Allá is a
rock band
''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...
formed by three young
Chicanos (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 that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...
(
Can,
Faust
Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
), '60s pop productions (from
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...
to
Tamla Motown) 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 came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
as by Mexican trio music and Brazilian
Tropicalia,
[New band of the day No 379: Allá - The Guardian](_blank)
/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
, known as Damo Suzuki (ダモ鈴木), was a Japanese musician best known as the vocalist for the German Krautrock group Can (band), Can between 1970 and 1973. Born in 1950 in Kobe, Japan, he moved to Europe in the late 1960s where he was spotte ...
.
Allá's debut album was produced over a four-year period by Jorge Ledezma with sound engineer Colin Studybaker ( Iron and Wine, National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
). 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 for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...
'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, The Cardigans).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 vid ...
, John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, 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 styles across rock, dr ...
/Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist music, minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notab ...
, 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 and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
.
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 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
Crammed Discs
Live video
Allá interview on Californian radio KCRW
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alla
Musical groups from Chicago