Zoé 

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Mexican Rock Band Zoé Want To Be Heard All Over The World

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Fresh of their 2019 GRAMMY win for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album, we talked to the longtime band about their latest album, Aztlán, their current tour with Metric, diversifying their audience, and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Mar 1, 2019 - 10:23 am

For two decades, Zoé has carried a piece of Mexico's modern rock sound across many parts of the world. Their psychedelic, rock en Español, pop, synth sounds have captured fans in areas of the U.S., Latin America and European countries like Spain.

Listening to Zoé is like going through a galactic trip into romantic relationships and self-reflection; the journey entering light and dark moods—just listen to "Love" and "Dead." And it works. The band has maintained and grown a strong fanbase, with over a billion visits on VEVO and two million streams per month worldwide on Spotify. 

Formed in Mexico City in 1997, Zoé boasts some of the best modern songwriting in the Spanish language and a solid marriage of sounds. Even when they opt to go acoustic, they leave what is at the heart of their music: poetic verses, an innovative blend of instruments and frontman Leon Larregui's deep, enchanting voice. 

Over the course of their career, which include six studio albums and collabs with Enrique Bunbury from Spanish iconic rock band Héroes del Silencio, the Mexico City band has garnered GRAMMY nominations and Latin GRAMMY wins, but it is their latest album, Aztlán, produced by Craig Silvey & Phill Vinall, which has won them a GRAMMY for Best Latin Rock Album (their last nomination was in the same category for 2006's Memo Rex Commander Y El Corazón Atómico De La Vía Láctea).

While the group continues to hold their signature sound close, Aztlán takes the band to a mythological place of the past: the birthplace of the Mexica people who would rule the Aztec Empire and would inspire the country's name. The album was intended to be an invitation into their culture and a statement among political and social events happening around the time of its conception.

"It is an invitation to discover the beauty and richness of our culture, and look inward so we can recover that Mexican dignity and pride," Larregui said in a statement. "This reflection to the past is with the hopes that as we reinvent ourselves in the near future we continue to maintain our ‘Mexicanness’ in a globalized world."

The quintet is pushing full-throttle into a globalized music industry where language is no barrier to mainstream success; they recently started a tour with some fellow North Americans: Canadian bands Metric and July Talk. The tour marks the first time the band has hit the road with English-language acts.  

Bassist Ángel Mosqueda spoke to The Recording Academy on a stop in San Antonio, Texas about their tour, what the band's first GRAMMY win means for the band's growth, the socio-political inspiration behind Aztlán, what has kept the band going after so many years, and much more. 

Where were you when you found out about your GRAMMY win?

I was in Mexico. At home. It was Sunday evening ... we have a chat in which we disclose many, many band things ... our manager and people from the office [are also on it]. That's where we, as a band, and all the team realized we won that precious award. 
 
You're Latin GRAMMY winners and now you're also GRAMMY winners. How's that feel?
 
It's great ... we weren't expecting anything because sometimes you're just [doing] other things, and we have been nominated before and didn't win. So, we were like, we're taking it very seriously, of course, but not expecting anything and that feels good, when you're not expecting anything and you win and it's like, "Whoa. Things are happening."
 

 
Aztlán is this mythological place.  What does it mean to you, and why name this album that?
 
Leon [Larregui], who is the singer and who does all the concept and the lyrics of the albums, decided to name it this way. He was considering all that was happening in Mexico [at the time and thought] it was a very good opportunity to name it like that and to think [of] our roots as a nation, etc. ... [At the time] there was an earthquake in Mexico, there was things happening also with migration with the new American president, and many, many [other] things happened. He could see a very good motif and a very good moment to name it like that and to return to our roots, to [reflect.] ... I'm really happy, not just in many aspects of the album, composition-wise, I think we have evolved and the production has evolved and the concept is great. I really love it.
 
