Track 78 Presenta: Ana Tijoux

Ana Tijoux Live!

Mil sílabas por minuto.

La que fuera voz de Makiza, la nacida en Francia pero criada en Chile, la de nombre de pila Anamaría Merino Tijoux, alias Ana Tijoux está en pleno periodo retorno. En la parte final de 2009, la cantautora especializada en materia de rap lanzó su segundo disco en solitario, titulado 1977, un álbum que ha recibido altas calificaciones en países sudamericanos.

Ahora, durante marzo, subirá al norte del continente y justo pasará por el escenario del SXSW, donde mostrará tanto sus temas del pasado, como “Partir de cero”, “Crisis de mc’s” y “El obstáculo”, algunos de los incluidos en su placa más reciente, compacto por cierto estará disponible en México y Estados Unidos hasta el próximo mes de abril.

Julieta Venegas y Ana Tijoux: “Eres Para Mi”

Ana Tijoux Collaborates with Julieta Venegas.

Ana Tijoux’s Musical Journey

Ana will release her first album in the US this April through Nacional Records.

Back to her urban roots

Born Anamaría Tijoux in Lille, France in 1977, Anita is the daughter of a French mother and Chilean father who was in political exile during Pinochet’s dictatorship.

She became famous in Latin America as the female MC of the late 90s hip-hop group Makiza, one of the first huge latin rap groups, who also received wide appoval from audiences not associated in just hip-hop culture due to their evolved production and lyrics, styles more in line with the New York underground of the Native Tongues, and far from the machisimo and violence prevelant in the rap of the times.

At the height of the group’s popularity, Anita decided to take a sabatical from music and went back to be with her family in France. But she couldnt stay away long, and in 2005 was back in Chile with her old group releasing their third critically acclaimed album, Casino Royale, after which she soon began working on a solo album as well as collaborating with groups from all over the globe such as Control Machete, Bajofondo Tango Club, and Funk Como Le Gusta.

In 2006 she crossed over to the Latin mainstream pop due to a collaboration with Mexican songstress Julieta Venegas in the radio hit “Eres para mí”, while at the same time releasing her first solo album, Kaos. She was nominted to the 2007 MTV Latin awards for Best New Artist and Best Urban Artist, as well as for her duet with Julieta.

Her latest work, 1977, will be her first album released in the US, this April on Nacional Records. It is a return to her rap roots, an homage to the “golden age of hip-hop”, and largely auto-biographical, exploring mature themes from her own life, from the death of a close friend to having a creative crises, from friendship to bad luck, amongst others.

Nacional Records: Conquering The Digital Domain

Innovative and Original

I recently came across the Nacional Records commercials, and I was very eager to share it with all of you.  As many of you already know, the industry has changed so much.

The way people are getting their music has affected the way people make, distribute, release, and market their music to the world. The digital domain is taking over and I’m very interested in seeing where things will turn out. Labels are crumbling, contracts are shifting into different directions and budgets are not what they once were.

In the midst of all the chaos, and commotion, there is one label that has managed to evolve with the times and use new creative and innovative ways to market and distribute their new music to fans. This Latin Alternative label is slowly becoming a model for how things will operate in the new digital era.

Nacional Records is the record label under Cookman International, a multi-faceted company that specializes in expanding the reach of Latin music and culture through artist management, special event marketing, the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) and the Latino Loop (a weekly industry newsletter emailed to over 100,000 Latin@ tastemakers).

Their music has appeared in many top movies and TV shows including Fast Food Nation, Entourage, CSI Miami and Ugly Betty. Most impressive however, is the fact that the label has the highest percentage digital sales out of any Latin record label in the market with over 10 #1 albums launched at iTunes Latino and over 15 #1 albums launched at emusic.

Keep an eye out for these guys because they’re adapting with modern times and getting results they need.

Visit www.nacionalrecords.com for more info!

Nacional Records TV Commercials

The boys from Caracas have released their newest production, Commercial, through Nacional Records…

The Amigos’ vision of creating dance music is once again visited in this album, as contagious latin grooves are fused with a sort of acid jazz/dance elements…

Its a dance party waiting to happen a la LAI….

I’ve always been a great fan of having my favorite artists collaborate, and Commercial features a few talented vocalists/musicians  like Jorge Gonzalez from Los Prisioneros, and the gifted Natalia Lafourcade adding their own flare to the album.

Check out these tracks por favor: “Mentiras”, and “Oyeme Nena”….

Is it another great reinvention of latin funk/dance or is it ‘mas de lo mismo’??

This is an interesting topic. Do you like to hear your favorite band evolve and use new sounds?

And if so, how much?

Or would you rather have artists stay within the lines of their style or musical genre and continue to give a sort of reinvention of their old material???

What does ‘Mas de lo mismo’ mean?? Well, if you Literally translate it it means “More of the same #$%@”. I would use MANA as an example since many accused them of doing it in their last albums.

What do you think?? let us know by leaving a comment …

The Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) is preparing to celebrate off its 10th anniversary this summer in New York City. The 10th Annual LAMC returns to New York City July 2009. As in past years, LAMC features panels and exhibitions, concerts, parties and art highlighting the best of Latin Alternative. LAMC is the only major conference geared towards the marketing of Spanish-language alternative music – the voice of today’s Latinos.   This four-day event providing networking opportunities with the genre’s leading artists, label executives, journalists, managers, retailers and programmers, is the most extensive gathering of Latinos in entertainment to be offered by a music conference to date.

The ninth annual LAMC in 2008 saw 1,250 industry leaders converge on the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City to participate in industry panels, exhibitions, press conferences, and networking.

Over 30,000 music lovers and industry insiders attended LAMC concerts, parties and art exhibits, at great venues in New York and Los Angeles.    www.latinalternative.com

INTERVIEW WITH TOMAS COOKMAN…Presidenente de NACIONAL RECORDS y Cookman International

The Argentine Rock/Ska/Reggae legends have now released their latest production, “La Luz Del Ritmo”, now available on i-tunes. LFC have embarked an intense US tour, hitting cities like LA, NY, CHICAGO and MIAMI, rocking every venue! I actually had the pleasure of seeing them in a completely packed Tijuana soccer stadium last november, a concert that went down as one of my top 5 shows ever!  Full of energy and fire, “La Luz Del Ritmo” will most definately not let you down..This album is yet another project under Indie Latin label: NACIONAL RECORDS, who are also responsible for putting on the 10th Annual Latin Alternative Music Conference(LAMC)! Nacional CEO, Tomas Cookman and company are doing their share of work in bringing quality music to Latin Alternative aficionados en  Los Estados Unidos….So show some love and  go to i-tunes and download LFC new album today!! It even comes with an exclusive 54 minute documentary!! Andale, no seas codo….

Download today!