Allá is a

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

formed by three young

Chicanos Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

(Mexican-Americans) from Chicago: Jorge Ledezma (guitars, keyboards, vibraphone, composer & producer), his brother Angel Ledezma (drums) and Lupe Martinez (vocals, guitar and keyboards). As inspired by German

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...

(

Can Can may refer to: Containers * Aluminum can * Drink can * Oil can * Steel and tin cans * Trash can * Petrol can * Metal can (disambiguation) Music * Can (band), West Germany, 1968 ** ''Can'' (album), 1979 * Can (South Korean band) Other * C ...

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

), '60s pop productions (from

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

Tamla Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

) and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

as by Mexican trio music and Brazilian Tropicalia,New band of the day No 379: Allá - The Guardian
/ref> they aim at producing a kind of psychedelic Latin pop/rock. The band members previously collaborated in an instrumental band called Defender, and the Ledezma brothers have played with former Can singer

Damo Suzuki , better known as Damo Suzuki (ダモ鈴木), is a Japanese musician who has been living in Germany since the early 1970s and is best known as the former lead singer of the krautrock group Can. Biography As a teenager, Suzuki spent the late 196 ...

. Allá's debut album was produced over a four-year period by Jorge Ledezma with sound engineer Colin Studybaker (

Iron and Wine Samuel "Sam" Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a li ...

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

). Recordings took place in and around Chicago, at Clava Studios, Engine Music, (

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

's) John McEntire's Soma Electronic Studios and others, as well as at Tambourine Studios in Sweden, where Jorge laid down the string and horn arrangements alongside arranger Patrik Bartosch (

Eggstone Eggstone is a Swedish indie pop band, formed in 1986. They have been called the "godfathers of Swedish pop." History The three members of Eggstone -- Per Sunding (vocals, bass), Patrik Bartosch (guitar) and Maurits Carlsson (drums) -- were raise ...

The Cardigans The Cardigans is a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1992 by guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Post-hiatus shows since 2 ...

). Entitled ''Es Tiempo'', the album came out on

Crammed Discs Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released around 375 albums and 275 ...

in 2008. Allá are about to release a mini-album of cover versions, entitled ''Digs'' and recorded as a tribute to artists who have inspired them: Faust,

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...

, Mexican psych-rock band from the '70s Los Dug Dugs, and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

. In Spanish, ''allá'' means "over there", and is the word used by Chicanos when talking about their parents' homeland, as well as by Mexicans when talking about the USA. The very ambiguity of the word perfectly represents how Jorge, Lupe and Angel feel: that they're the product of these combined cultures, neither here nor there.

Press quotes

*"This is an artist's rendering of heaven on earth. It's bliss and togetherness and absolutely perfect weather, now and forever". (Fluxblog, USA) *"Allá updates Brazilian tropicalia for the bilingual post-rock set." (Time Out Chicago, USA) *"The Chicano Portishead… Shiny, summery… recall the

retro-futurism Retrofuturism (adjective ''retrofuturistic'' or ''retrofuture'') is a movement in the creative arts showing the influence of depictions of the future produced in an earlier era. If futurism is sometimes called a "science" bent on anticipatin ...

of Stereolab… spookier instrumentals suggest Can or Faust. Throughout, Lupe Martinez's voice provides a constantly hypnotic feature" (Uncut, UK) * "The trio's globally savvy pop embraces not just their Mexican heritage, but immaculate Swedish pop, Brazilian Tropicalia, Krautrock, and Chicago's post-rock scene. Just as creative as it is sophisticated". (All Music Blog, USA) *"The hypnotic title track underlines the band's declared love of Krautrock, while Golpes del Sol sounds like a subtle tribute to Brian Wilson… an interesting instrumental interlude shows a more adventurous, psychedelic post-rock side" (BBC.co.uk) *"Chicago is the city with the third-biggest Latino population in the U.S., but 'Es Tiempo' imagines it as an even more cosmopolitan city of the future" (Pitchfork, USA) *"Allá sound like the Cocteau Twins at a cocktail lounge on an Acapulco cruise ship... hints of Stereolab and Tortoise... sumptuous, exotic vibe" (Spin, USA)Alla', 'Es Tiempo' (Crammed Discs!) a- Spin
/ref>

Notes

External links

Allá pages on the website of their label

Live video

Allá interview on Californian radio KCRW
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alla Musical groups from Chicago