As a band, you have so many great songs about love. There's “Camara Lenta,” there's "Love" and now there's "Azul." How do you continue to create songs about love with a fresh perspective after so many years?
 
I think songs are not just coming from Leon's experiences, [even though he writes] almost all the lyrics. He also gets inspired [by] things that happen to the people that surround him ... he also captures stories and things that happen to friends, to family, us as a band ... For example, “Azul” is something that [didn't] exactly happen to him ... They're some other [songs like], "Hielo," which [are inspired by] things that happened to him. So every song has its own story, which makes it very interesting. 
 
You've been a band for 20 years. What is the glue that keeps you together after so long?
 
Very good question. I think it's the music. As long as we continue doing good music. As long as we enjoy [being] in the studio, making good albums, which we put a lot of weight and a lot of emphasis and a lot of value to all the albums, into all the songs—as long as we continue doing good things, doing things that we consider are good for us, I think we're going to stay alive [as a] band.
 
I think we're still alive because of that. I think this last album really corroborates our strength as a band; that we continue doing good things and this album is great and we're very happy and thinking of doing another one in the future. So that's very good for us. We're very happy now and in the near future as a band.
 
Being a GRAMMY winner brings in new eyes and ears to music. I know that you have a lot of fans in the United States, but for people who may not know your music and are discovering it because they see you've won a GRAMMY, what do you want them to know about you as a band?
 
Good question. I think you are right, sometimes we are not thinking that this is the situation, but yeah, you're right. I think with the GRAMMY we are earning more fans, new people that are getting close to the band and they're getting to know the songs, and I think it's a big responsibility. I think, as soon as they hear our music they're gonna get it ...  I think [we] have a very good spectrum of songs, of variety, of production, of instrumentation, of compositions, and I think they're gonna enjoy [all our music.] And I think it's very good that these things are happening now, because as you say, you're right, maybe we're earning more fans. 
 
So how is the tour going? What can fans expect from this one?
 
The tour has been great, we're very happy. We're very happy to tour in the States. I mean, really for us it's a very good experience touring this huge amazing country with all these huge interesting cities. We take it like a very good opportunity to expand our market, to expand our career, of course, because this is a great country [with] great venues. And there is a lot of Latin people as well, now with this tour we have the opportunity to [tour] with Metric ... [We have] music that could be heard in not just in the common market of Latin people. It's music that could be heard anywhere in the world. We have friends all around the world that supports this idea.
 
I think we asked our office some time ago, that it would be great to [tour with Anglo bands] and they started to follow this idea and then suddenly it came to reality ... So in the show there's a very good mixture of Latin and Anglo people, which makes it very very interesting for us. I mean we're really really happy. The tour is going great. There's been great shows and it's a huge tour. I think we're gonna have 25 shows in 40 days or something, which is a very good effort. I think it's a very very good opportunity for us and for all the team.
For more information on Zoé's tour, go to the band's website. 

boy pablo

Photo: Benjamin Hovlandsdal

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Boy Pablo On Growing Up Bicultural & Why Writing About Love Comes Easily To Him

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The Recording Academy caught up with Nicolas Pablo Rivera Muñoz after his set at Corona Capital fest in Guadalajara, where he shared more about his first time in Mexico, growing up bicultural, new music and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 14, 2019 - 1:15 pm

"How would you feel if I walked up to you one day and ripped your heart out?" sings Nicolas Pablo Rivera Muñoz, a.k.a. boy pablo, the singer/songwriter and musician from Norway whose catchy indie rock is on the rise. "Losing You" is just a taste of his signature blend of upbeat sounds and lyrics expressing the rollercoaster that love is, from heartache to infatuation.

"It's weird 'cause I like to keep my things private, actually. I don't really have the need to share an experience about love," he told the Recording Academy. "But I didn't find anyone with a cool voice ... so, I had to sing my own songs."

