On our Radar, SXSW edition, part two: Mabiland, El Mañana, and Frederico7
13 March, 2019As SXSW gets into the swing of things, we have been listening to Latin American artists who will perform and decided to share yet another preview of artists we’d recommend for those going to Austin, Texas, for this week of music madness.
Colombia: Mabiland, ‘¿Qué tú quieres?’
Our first recommendation for this post, Mabiland, was in our “Best Albums of 2018″ story. Editor Russ Slater called her “one of the revelations of the year… a new rapper from Quibdó via Medellín who has caused a stir in Colombia with her debut album and captivating live performances.”
Catch Mabiland at SXSW (She also made SXSW’s own preview of artists from Colombia.) And watch her queer-friendly video for “Que tu quieres? [What do you want?],” one of her latest singles from her album, 1995.
Los Angeles, Calif./Colombia: El Mañana, ‘Gota en el Mar’
El Mañana (Spanish for “the dawn”) is a LA based latin indie power trio led by Colombian American singer songwriter and producer Danny Murcia, with Camilla Charlesworth on bass & Rhys Hastings on drums. While studying at Columbia in New York City, Murcia scored a publishing deal and got into the songwriting business.
He penned several top 40 hits for mainstream artists such as Celine Dion and Pitbull, but he soon got a bit burned out, and then was diagnosed with a recurring stage 2 seminoma, a form of cancer, and had to go through several intense surgeries and treatments. Feeling trapped in a perfect storm of bleak emotions, Murcia turned to writing as a form of therapy: “Writing helped me work cathartically through those feelings and achieve a sense of a distance from them as I healed.” It is through these darkest of times that the concept of El Mañana was born.
El Mañana is scheduled to perform a few times at SXSW. Watch their video for “Gota En El Mar” below.
Brazil/Mexico/Austin, Texas: Frederico7, ‘La Mirada Del Halcón’
This Latin Psychedelic artist doesn’t have a long commute to SXSW.
Frederico7 grew up in Brazil, and moved to Mexico as a teenager. There, he learned Spanish and English and met Alex Marrero (Brown Sabbath/Brownout) and Pablo Larios and started a Latin Fusion band called Ghandaia that hit success with performances at Austin City Limits Festival (2006) and the San Jose Jazz Festival. At their peak, life gave Frederico a beautiful surprise; that he was going to become a father, and left the band and put music on hold to focus on family life, knowing that he would return.
And return he did. In 2010, he settled back in Austin, TX, and collaborated with world class musicians in three standout bands to create a new record. Although it took Frederico three years to finish, a great feat for a father of two and full-time educator, the results are well worth the wait. Across the diverse set of ten tracks (and one remix), Frederico sings in three languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese) and brings all his influences from previous projects and personal experiences into the mix.
Catch Frederico7 at the Brasil Daytime showcase. And listen to “La Mirada Del Halcón” below.
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