Río (Aterciopelados album)

Last updated
Río
Rio Album Cover.jpg
Studio album by Aterciopelados
Released October 21, 2008
Recorded 2008
Genre Rock en Español
Colombian Rock
Alternative Rock
Art Rock
Length50:34
Label Nacional Records
Producer Héctor Buitrago
Aterciopelados chronology
Lo Esencial
(2007) Lo Esencial2007		Río
(2008)		 Reluciente, Rechinante y Aterciopelado
(2016) Reluciente, Rechinante y Aterciopelado2016

Río is the seventh studio album by Colombian band Aterciopelados, released in 2008. The album is environmentally themed, lamenting the pollution of the Bogotá River. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it number 6 on its list of The 10 Greatest Latin Rock Albums of All Time. [1] It was nominated at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards for Best Latin Rock/Alternative or Urban Album .

Aterciopelados Rock band from Colombia, led by Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago

Aterciopelados, also referred to as Los Aterciopelados on some albums and other promotional materials, are a rock band from Colombia. Led by Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago, they have been one of the first rock bands from Colombia to gain international notice and they are among the country's top groups. Their music fuses rock with a variety of Colombian and Latin American musical traditions. Time magazine wrote that "Aterciopelados's true skill lies in its ability to take north-of-the-border musical styles…and breathe new life into them, all while giving them a distinctly Colombian sheen."

Bogotá River River in Colombia

The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca department of Colombia, crossing the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the western limits of Bogotá. The large population and major industrial base in its watershed have resulted in extremely severe pollution problems for the river.

<i>Rolling Stone</i> American magazine focusing on popular culture, based in New York City

Rolling Stone is an American monthly magazine that focuses on popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California in 1967 by Jann Wenner, who is still the magazine's publisher, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its musical coverage and for political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine shifted focus to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. In recent years, it has resumed its traditional mix of content.

Contents

Artwork

The cover art for the album features a graffiti piece made entirely with water paints and using no aerosol. It depicts an ancestral anaconda, the mother of humanity according to the indigenous people and symbol of the river, used as a metaphor for the recovery of the Bogotá River.

Cover art artwork on the outside of a published product

Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book, magazine, newspaper (tabloid), comic book, video game, DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, for instance to promote the product it is displayed on, but can also have an aesthetic function, and may be artistically connected to the product, such as with art by the creator of the product.

Album

Released after one year off following the release of Oye , Río maintains several features of its predecessor plus some reminiscences of La Pipa de la Paz . Río has a conceptual and lyrical theme of environmental awareness, the sound of running water fills the void between the songs and conveys the message, reinforcing the concept of environmental awareness. When the album touches on non-environmental problems, the lyrics remain politically committed and socially conscious.

<i>Oye</i> (Aterciopelados album) album by Aterciopelados

Oye is a 2006 album by Aterciopelados. The album won the 2007 Latin Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, as well as the Lo Nuestro Award in best rock category, and Nuestra Tierra (2008) for the best rock group and best rock song for Canción protesta.

<i>La Pipa de la Paz</i> album by Aterciopelados

La Pipa de la Paz is the third studio album by Colombian band Aterciopelados. Produced by Phil Manzanera in London with this project they became the first Colombian artist to be nominated for a Grammy in the Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance category. This album spawned some of their most well-known songs and greatest hits like Cosita Seria, Baracunatana, No Necesito, La Culpable, Expreso Amazonia, La Voz de la Patria,Te Juro Que No and the title track La Pipa de la Paz.

The music in Río consists of grooving, guitar-driven rock with crisp drums, drawing comparisons to New Wave bands like The Police and Talking Heads while regularly drawing on local traditional rhythms and instruments from Colombia and beyond. [2] [3] An Andean folk group contributes on two songs, and we hear the whoops of a village party mixed into the lilting No Llores. The songs deal with local realities in Colombia. The title track laments the despoiling of the country's rivers, this message continues into the second song Treboles and Mother which is an ode to mother nature. 28 conveys the maternal experience in a natural and sentimental way. The song Día Paranormal aims to raise awareness about serious and diverse problems that afflict the world and the lack of importance given by the media to the collective unconscious. The lyrics of Gratis convey the message of equality between brothers with Rock and Roll sounds. In a clear conceptual twist in the album, Bandera criticizes the conditions and treatment received by illegal immigrants in the most developed countries and speaks out against strict immigration policies that make it harder for ordinary folks from a place like Colombia to travel the world. [4] It was composed after the many problems the band had trying to enter Spain. The childish but subtle Ataque de Risa, featuring Andrea's daughter Milagros in backup vocals, imparts the importance of non-violence and changing negative energy for positive energy, exchanging weapons and war with laughter, beauty and tolerance. [5] Hijos de Tigre refers to the hereditary character of violence in Colombia, this song was composed for the soundtrack to the film La Milagrosa, a film about the Colombian armed conflict led by renowned Mexican director Rafa Lara. [6]

New wave is a genre of rock music popular in the late 1970s and the 1980s with ties to mid-1970s punk rock. New wave moved away from blues and rock and roll sounds to create rock music or pop music (later) that incorporated disco, mod, and electronic music. Initially new wave was similar to punk rock, before becoming a distinct genre. It subsequently engendered subgenres and fusions, including synth-pop.

