“It is a song that talks about oppression inside institutions, religions and families. In other words, how people build systems of power in relationships,” the new Mexican trio Baltazar tell us when we ask them about their recent single, “Imperio”.
“The video was filmed by directors Rodrigo Robles and Tuga Arredondo. They found a very profound meaning in the lyrics of ‘Imperio’ and were inspired to project poetic and ritualistic images to represent the main idea of the song”.
Two members of Baltazar, Luis Eduardo López and Roberto Agrendano, are cousins. They began making music together early in their youth – including a project called Dante Kaostervan. Juan Pablo Corcuera, who performed as Technicolor Fabrics, appeared in their lives 10 years ago. They met in the forest of Tapalpa close to the magical town of Jalisco. They immediately found a common ground.
“In general, we like almost every type of music but only if it feels sincere,” they declare. “We respect artists like Caifanes, Facundo Cabral, Agustín Lara, Sigur Rós, Beach House, Enya, Blonde Readhead, Julio Iglesias, Ennio Morricone, Los Temerarios, Roberto Carlos, Radiohead.”
“Our sound comes very naturally. We believe that as long as we don’t belong to a specific genre we can be free to explore our souls and express ourselves in music of Baltazar.”
The single “Imperio” comes from Baltazar’s first EP. The group plans to share their debut album in three volumes – three songs each time – with the first volume already available to download from their website www.vocesdebaltazar.com.
But how about the music scene in Guadalajara, Jalisco?
“The music in our hometown Guadalajara is growing fast and strong. It is sad that the industry doesn’t pay too much attention to the bands here and doesn’t offer them a proper outreach. But there are some great music projects – we enjoy the music of Porter, Pumcayo, Dorotheo, Hello Sea horse, Camilo VII to mention just some of them.”
When we ask Baltazar about their very favourite Mexican songs – something everyone in the world should hear – they give two answers: Joan Sebastian’s “Mascarada” by and “El Jinete” by Jose Alfredo Jimenez. Here’s the older one:
