Aterciopelados: “Universal themes such as ecology and human rights have become a hallmark of the band”

The most popular alternative rock group in Colombia and that laid its foundations back in the 90s, is still in force and revitalized. From the hand of Héctor Buitrago and Andrea Echeverri the Argentine public will have the opportunity to enjoy again those songs such as “Bolero Falaz”, “Florecita Rockera”, “Baracunátana”, “Maligno”, which took rock in Spanish to the top. With deep letters that do not overlook the problems that affect the societies not only of yesterday, but also of today, their social and political criticism, activism for the environment and human rights, is a flag that they plant and that distinguishes them.” There is a lot of culture and very different in Argentina, we are always delighted with the bookstores and then we return with very heavy suitcases for books (laughs). Alternative design and architecture and gastronomy, I have many memories besides friends, many beautiful memories. Another is when we went to the recording of the video of La Ciudad de la Furia that allowed us to visit it in another way that we had not done before, “says Héctor Buitrago; bassist, composer and founder of the band in conversation with Filo.News about his arrival in the city of Buenos Aires.- What reading do you make of the transition of Latin American music with the new generations? We have been adapting to transitions because we already have a long career, we have even gone through different formats: from the cassette, the CD’s and now with digital platforms. The music industry continues to transform, moreover, we are no longer with a record company but we are with one aggregator that makes the difference in terms of the move in the industry. Also I as a producer enjoy very much its evolution, the tools, sonorities and how it is changing.- You investigate several genres, without labeling yourself in one… So it is, maybe before it was more complicated to do it and they did not even know in what genre to put the music of Aterciopelados, which was not rock, nor traditional, nor Latin American, all that they told us, it was something that happened to us. But today music is heard in a more unprejudiced way than before. Festivals also promote this with great variety offerings, before it was difficult for the public to accept genre changes and now we are going to enjoy music in another way.- Colombia is one of the cradles of reggetón could you say how do you get along with this movement? It is a superpower I would say and more in Medellín where there are many producers and artists of the genre. I think that for our children, because both Andrea and I have children, they have brought us closer to urban music more quickly because they listen to it much more, and although I have the criteria to feel what I like and what I don’t, there are artists who are really tremendous and I like to appreciate what is good.- Do you feel that the spirit in which Aterciopelados was born is still alive today? Yes. We were part of the explosion of rock in Spanish that was around 2000 and then came the changes of the record companies along with digital platforms and rock in Spanish and its derivatives, they gave space to the new that perhaps came to replace it in the mainstream that is urban music for example. For that eclecticism that allows us to move from rock to electronic or a little pop, it has allowed us to remain valid because we have many audiences.- What do you want to transmit today with your songs that are still valid, the new and the old, what is the legacy that Aterciopelados wants to leave in the world of music? We have our peculiar way of saying things and our own poetry that has a satire, in addition to the typical songs of love, heartbreak, but then we start talking about ecology, women’s rights, the defense of the land, the reconnection with the ancestral, are problems that move us. Universal themes such as ecology and human rights have become a hallmark of the band- Returning to ecology and the ancescent, how did the song “Volver a solreir” come about? I have focused a lot on the struggle of water defense and I am part of the movement “Canto al agua” where we invite people to approach the bodies of water and do meditations, to sing to reconnect with the water from the spirit, to return to resume that ancestral knowledge of respect and connection with the earth. Every year these meetings have a slogan and the one in 2022 was “Volver a Solreir” since we had just come out of the pandemic and everything that implied, we did not look at each other’s smiles, we did not enjoy the sun, so that’s why the play on words in the song that is very optimistic and also has the collaboration of Rubén Albarrán (Café Tacvba) and Lengualerta that I alson are activists, it was very moving.- What show are we going to find this Sunday? We are going to present new songs, the classics that everyone wants and it will also be exciting to play live “En la Ciudad de la Furia”, the velvety version that luckily had a very good reception, looking not for a copy of Soda’s work, but a version that looks to the future and with our imprint. This Sunday, February 5, Aterciopelaos, presented by Snow Entertainment will be presented at Palermo Groove. Tickets can be purchased here.

Original source in Spanish