A Taste of Puerto Rico's Underground Indietronica Comes Our Way: An Interview with Balún
by César Dávila-Irizarry, Photos by Chris Strong (left) and Joe Wigdahl (right)

Oh, the sound and smell of the sea. Oh, the sound and smell of traffic.

I had already moved away from Puerto Rico. Some years had passed by. Yet there I was. Back in old San Juan 2003. Parking in the same spot I parked when I was in high school. And finally, after about a year of listening to their music, I was seeing Balún live at the good ol’ hole-in-the-wall known as Don Pablo. All the band’s fans and friends (and friendly fans) were there too. Dancing to the beat of the old Balún sound with its heavy video game music tone, like a fascinating soundtrack to an 8-bit Puerto Rican paradise adventure.

Now, three years after seeing that first live show, I get to interview the non-trad trio—who record and perform together using electronic and acoustic instruments. Today Balún, whose name is the word balloon written phonetically in Spanish, is composed of Angélica Negrón (adding sparse dreamy vocals), José Olivares and Andrés Fontánez.

Their spaced-out sound has changed. Also new is Balún’s full length debut in June 2006 by the adventurous Chicago label Brilliante. While they have not put their video game soundtrack aesthetic to the side, they have integrated very deep, thick and powerful harmonies with melodies that would warm the heart of the coldest of witches. We discuss the nuevo and the not-so-old in spring 2006.

Dávila-Irizarry: What personal experiences or ideas create the bridge between the members of Balún and the music's rich harmonies, its occasional video-game-like palette of sounds, and its playful melodies?
Balún: “Our approach to making music is more instinctive than autobiographical. We like to work with sounds and textures that we like and combine them to form new and different musical structures. This taste for particular sounds stems from the music we grew up with since our childhood. We do take into account our environment but not in an obvious manner. Our actual environment is an influence in as much as we try to escape from it. Our songs could be considered as a means of escaping from the reality that we live in.”

DI: There's a new Balún album coming out in the summer under Chicago's Brilliante Records. When will it be released? Where were you headed with this recording?
Balún: “Our new album titled ‘Something Comes Our Way’ is scheduled to be released on June 27, 2006. The main difference between this album and our other past productions is the fact that this one was recorded in an actual studio with the help of our friend Ariel Zavala. We spent almost a year in the pre-production of this album just to make sure that when we got to the studio we would know exactly what we wanted to do. That's why it just took us two months to record ’Something Comes Our Way.’ Another difference from previous releases is that since we had more time in the studio we used more acoustic instruments which made the approach to the arrangements in a more orchestral manner. The songs still hold their simple essence but they became organically more complex the more time we spent on them in the studio. The main goal on this album was to create a conceptual piece of work in which each of its units still posses their own individuality and charm. Another goal was to summarize, in a way, the work that Balún has done over the past three years.”

DI: How did the Brilliante Records and Balún relationship come to be?

Balún: “They [Brilliante Records] first contacted us by buying one of our EPs via our website. They showed a lot of great interest in releasing something from us. At the time we were going to release ’Something Comes Our Way‘ with another label but that fell through and Brilliante came to our rescue. We already knew them from their Súperaquello releases and we were very excited to work with them.” Balún is a prime example of how the Internet has opened doors for Puerto Rico's non-mainstream bands in and outside the island. In most cases, this has become the main promotional tool. Otherwise in Puerto Rico, aside from one or two radio shows like Frecuencias Alternas that airs late Saturday night on the University of Puerto Rico's radio station, there are not many other outlets. In this country, most show promoters and label representatives have a taste and understanding of entertainment that only produces generic music acts that pompously ride well-oiled propaganda machines with a tank full of ‘gasolina.’

Sadly, this has left many Puerto Rican people, young and old, islanders and from the states, thinking that ‘music has lost its magic.’ I've heard those actual words one too many times. Not many people know about the existence of music other than what's on the radio or TV, nor have the time and energy to tap into underground music sources and pick out its jewels. The common belief is that music producers are the ones doing the picking; not knowing that the research some of those producers do consists of hard work, such as asking their daughter to ask her 8th grade friends what they are listening to. I truly wish I was kidding, but that info was told to me straight from the professional's mouth. Anyway...back to Balún.”

DI: So, what's going on today in Puerto Rico's subterranean music?
Balún: “Right now Puerto Rico's underground music scene is very active and diverse. There is a strong punk/hardcore presence and also there are bands creating music that is not conventional to the typical Puerto Rican ear, falling into a genre such as post-punk (Los Psiconautas), electro-pop (Súperaquello), shoegazer (Un.Real) and post-rock (Oruga), among others. Three years ago the scene wasn't like this in terms of organization and since Balún started we knew that we needed to work very hard for us to get our music known in and outside the local scene just like older bands, like Súperaquello, have done in the past. They are kind of the model for us to follow because of their strong work ethic.”

DI: Please, mention some of the bands you've enjoyed sharing the stage with, and why were these moments special ?
Balún: “We have played with many great bands such as Súperaquello, Crissalida, El Medio and Koplik. But Súperaquello is the band that stands out the most in our memories since it was one of the first local bands that each one of us really admired and followed. We always wanted to play with them, and finally got to do it on their farewell shows. This was a great honor for us, but also bittersweet since those were to be the last shows from Súperaquello. Those shows were very emotional and intense for us because some of us were having personal issues during that Christmas of 2004.”

DI: What does Balún's body of work signify to its members?
Balún: “We see Balún as a kind of workshop in which we all have learned a lot. Before Balún we all were in different bands and all of us saw how a band could fall apart if all the members weren't on the same page. With Balún we wanted to do the complete opposite and work towards a shared goal, and in the process create the kind of music that we really wanted to do. That also meant that we had to take care of other stuff besides music such as management, recording, marketing and promotion since we really wanted to do everything by ourselves to guarantee the complete satisfaction with our work. Our collection of work is a living example of all of the things mentioned above. Though we are not always 100% satisfied with the final results, we see them as an integral part of our growth as a band.”



It is not very often that underground bands from Puerto Rico tour outside of the island. The last time Chicago had a chance to catch a sampling of that scene live was two years ago when Tropiezo and Juventud Crasa both played on the same bill of two Chicago shows both on the same day. (I should add: the show in Pilsen kicked ass).

Now Balún is set to fly across the ocean (and the lake) for their first U.S. tour. They will be in town this summer bringing their electronic island dreams and contemporary folk nostalgia to your beautiful elvish ears.

For more info on Balún you may visit:
www.balunonline.com
www.brilliante.tv
www.myspace.com/balun

Curious about the Puerto Rican underground scene? Check out: www.myspace.com/puertoricoescena
Note: The webmaster on this last page features three or four new songs from different bands about every two weeks; usually nice selections. My recommendation for how to browse the PR music scene in MySpace is the same way many people do already for any other music scene: look for the links to bands Balún mentions on their website and MySpace, check them out, and then check out the people they have as friends. You will add some very nice music to your collection and become cooler than your friends when you ask: "Hey!! Did you already download Balún's cover of Superaquello's ‘Naranja’?!?!"