Muñoz, who is of Chilean descent, began making music in 2015 and found internet fame roughly two years later via a viral video for one of his earlier singles, "Everytime." Since then, the world has come to know his music through 2018's Soy Pablo EP and 2017's Roy Pablo EP. 

The Recording Academy caught up with Muñoz after his set at Corona Capital fest in Guadalajara, where he shared more about his first time in Mexico, growing up bicultural, new music and more. 

It's your first time in Mexico, how do you feel being here? Is it everything you thought it would be? 

Yes. It feels like home cause it's a Latin American country. So I feel good and the weather's good, and yeah it's fun ... I don't know what I expected, actually. [Laughs.]  'Cause I've heard a lot of weird stuff about Mexico, but it's really a beautiful country.

I heard you speaking Spanish on stage.

Yeah. [Laughs.] My parents are from Chile so I learned Spanish when I was a little kid.

How was your set? 

They gave us a short time, but it was really fun. It was another kind of show 'cause we normally do longer shows, but really fun. We used all our energy in those 30 minutes that they gave us, and it was really fun. And the Mexican crowd was amazing.

How did the name "boy pablo" come about?

[Laughs.] I wanted an artist name with the name "Pablo" in it. And I asked my manager Fabio what could go with "Pablo." I came up with a lot of ideas and nothing was really cool. When I chose the name boy pablo, I really didn't think it was cool. I don't know. But Fabio suggested it.

How does it feel bringing your music to the world now? 

It's kind of a natural thing. When I made music, I thought like, people could like this maybe and then I showed it to my friends and my family and they were like really supportive. They were like, "Yeah, you've got to put it out." And in a strange way, we got famous by a YouTube video. So it's really like social media that made the project this big.

What was your reaction when the video blew up?

Suddenly, one day in October 2017 I was getting a lot of followers on Instagram. I called my manager Fabio and I was like, did you buy followers [for] my account? He was like, what are you talking about? And then I checked a couple of videos, we had a video for "Your Phone" and "Flowers." It was neither of them. Then I checked "Everytime" and suddenly it had like 20,000 views more than the last time I checked, then the next day 100,000 and then 250,000. It was crazy. I didn't know what to think cause it happened so fast. But we're so thankful for that now. 

 
Photo: William Glandberger
 
You mentioned your Chilean parents, but you grew up in Norway. How was that experience for you, and how do your cultures influence your music? 

Well, I'm a chill guy and people in Norway, they don't express feelings at all. That expressing feelings I got from my family, being chill I got from being Norwegian. But yeah, it's really cold [in Norway]. So there's nothing to do, normally. You just hang out at people's houses and it can be boring sometimes. So it was natural for me to make music and yeah, my parents showed me a lot of Latin music when I grew up.

Like what?

Américo. Ráfaga. A lot of like nuevo ola from the '70s. 

I'm Mexican-American. We sometimes refer to our language as "Spanglish." For you is there something you call when you speak Spanish and Norwegian?

Yeah, we mix languages. When I don't remember a word in Spanish cause I don't practice my Spanish so much as I like to, but yeah, we speak NorSpanish? [Laughs.] I don't know.

You write a lot of love songs. What's it like putting your experiences with love out in the world?

It's weird 'cause I like to keep my things private, actually. I don't really have the need to share an experience about love, but I've done that with some songs. But other songs, I actually write it like as a love song, but it can be about anything else. It's just easy for me to write about love, 'cause it's such a common thing to feel.

What came first for you, writing lyrics or playing instruments?

Definitely playing instruments. Actually, before I started boy pablo, I tried to find somebody, anyone that could sing my songs. But I didn't find anyone with a cool voice or that was a good friend or something. So yeah, I had to sing my own songs. The lyrics don't come easy to me. So I use a lot of time to work on those, although they're really simple, [as English is] not my first language.

What's next for you after Corona Capital?

We have a lot of festivals coming up this summer. We have like 25, like all over the world. Like France, Spain, Hungary. We're going to The States as well. And I'm working on new music.

