Daniel Alejandro Riveros Sepúlveda (born September 28, 1981), known as Gepe, is a Chilean singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has released five solo albums in addition to one album as a member of the band Taller Dejao. He has been described as the "new 'guru' of Chilean folk" for combining the sensibilities of 1960s and 1970s Chilean folk (especially the music of

Víctor Jara Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (; 28 September 1932 – 16 September 1973) was a Chilean teacher, theater director, poet, singer-songwriter and Communist political activist. He developed Chilean theater by directing a broad array of works, ran ...

) with a minimalist, electropop sound.

Biography

Gepe was born in San Miguel, a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of Santiago, Chile.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

/ref>

Taller Dejao

Taller Dejao, consisting of Gepe on drums and vocals and Javier Cruz on bass, released an album entitled ''El brillo que tiene es lo humano que le queda'' in 2004.

Solo

Gepe released his first solo recording, the EP ''5x5'', on Jacobino Discos in 2004. On November 4, 2005, he released his first full-length album, ''Gepinto'', on the Chilean label Quemasucabeza. The same year, a track from the album, "Namás," was included on the Chilean indie compilation and label sampler ''Panorama neutral''. Gepe also contributed to electropop artist Javiera Mena's track, "Sol de invierno," on the compilation. The Chilean edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' voted ''Gepinto'' the 22nd best Chilean album of all time in its April 2008 issue, and the Argentinean edition of the same magazine selected "Namás" as the 49th best track of 2006. Gepe's second full-length album, ''Hungría'', was released by Quemasucabeza on May 18, 2007, at Cine Arte Normandie in Santiago, Chile. The same year, he was awarded "best new artist" at the Premios a la Música Chilena, and filmmakers Rosario González y Pablo Muñoz released an independent documentary about Gepe and Javiera Mena. In 2008, Gepe released a second EP, ''Las piedras'', available free for download from the label Quemasucabeza's website. In 2009, Gepe could be heard in a beautiful Spanish cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," specially recorded for the film "Sugar." Gepe's Hallelujah remains unavailable for purchase and can only be heard in the film (prominently featured towards the end) and on Gepe's MySpace webpage. In 2012, Gepe released his fourth album entitled ''GP''. The album was heavily influenced by Chile's northern and Bolivian music, and also went more in a Pop-oriented direction. When performing live he also started to be accompanied by a dance crew for the first time.

Influences

Gepe's influences range from Chilean

nueva canción Nueva canción (European , ; 'new song') is a left-wing social movement and musical genre in Latin America and the Iberian peninsula, characterized by folk-inspired styles and socially committed lyrics. ''Nueva canción'' is widely recognized to ...

artist

to Brian Wilson, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Animal Collective, Pet Shop Boys, and Devendra Banhart.

Performances

Gepe regularly holds live performances at venues and festivals in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

and other major Chilean cities, such as Viña del Mar. In addition, he toured Europe in 2006,Rocksonico: Noticia: LA OTRA CARA DEL ROCK CHILENO LLEGA A MEXICO : GIRA QUEMA SU CABEZA – 12 al 23 de Junio
/ref> Argentina and Mexico (with Javiera Mena and Mostro) in mid-2007, and Spain in late 2007. In February 2009, Gepe toured the United States for the first time. He performed at three concerts in New York City, including one at the

Americas Society The Americas Society is an organization dedicated to education, debate, and dialogue on the Americas. It is located at 680 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and was established by David Rockefeller in 1965. The Americas Society pr ...

Personal life

Gepe is a supporter for the

Hare Krishna movement The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktiv ...

and he tried to convert to it, but he gave up for his difficulty to maintain a vegetarian diet.

Discography

Solo albums

* 2004 – ''5x5'' (EP) (Jacobino Discos) * 2005 – '' Gepinto'' (Quemasucabeza; released in Spain by Astro Discos and distributed in the United States by

Darla Records Darla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren in October 1993 while he was in New York. Darla's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi band from Memphis. Background The music of the artists on the ...

) * 2007 – ''Hungría'' (Quemasucabeza; released in Spain by ) * 2008 – ''Las Piedras EP'' * 2010 – '' Audiovisión'' * 2012 – ''GP'' * 2015 – ''Estilo Libre'' * 2017 – ''Ciencia Exacta'' * 2018 – ''Folclor Imaginario'' * 2020 - ''Ulyse''

With Taller Dejao

* 2002 – ''El brillo que tiene es lo humano que le queda''

With Alex Anwandter

* 2013 – ''Álex y Daniel''

Soundtracks

* 2009 – ''Sugar (Soundtrack) – Gepe's contribution: "Hallelujah (Spanish version)"''

References

External links

Gepe on Quemasucabeza's website
* Gepe's profile on Allmusic {{Authority control 1981 births Chilean folk singers Chilean rock singers Chilean male guitarists 21st-century Chilean male singers Chilean singer-songwriters Living people Chilean multi-instrumentalists Musicians from Santiago 21st-century guitarists Latin music songwriters