18 Medellin Bands You Need To Know (UPDATED 2010)

18 Medellin bands and musicians…3 reviews at a time.

12. Zdey (www.myspace.com/zdey)

Music goes to some strange places, from Klaus Nomi’s opera pop to John Zorn’s death metal jazz, and from Mike Patton’s destruction of voice, to Lydia Lunch’s dead-beat potery meets no-wave, music can get just plain weird. ..oh, and who could forget David Hasselhoff’s b-rate corporate rock, that’s… oh wait, that’s not strange, that’s just crap. Click here to see David’s time warp to the past “rock” video. Ouch!

For those with a vociferous musical appetite, tastes eventually drift towards one of three places to unearth new sounds: jazz, classical, or experimental. Zdey falls in the experimental category and while he does not voyage into the deepest caverns of the bizarre, for Medellin he is well on his way, a few years ahead of his time. It is a sonic mix of electronica, cumbia, jazz, lounge, and trip-hop. At his harder, disco-beat points it is akin to what I imagine taking acid alone in Las Vegas would be like, and at his softer, more somber points, it is akin to a faint, sunny, slow-motion memory of childhood. How ever you describe it, and however you consume it, Zdey is an artist pushing Medellin’s barrier of sound. An artist well worth a listen and well worth the ride. The music in this video kicks in at the 3:16 mark. For his more “typical” sounds be sure to give him some myspace love.

11. Gordo’s Projects (www.myspace.com/gordosproject)

Nine member strong Gordo’s Project is a tropical mix of salsa and cumbia. Ok that is the loose description, more specifically they whip up a cool blend of Caribbean flavors: cumbia, porro, vallenato, merengue, and a few others that I have yet been able to distinguish. With such an ambitious project and a fun and summery live show, Gordo’s Project won a music scholarship on behalf of the mayor’s office for the production of their album called “The new tablado.” Their loud and colorful style and sweet tropical sound gives a personal throw back to  Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.   They now play about once a month here in Medellin so keep an eye on their Myspace page for live shows.

10. Apuesta por el flamenco (www.myspace.com/apuestaporelflamenco)

Medellin has flamenco? Why would you doubt it? Led by the young composer and guitarist Juan Pablo Yepes, Apuesto por el Flamenco is a Medellin based collective that struts the passionate sound of Spanish gypsys and rapid rhythmic hand claps. The collective plays frequently in the city with a powerful stage presence complete with dancers with fast moving footwork and an elegant style. They play quite often so check their myspace page for upcoming shows.

9. Parlantes (www.myspace.com/parlantes)

Parlantes are like the Foo Fighters that grew out of Nirvana, except in this case no one overdosed and the old band was called Bajo Tierra. Playing a brand of smokey rock, reggae, salsa, jazz and tango, these guys have survived a few older bands to become Parlantes. They now play in a warm spirit yet with sharp, contemporary lyrics about life in Colombia and life in the city of Medellin. The members of Parlantes have many years of playing in bands and are a solid force in the music scene here in Medellin; thus they have thus been active in projects aimed at raising conscious and promoting social projects. Here is a video of their song, “aguacate” or avocado.

8. Izaya 103 (www.myspace.com/izaya103med)

Well we listened to a lot of really shitty hip hop artists to find Izaya 103, and it was worth the search, this guy is really good!  Medellin’s hip-hop sound could be described in a word as melancholic – a picture of poverty in the ghettos and a heavy sound to match.  A lot of hip-hop here is tinny, bass empty, high-hat beats with overly aggressive lyrics slapped on top, and the outcome is a real downer as it is more angry than listenable. Izaya 103 rises above the crowd with smooth beats and smooth rap-flow nicely complimented with samples of classical music and somber jazz tracks. Similar to the hip-hop lull of 2003 in the states where everyone asked what was the future of hip-hop, Izaya 103 has moved the Medellin sound in a new direction; he holds true to the melancholic sound of Medellin hip hop, yet in a way that is soothing and listenable.  The video is not great so give Izaya 103 some MySpace love and you’ll be listening for awhile.

7. Quinto Mandamiento (www.myspace.com/quintomandamiento)

Spooky masked metal dudes go back to the butt-rocking days of Kiss. Picked up again in the 90s by the clown masked groups of Mr. Bungle and Insane Clown Posse, the freakishness took on a new dimension of terror with Marilyn Manson and Slipknot. Well Medellin’s costumed freaks are here churning out a ravage, crunchy heavy metal sound. As with other morbid rockers, Quinto Mandamiento are no stranger to melodramatic presentation.  They play music to shock and challenge the beliefs of a superficially religious country and at the same time to stand in opposition to a guerrilla war that has plagued the rural areas of Colombia. In their words, “Our songs express a cry of disgust to the abuse, oppression, segregation and genocide which has hit Colombia for decades and that seems to be never-ending. On the coattails of that statement, we bring you their video “Narco Rock” unfortunately heavily pixelated.