Any more details you can give us?

I'm planning a couple of collaborations. I can't tell with who, but I hope one of those songs will be released soon, before the summer. 

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Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop

Photo: Harmony Korine

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Iggy Pop Announces New Album, 'Free', Shares Title Track

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"By the end of the tours following Post Pop Depression, I felt sure that I had rid myself of the problem of chronic insecurity that had dogged my life and career for too long. But I also felt drained… I wanted to be free," the Godfather of Punk explained
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 18, 2019 - 12:47 pm

Today, GRAMMY-nominated punk forbearer Iggy Pop revealed the details for his forthcoming 18th solo studio album, along with its short—at under two minutes—yet spacious title track, "Free." The 10-track LP is due out Sept. 6 and follow's 2016's GRAMMY-nominated Post Pop Depression.

"This is an album in which other artists speak for me, but I lend my voice," Pop explains in a press release.

The statement notes jazz trumpeter Leron Thomas and L.A.-based electric guitarist Noveller as the "principal players" collaborating with Pop on this exploratory new project. On "Free," Thomas' horn and Noveller's guitar add layers of depth, somberness and exploration, as Pop's echoing voice cuts through twice to proclaim, "I want to be free."

Pop adds that his last tour left him feeling exhausted but ready for change, and the shifts eventually led him to these new sounds:

"By the end of the tours following Post Pop Depression, I felt sure that I had rid myself of the problem of chronic insecurity that had dogged my life and career for too long. But I also felt drained. And I felt like I wanted to put on shades, turn my back, and walk away. I wanted to be free. I know that's an illusion, and that freedom is only something you feel, but I have lived my life thus far in the belief that that feeling is all that is worth pursuing; all that you need—not happiness or love necessarily, but the feeling of being free. So this album just kind of happened to me, and I let it happen."

Post Pop Depression earned the former Stooges frontman his second GRAMMY nod, at the 59th GRAMMY Awards for Best Alternative Music Album. It was produced by GRAMMY winner Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and as a tribute of sorts to David Bowie, Pop's longtime friend the producer of his first two solo albums, and was released shortly after Bowie's surprising passing.

As the press release states, "While it follows the highest charting album of Iggy's career, Free has virtually nothing in common sonically with its predecessor—or with any other Iggy Pop album."

You can pre-order and pre-save the new album now for the Sept. 6 release here. You can also check out Pop's new book, 'Til Wrong Feels Right, on Sept. 26.

Exclusive: Salvador Santana And Ozomatli’s Asdru Sierra Announce New Politically Charged Project RMXKNZ

Carlos Santana

Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

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Carlos Santana On Woodstock & The Power Of Music: "These People Wanted The Same Things We Want Today"

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"The state of the world is so infected with fear and separation and disharmony, I know for a fact that the frequency of this music from Africa gives people hope, courage and joy," the 10-time GRAMMY winner said
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 5, 2019 - 10:03 am

You may have heard that this August marks the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, the music festival still ripe in our social consciousness. It was billed as "three days of peace & music," and whether or not Michael Lang's still TBD Woodstock 50 is able to recreate this, it lives on and embodies everything world-famous guitarist Carlos Santana does. And he's already celebrating it.

The 10-time GRAMMY winner first tapped into the black magic power of his guitar shredding back in '69 on the famed stage at Bethel Farm along with his then-new band Santana. 50 years later, he shows no signs of slowing down—and he is still connected with his musical and spiritual roots. The group is celebrating their big year—it also marks 20 years since they released the 42nd GRAMMY Awards knock-out album Supernatural—with the epic 29 date Supernatural Now Tour.

