“Bolero was the reggaeton of the 40s″: an interview with the band Daniel, you are killing me

His name doesn’t mean anything in particular. It just sounds like an intense melodrama, like a soap opera script. Daniel, you’re killing me. That’s the name of this Mexican duo that embodies the genre called ‘boleroglam’, with which they revive the classic romantic song, but adding much more current and innovative elements. And its success has been resounding.

The musical project integrated by Ivan de la Rioja and Daniel Zepeda He arrived in Peru for a presentation in Arequipa (in El Quinqué) and another in Lima (Yield Rock Bar). We take advantage of their visit to talk with them.

–Has the bolero returned with force? Or did it never go away?

Iván de la Rioja: I think it’s like in “The Lord of the Rings”, that Sauron was always there, but now he’s gaining a bigger force because he has more followers.

– And to what do you attribute that it is such a deeply rooted genre in Latin America? Is it a social issue? Is it innate and runs through our veins?

Daniel Zepeda: I think several of the things you say. It’s well ingrained in the culture, but we’re also naturally beset by drama. They are songs to offer an exaggerated love. And besides, a lot had to do with the time when certain types of movies appeared, at least in Mexico.

Iván: I think that the bolero has the quality of being the song format that unified Latin America. That despite its different versions, managed to mix with various cultures. For example, there are many protest songs in bolero. There is Julio Jaramillo, even Susana Baca had things in that format, despite the romantic context and more like a party. Today the bolero is considered something of the grandparents, but it was what the grandparents linked with. Bolero was the reggaeton of the 40s. It was a sexy genre.

–And yet, the rise of other genres, like the reggaeton you mention, seems to have annihilated romanticism. Doesn’t it seem too rough and even violent?

Daniel: I think there is music for everything. That is to say, in general, I have my artist that I like to exercise, another to think, another to study. Reggaeton is designed for the party, or to feel “on”.

Iván: In any case, I feel that, despite that, or thanks to that, there is a stigma with reggaeton. It is true that at first the format was much more sexual or aggressive, but the truth is that 80% of reggaeton hits today are not like that. There is a lot of romantic music in reggaeton.

Daniel: It’s the new typical pop format. It’s what everyone is doing. In the end it’s just a rhythm, and the romantics, the rappers, the pastors are even putting it in their church.

–I also read that among its references is the Peruvian waltz.

Iván: Yes, I said that once. What happens is that before starting this band, I saw a live session by Susana Baca, which was where I got to know a little about the waltz with a cajon. And there is a song that we have, “Ya no me Buscas más”, with Augusto Bracho, that when we composed it, at least I was thinking of the Peruvian waltz. Already with the mixed references, something else was left that is not a waltz, but it has something.

Daniel: Yes, it is an important reference for ternary genres in Latin America. And besides, there’s that thing about the little fingers of the guitarists… (laughs).

–Do they have followers “of the ancients”, as they say? Or do they connect more with new generations?

Iván: I think our followers are the grandchildren of those who know bolero. The large percentage are young and come from a nostalgia type “ah, it’s like what my grandparents listened to.” And they themselves show them to their parents and grandparents, who tell them “that’s a cover, I had already heard it”; but no, it’s a new song, just that there is clearly an intention of ‘revival’

–In these times when everything is questioned, do you think that the lyrics or melodramatic themes of the bolero can become very “toxic”, as is often said lately?

Iván: Yes, it has happened. I mean, I think so far we’ve been careful not to give a bad image about it. I mean not to promote a toxic thing, that comes from the construction of romantic love. But neither can we deny that historically it is the construction that we have all had. I think that at least translating it into songs, without ruling for or against something, makes us understand culturally where we come from. And that helps us to deconstruct ourselves or to build a healthier love.

Daniel: And in our case it has happened to us that we have to leave songs out. Because there are things with which you say “hell, that situation is no longer valid”. Or something like that.

Ivan: Sure. Today people continue to sing songs by José Alfredo [Jiménez], but 90% of those songs don’t build healthy love. So, as we are making new songs, we try to be careful not to give the idea that we are in favor of something that is not right.

Daniel: The net is that they are songs that are made from sincerity. So we try to be as honest as possible without hurting anyone.

–What kind of artists that mix apparently very distant genres could have inspired you?

Daniel: We are very clear, for example, about C. Tangana and Rosalía…

Iván: Well, at the beginning of the band, something that encouraged us to adapt digital things to the songs is that Drake’s “Hotline Bling” sounded very strong, which uses a ‘sample’ of an old gringo bolero, which sounds everywhere. the song. There we said that we could also adapt something like that. From another place, of course, because he does it with urban music. And we keep getting to know genres and artists… Los Ángeles Negros are also a clear idea of ​​fusion. Because they were a rock band, doing covers of the Beatles, but like boleros and romantic music.

Daniel: In addition, throughout the history of bolero there have been many exponents and you can see the development of the sound, from the mix, the instrumentation, the production. And in the 70s there are many tickets with synthesizers or with drums. In the 90s it happened with Luis Miguel. Or you listen to Coque Muñiz and he has a few more ‘reverbs’ from that time. The bolero has gone through so many facets that we try to grab references and adapt them to our lives and our desire to project kitsch.

Iván: There are also projects like Los Zafiros or Los Montejo. There were many in the 70s or 80s that went a bit unnoticed and that today are being taken up again. Kali Uchis has a cover of Los Zafiros on the last album she released. And a lot of people don’t know that the song isn’t hers, even though she recorded it exactly the same.

– Is the bolero the genre in which you would like to stay, your safe place? Or could they change registration?

Daniel: I think it is the genre in which we feel that we develop more honestly and fluidly. And no one knows what will happen. But for now we make romantic music based on that kind of language.

Iván: Yes, besides, we are both different. And despite this difference, we are both clear that the bolero is like the raw material we have to do whatever we want. Songs with strange genres will probably come out, but they will always have something to do with bolero. That is the only “rule” we have. And that cannot change.

-They usually say that they are passionate about soap operas. What are your favorites?

Iván: I have never seen a complete telenovela, but Dani worked for telenovelas for many years.

Daniel: Yes, my life is a soap opera, even though it is quite boring (laughs). I have seen many. All of Thalía’s, “Marimar”, “María Mercedes”, “María la del barrio”, “Alborada”, “La steprastra”, even “El Premio Mayor”, “Luz Clarita”… “La usurper”! I have seen an infinite amount of telenovelas, but only a few complete ones. At one point my dad started making music for soap operas and that’s where I learned to produce. He made me do his job and I was involved in making music for soap operas all my adolescence. There came a time in life when we watched soap operas just to find out how many songs they played for us (laughs).

Iván: To review the job, to see if they paid (laughs). In Peru it must be similar, that soap operas are deeply rooted in popular culture. Then it is not even necessary to see a complete one to understand the context of things. In this time where everything is memes, I think that half of the Mexican memes come from soap operas.