6. Jontre (www.myspace.com/jontre)

Clocking in as Medellin’s hunky, sexy, solo artist with guitar, Jontre carries the whole deal: an electrifying music composition, a slick sound production, and a girl squirmy sex appeal like Ricky Martin, but with out the mega-wealthy, fake-tan look. Jontre immediately jumps out as an artist with a whole lot of talent, mixing Afro-American rhythms with Latin pop, his music is something like Latin R and B, and this distinct sound has won him several artists awards. His songs have a refreshing urban pop sound and the lyrics are sexy, steamy, and true to what you would expect from a Colombian sex symbol. The would be darling of the corporate music industry (who love token Latin playboys with guitars), Jontre’s fame continues to rise because he hasn’t sold out and he continues to play real original music, combined with a hip swinging live show.

5. M.A.M.I. (www.myspace.com/mamisounds)

Concept bands, born out of an attempt to put ideas, philosophies, and abstraction to music. For M.A.M.I., the M.A. came from Musica Automatica, and the M.I. were the last letters of an architectural magazine in Medellin called “Copia.” What began in 2004 with an obsession with synthetic percussion and the cold exactness of robotics, has turned into Medellin’s high-art electronic experiment for making a dance friendly, boogie, breakbeat music; electronica that’s fun and, well, not annoying and shitty. Think Daft Punk’s single “Robot Rock” yet with a less aggressive sound that you could dub italodisco improv. M.A.M.I., true to it’s conceptual origins plays more alternative, non-commercial venues to support an independent music scene in Medellin. They will play at the Modern Art Museum (MAMM) this Friday, November the 13th at 8pm at the museum’s monthly concert series called El Suiche.

4. B y R (www.myspace.com/byrband)

While the revival of 1977 old school style punk hit its peak in the late nineties the genre still stays alive pumping out heaps of bands that normally do little to raise an eyebrow. Enter B y R: a fresh jolt of enthusiasm in an otherwise predictable genre, playing rock fests around the country with their fresh blend of punk pop and high energy stage presence. What fails most punks bands is the overrated expectation of four dudes playing fast simple chords with no real energy– punk may be passe, and if it is 2010 and you are punk, then play the part and go a little ape shit crazy with your punk ass. Like a young Iggy Pop from the Stooges era, front man Chicken (pollo) explodes with a fun, bouncy, and contagious energy. With catchy, poppy hooks the whole group struts with spunk, and suddenly punk has become cool again.

3. Reptil (www.myspace.com/reptilnoche)

This band is fun, pure fun! They are definitely moving in a new direction, and while most of the time that is merely a nice way of saying this group sucks, Reptil has successfully blended funk and programmed electronic tracks which result in a catchy, fun, and explosive sound. Their live shows are heavy on audiovisuals as well so this bumps Reptil into the real rock star category. In their own words, they aim to be the “soundtrack of nightlife in the city” and they do a damn good job at it.

2. Green Monkey (www.myspace.com/greenmonkeytrio)

Green Monkey tip in as our quote unquote jazz group; and these guys whip up a blend of cool nu-jazz with loungey electronica and smooth, slow harmonic change ups. Made up of University of EAFIT percussionist and a guitarist trained from the Manhattan School of Music, Green Monkey are the resident pros of “new school” jazz here in Medellin. Blending improv with technicality they do not come off as overproduced nor contrived and have hence won all sorts of musical acclaim.

Green Monkey plays Nov. 11th at 7pm at Teatro Pablo Tobon Uribe

1. Hialina (www.myspace.com/hialina)

What would music be without the bizarre, the loud, and the straight out dangerous? Medellin has got a pretty strong metal scene but Hialina enters the ring with two distinct characteristics. First, they have keyboards! Too often in the world of death metal, bands drown out in banality and all wind up sounding the same. Hialina’s mix of throbbing keyboards and grinding guitars makes them stand out with a punch. Secondly, too often vocals in metal bands go from the throaty and growly (RAWWWWR) to the falsetto, prissy and whiny (LA LAAAAAA). But Hialina hits the perfect scream/shout combo as if being continuously caught at a murder scene. True to their raw and gritty sound, the video quality is unfortunately heavily pixilated as well.