Related: New Woodstock 50th Anniversary Box Set Offers A Complete Listen To The Summer '69 Fest

"We're going to bring a lot of fury and fire [on tour]. Most of the time, we play close to two-and-a-half to three hours, so we're going to honor yesterday, today and tomorrow," Mr. Santana explained in a recent Rolling Stone interview. The group recently released their 25th studio album, Africa Speaks, featuring Spanish singer Buika on vocals for all 11 powerful tracks, on June 7. The band enlisted power-producer, and fellow GRAMMY winner, Rick Rubin to assist, and recorded it at his famous Shangri La Studios. On the tour this new music, along with their endlessly epic catalog, is helping arenas full of people across North America feel something.

"The state of the world is so infected with fear and separation and disharmony, I know for a fact that the frequency of this music from Africa gives people hope, courage and joy. The ingredients and the nutrients from everything that comes from African music makes people dance and rejoice like a revival," Santana said in the interview.

He explained that Afro sounds have always had a special place in his heart and his music collection, and he wanted to make an album honoring the beauty and power of that aesthetic.

"I originally heard 'Africa Speaks' on a Cannonball Adderley record, Accent On Africa. I put the poem in there and Buika put the vocals in it. We basically took these African songs, and I asked permission in every kind of way from the writers, so we got all that with impeccable integrity, then we redid the songs our way," he explained. And with the tour having kicked off already, he's seen its power at work.

"People like 'Breaking Down the Door.' We're in a place that people need rejoicing. People need celebrating. People need romance. Everybody is thirsty for higher consciousness, righteousness," Santana shared. "I can see it because I'm watching the audience sometimes and I can see how they respond to the music. It's like watering the plants after they haven't been watered for months."

While the visuals and music of the Supernatural Now shows offer a nod to Woodstock, on Aug. 17, exactly 50 years since their breakthrough performance, the tour will stop at Bethel Woods Center For The Arts, the venue that lives on the original site of Woodstock '69. If Woodstock 50 happens, the group is booked to headline the fest the day before that. And Santana is ready to tap back into that energy he first felt 50 years ago.

"I'm ready. My band is ready. By the grace of God, we have the clarity. We have the energy. I have more energy than the first time. So we look forward to tearing it out," he told the outlet. He also spoke to what the first event was really about, peace and music, and how it's still so important today: "The first was done, and I mean this in the most respectful way, with a bunch of long-haired freaks that wanted something different than what was happening in Vietnam or politics or religion. These people wanted the same things we want today."

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ZZ Top

ZZ Top

Photo: Rick Kern/WireImage/Getty Images

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A ZZ Top Musical Is Coming To Las Vegas In 2020

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"'Sharp Dressed Man' is an outrageous, bawdy musical romp about a Lone Star auto mechanic who becomes a modern-day Robin Hood," a press release states
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
May 21, 2019 - 2:04 pm

Texas classic rockers ZZ Top and Caesars Entertainment have teamed up for a new musical featuring the GRAMMY nominees' lively, brash brand of Southern rock, Variety reports. "A Sharp Dressed Man," named after the group's 1983 hit song, will debut in Las Vegas in 2020.

"'Sharp Dressed Man' is an outrageous, bawdy musical romp about a Lone Star auto mechanic who becomes a modern-day Robin Hood, stealing hearts—and car parts—with the help of his merry band of beer drinkers and hell raisers," a press release said.

Variety states that surviving band members Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard are executive producers on the play. The story is written by screenwriter/playwrights Robert Cary and Johnathan Tolins and features classic ZZ Top tracks like "Legs," "La Grange," "Gimme All Your Lovin'" and "Cheap Sunglasses."

ZZ Top's manager, Carl Stubner, along with film producer Prem Akkaraju are the lead producers, as are several executives of Caesars Entertainment. The company runs several large venues in Sin City, including The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood, two Vegas residency hot spots. The venue for the new musical has not yet been named, nor has the specific show dates.

"The show will utilize the band's music and tremendous energy in a new immersive realm," Stubner told Variety. "Just like ZZ Top, it's all about having a good time at a great party and telling fun stories through their music."

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