As part of their constant “exploration of independent sounds in Puerto Rico,” the music blog Puerto Rico Indie [1] [es] has launched their first video series titled Archipiélago [2]. The series aims to document the local independent music scene through studio sessions featuring some of the island's most promising performers.
Archipiélago has published three music sessions to date, and plans a total of twelve for its first season to be completed in 2012. Each episode includes live studio recordings and interview segments.
The first episode features progressive punk power-trio Campo-Formio [3]. The band shared a couple of their favorite songs from their discography – but it was the surprise recording of the unreleased “La Mocosa” that truly made it an essential listening experience for fans. Puerto Rico Indie also recorded a session featuring experimental rock quartet Tach.dé [4], and singer-songwriter Mima [5] – who interpreted an acoustic version of “Oigo Voices”, written by acclaimed Dominican singer-songwriter Rita Indiana [6].
Without further ado, Global Voices presents Archipiélago's three first recorded sessions (in order: Campo-Formio, Mima, and Tach.dé). The interviews cover broad topics such as the musician's creative process and the local independent music scene, as a way of showing a bit of each artist's character and letting viewers meet the people behind the music.
The interviews are in Spanish, and the music is, well, universal. Enjoy!
Archipiélago's next episode will feature Dávila 666 [7], a group that has transcended Puerto Rico's local scene, gaining the recognition of the international press during 2011 and having toured worldwide.
Visit puertoricoindie.com/sesiones [8] and youtube.com/puertoricoindie [9] for Archipiélago's current episodes and keep track of updates through their social network sites twitter.com/puertoricoindie [10] and facebook.com/puertoricoindie [11].