic and brief, Blind Angel is the prelude to the end of the last act of the album.

Tonada for two poems by Rubén Martínez Villena is a Silvio classic and the lyrics are one of Villena's best known poems. Many remember that first version with a very young Silvio and, among many other geniuses like Eduardo Ramos and Leoginaldo Pimentel, there was Emiliano Salvador on the piano making tremendous jazz phrases. This time he retakes the theme and changes the arrangement a little, but maintains the essence with the musicians who accompany him, who although they are not the same of that Grupo de Experimentación Sonora to which Silvio himself belonged, they are among the best of this generation.

And with this song he closes this journey, in case you "wanted to know" how it ended. Silvio is not like Coca Cola, he is an artist, and he ends up surprising you by being himself, which in itself is something quite exceptional, since he is one of the usual good ones; like Scorsese, like Miyazaki, who can still give more, because nostalgia is stronger than innovation; and it is not the story that is told, but who and how. Let's hope this is not the last album that the apprentice will give us.

* an original version of this text included the following expression: "The country he sang about when he wrote "I live in a free country" no longer exists; to the point that he recently said during an interview: "Now I feel uncomfortable singing that song".