Lisandro Aristimuño in concert (Photo: Beatrice Murch)
Lisandro Aristimuño is a young singer from Viedma, in Río Negro province, Patagonia. At the age of 31, he is releasing his fourth album ‘Las Crónicas del Viento’ and has already toured several times in Europe. Music critics like to compare him to an Argentine version of Radiohead singer, Thom York. The singer has had an unusual career worth knowing to better understand independent music in Argentina.
He released his first album ‘Azules Turquesas’ edited by the independent label Los Años de Luz Discos in 2004. It was cited as one of the 50 best albums of the year and Lisandro was selected as Best New Artist by Argentina’s Rolling Stone and Les Inrockuptibles. He was also a finalist at the Carlos Gardel award in the new forms of folk music category.
In November, Lisandro gave four concerts to present his new double album, which is divided in two chapters. Chapter 1 was recorded in a Buenos Aires studio and is closer to electronic music. It involves Lisandro’s band (also called Los Azules Turquesas) and a few guests. “This is more a group album, made by friends, it’s more like a chat, a symbol of communion,” says the singer about the first part of his new album.
The second chapter was recorded in a house in Spain. Lisandro claims his intention was to produce a more rustic and homely sound. In the past, the singer has always recorded his music at home. “It gives an amazing dimension of imperfection to the sound,” he says. “In the background, you can hear the sound of the street, your breath or just your own silence … That’s what gives originality and authenticity to a record.”
Lisandro describes his new album as the tale of his Patagonian childhood recounted by the wind. “Being born in Patagonia, I have been told when I was younger that the wind tells you lots of things, and I have chosen to sing them to people.” The singer compares himself to a bird, lifted by the wind and observing his land from different view points.
Strong wind on the pampa (Photo: Antoine Hubert)
After attending one of Lisandro’s concerts at ND Ateneo, I realised that although a bird can fly on its own, it often needs to fly in a group, and Lisandro’s band plays a big part in his work.
From the first song, ‘Es todo lo que tengo’, I can tell the prominence of his voice is clear. However, I thought the mix of electronic effects and jazz instruments was very enjoyable. The band consists of five musicians, composed of a clarinet, a double bass, a saxophone, drums and a keyboard. Every musician was also a backing vocalist. The folkloric music was brightened up by various electronic effects which made it more experimental and even more exceptional.
Lisandro has always been into the independent distribution scheme, a mode that is getting bigger and bigger in Argentina. Independent labels represent 23% of the music industry in the country and sell three million records a year for $41.2m.
A music production is said to be independent when it does not belong to a multinational company. It may include some self-produced artists although some labels have a market insertion comparable to the multinational enterprises. The two types of labels are mainly differentiated by the selection they make in their catalogue. Multinationals look for safe bets, basing their offer on large-scale launchings of similar products. They want quick results on their investments which reduces cultural diversity.
The importance of independent labels is recalled by Carlos Ulanovsky, music journalist and head of Radio de la Ciudad, when he sings the praises of Los Años Luz Discos. He says, “how difficult should it be to build a balanced catalogue that call attention and generates diffusion, public relations, sales and stays authentic. It is genuine public interest.”
Many of the large record companies in Argentina are not looking for new artists anymore. This important mission now relies on independent labels. However, independents have always had a tough life in competing with multinational record companies. They often lack the resources to sell through several media (records, video, movies, TV and the Internet). Mainstream Argentine radio, for instance, is known to be mainly talked-based radio and the music slots are already dominated by larger labels.
For a long time, the government has kept quiet about the topic but the recently approved media law has a few promises for independent artists. In radio broadcasting, 30% of music will now have to be Argentine music, with 50% of those artists being independent. For law makers, it is the artists who own the commercial rights of their own recordings. The government has also recognised the necessity of creating a fund in favour of the music industry of which 2% will be intended for the creation of a national music institute.
Another issue is distribution. In order to have your distribution to work you need two main investments. The first is advertising, but prices are too high for independent labels since the cost for an ad broadcasted twice a day for a month can reach the price of $5,200. This is a major investment for small labels that does not guarantee an effective promotion of their product. The second is distribution fees that take between 25 and 30% of the selling price and make it a hard job for small companies to survive off their sales.
But there is some hope as there are a large number of independent labels already in existence – there are some 70 in Buenos Aires alone – something that guarantees large musical diversity.
Lisandro Aristimuño on stage (Photo: Beatrice Murch)
Lisandro’s career is an important inspiration for Argentine independent artists. The singer represents international success while applying the rules of independent labels. His four performances in the ND Ateneo and the one in Rosario have been the only way he has promoted his album. On the day I went to discover the singer, there was hardly a free seat. Much of the audience was already fan of the Patagonian singer and sang along to the songs they knew.
Independent labels are more and more accepted as a working alternative to commercial distribution. In the international music industry, well-known artist have shown great support to the concept. Back in 2007, British band Radiohead released their album ‘In Rainbows’ through their own website a few months before the physical release. Customers could give whatever payment that they wanted including nothing. The site only said was “it’s up to you”.
Resemblance between Lisandro Aristimuño and Thom York was right to be tackled. Not only are the two artists linked by their music style but also by being both ambassadors for independent music. When Radiohead would be more on the international scale, Lisandro’s move is an important step forward for independent artists in Argentina. It will hopefully make people turn their back on commercial labels and convince them to support more fair-minded practices.
For more information about the artist, visit www.lisandro.biz For upcoming tour dates go to www.myspace.com/lisandroaristi
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