The Police English rock band

The Police were a British rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the band consisted of Sting, Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland. The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s and are generally regarded as one of the first new-wave groups to achieve mainstream success, playing a style of rock influenced by punk, reggae, and jazz. They are also considered one of the leaders of the Second British Invasion of the U.S. They disbanded in 1986, but reunited in early 2007 for a one-off world tour that ended in August 2008.

Talking Heads American rock band

Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Weymouth (bass), and Jerry Harrison. Described by the critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s," the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with avant-garde sensibilities and an anxious, clean-cut image.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Paste Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]

Río received generally positive reviews from music critics. Mario Iván Oña of The Washington Post commended them for once again changing their sound for a new album and for their songwriting. Saying "Lyrically, though, they've never sounded more responsible -- parenthood tends to do that. They champion immigrants, the environment and motherhood. It's not that firecracker lyricist Andrea Echeverri -- expecting her second child -- has newly found indignation. She's always been ornery. But this time, her spunkiness is cool, contemplative, mature and poetic, as well as unabashedly confrontational." [9] "Andrea Echeverri ponders subjects like immigration and pregnancy, projecting unflappable confidence. Meanwhile, the band adds a slew of spiffy touches" said Jon Young of Spin "a toe-tapping study in cultural cross-pollination." [10]

<i>The Washington Post</i> Daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C.

The Washington Post is a major American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., with a particular emphasis on national politics and the federal government. It has the largest circulation in the Washington metropolitan area. Its slogan "Democracy Dies in Darkness" began appearing on its masthead in 2017. Daily broadsheet editions are printed for the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

<i>Spin</i> (magazine) American magazine

Spin is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. The magazine stopped running in print in 2012 and currently runs as a webzine, owned by the Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group division of Valence Media.

Jon Pareles wrote in The New York Times that the album has a "new tinge of urgency" and "it’s in the way Andrea Echeverri’s ever-optimistic voice adds an undertone of determination as she sings lyrics that celebrate nature and the body yet worry about the state of the environment and human violence. Reflective but never dour, and serious about staying hopeful." [11] Banning Eyre said on NPR "Hector Buitrago's entrancing guitar melodies and Andrea Echeverri's raggedly tuneful vocal flights are so seductive that the language barrier melts away on its own" and "I can't remember when a CD offered so many melodies you just want to curl up with and caress." [12]

Jon Pareles is an American journalist who is the chief popular-music critic in the arts section of The New York Times.

<i>The New York Times</i> Daily broadsheet newspaper based in New York City

The New York Times is an American newspaper based in New York City with worldwide influence and readership. Founded in 1851, the paper has won 125 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper. The Times is ranked 17th in the world by circulation and 2nd in the U.S.

Banning Eyre is a guitarist, writer, photographer, and producer specializing in the music of Africa. He has produced the Peabody Award-winning radio show Afropop Worldwide and is author of several books on African music including AFROPOP! An Illustrated Guide to Contemporary African Music, In Griot Time, An American Guitarist in Mali, Lion Songs: Thomas Mapfumo and the Music That Made Zimbabwe, the instructional guide Guitar Atlas: Africa, and a report on censorship in Zimbabwe for the Danish human rights organization Freemuse entitled Playing With Fire, Fear and Self-Censorship in Zimbabwean Music.

Track listing

All tracks written by Aterciopelados.

No.TitleLength
1."Río"4:09
2."Tréboles"3:16
3."28" (feat. Goyo)3:34
4."Día paranormal"4:01
5."Gratis"4:27
6."Vals"4:27
7."Madre"5:25
8."Bandera"2:37
9."Ataque de risa"3:21
10."Hijos de tigre"3:32
11."No llores"4:20
12."Tomate"3:41
13."Agüita"3:44
Total length:50:34

Personnel

Aterciopelados
Additional musicians
Recording personnel
Artwork

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References

  1. ↑ "The 10 Greatest Latin Rock Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  2. ↑ Pareles, Jon (2008-11-23). "New Music From Deerhunter, Tracy Chapman, Aterciopelados and 88-Keys". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  3. ↑ "Aterciopelados: Optimistic Rock From Colombia". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  4. ↑ "Aterciopelados: Optimistic Rock From Colombia". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  5. ↑ KEXP (2010-09-14), Aterciopelados - Ataque De Risa (Live on KEXP) , retrieved 2017-01-08
  6. ↑ JetSet. "El 'Hijo de tigre' de Aterciopelados". www.jetset.com.co. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  7. ↑ Birchmeier, Jason. "Rio - Aterciopelados". allmusic.com.
  8. ↑ Kemp, Mark. "Aterciopelados: Río". pastemagazine.com.
  9. ↑ "RECORDINGS Quick Spins". The Washington Post. 2008-10-21. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  10. ↑ SPIN - Dec 2008 - Page 100 Vol. 24, No. 12 Aterciopelados. Rio ***1/2 NATIONAL Eclectic Colombians get comfy with more accessible trappings Having dabbled in punk, ska, hip- hop, and electronica during the last decade-plus, the ..
  11. ↑ Pareles, Jon (2008-11-23). "New Music From Deerhunter, Tracy Chapman, Aterciopelados and 88-Keys". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  12. ↑ "Aterciopelados: Optimistic Rock From Colombia". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
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