South America Uncovered: Part 3

South America Uncovered: Part 3

4 September, 2007 | 8.16PM

• Section: Music News
• Written by: Felipe Javier

In part 3 of Beatportal’s South America Uncovered series we traveled to Chile to meet three of the region’s most popular up and coming artists: Francisco Allendes [pictured above], Daniela Haverbeck, Tweeter.

The unknown territory of Chile

We traveled south, to the end of the World. Or the beginning – depending on how you see it. Chile is a beautiful country, a land of exquisite wines and talented poets.

It’s also a region that has produced some of electronic music’s greatest DJs and producers, including artists such as Ricardo Villalobos [right], Luciano, Alexi Delano, Pier Bucci and Dinky, amongst others.

We wanted to find out who might make up the next generation of Chilean stars.

In South America, Chile is a country that is fairly developed; it’s not as large and economically strong as Brazil or Argentina, because it’s a country with much smaller population – but it still has a lot of underground culture.

It’s very low profile is maintained with very little marketing which gives the scene an old skool atmosphere with a very non-commercial feeling.

The Chilean dance scene has grown in popularity in recent years thanks to the talents of its native Chilean international stars.

With a clear Latin touch, their styles vary from minimal, techno, house and tech house.

One of the most popular styles is minimal. In addition to Villalobos, some of the most respected artists from this scene are Alejandro Vivanco, Marcelo Rosselot, Miguel Tutera and the new duo, Salinas Dub.

Francisco Allendes: The Talent from Los Andes

We caught up with Francisco Allendes, one of the most popular producers in Chile, with a notable presence in Spain.

His style is mostly techno, with many minimal elements.

Allendes is a member of Monomachine and the founder of the Andes Music label.

“The scene here is, economically speaking, somewhat poor compared to other countries like Argentina or Brazil where there are a lot of more people so there are more resources,” says Allendes.

“But speaking about music, there are a lot of excellent producers from all styles.

“It’s a mistake to classify the Chilean sound as just minimal because there are excellent artists respected internationally in every style,” he tells us.

About the popular Chilean artists he says, “I think that all the artists with Chilean roots have developed a lot, but the best one is Alexi Delano [right].

“He has been working for more than 20 years and produces tracks every month.

“Perhaps he could use more exposure, but his music is among the best.”

Allendes is planning a tour with stops at D-Edge Sao Paulo and Dama de Ferro in Río, plus eventual visits to Argentina and Venezuela.

He is also working on various projects, including a new release on Andes Music with other artists from South America, such as Gustavo Ferrante and Mariano DC from Argentina and Delete from Venezuela.

He is also working on a forthcoming release with Alexi Delano.

Daniela Haverbeck: The Hard Jewel

One of the most interesting scenes in Chile is the country’s version of hardcore, which is known as hard rhythms.

The country has prestigious outfits such as Hardnation and has produced excellent artists like Hansnoise, Bangg and Daniela Haverbeck.

Haverbeck is a DJ and producer who is also a pioneer in the Schranz scene in South America and has performed at important festivals like Ground Zero (Holland) and in Europe.

A member of the Girlpower Label, Haverbeck’s debut release is called ‘UTCH’.

Her vision is very clear about Chilean music.

“Here, the ruling styles are house, minimal, electro and progressive, but I think that this is normal in a place where electronic music culture is fairly new,” Haverbeck says, before adding further insight into the surrounding regions.

“In Argentina, we have a real advantage because styles like techno, hard and drum & bass are very underground.

“In Brazil, on the other hand, the scene is very big and there is a lot of diversity.

“In Venezuela, a lot of things are happening and the hard scene has grown a lot.”

Haverbeck is currently finishing a tour of Europe.

“I met a lot of excellent producers and played at great parties.

“When I go back to Chile, I will keep producing new material on UTCH and Noisy Recruits.

“I want to keep spreading hard music in Chile and I’ll continue to present electronic music on the TV program called ‘BPMs’ on Canal Más,” says the beautiful and talented artist.

Tweeter: The poet of sound

Amongst all these different styles, we can’t forget one of the most popular in all of South America: house music.

We meet Tweeter, a man with a big heart full of Latin emotions.

Tweeter is a poet of sounds with passion for music and beauty.

An old skool DJ and producer, Tweeter also owns a highly respected label called Skyfish Lab [check out the label’s releases in the player below].

When asked to describe his label, he says, “The talent is what prevails. Styles come and go, but I can tell you that this music always has the dancefloor in mind.”

When we ask Tweeter about his own style of music he surprises us by telling us that his style could be called ‘Retro-Futurism.’

“One of my goals is for people to stop listening in mono.

“This is about screaming with a controller key.

“I am an artist and the music has to have something deeper – it’s like a poem.”

Tweeter thinks that people in Chile seem “a lot like the English people, they are somewhat quiet, even depressed sometimes; like Jodorowsky [a Chilean cinematographic artist], who says we have to put everything in panic mode”, he continues.

“This is a land of excellent musicians, and I think that here and in Latin America we should trust in ourselves more; we need to motivate, to open ourselves up to art.

“People are hungry for something new,” says our artist.

Tweeter is currently at work on his new EP called ‘Love’.

“It’ll have elements of house, chill out and tech house.”

He is constantly working with the other artists from his label, such as Dinamique and Early. “Both are great artists,” says Mr Tweeter.

Chile: One To Watch

That’s a snapshot of three great artists from South America.

Through their eyes, we can see how the local scene is growing and making itself more renowned.

Maybe one of the best aspects of this scene is its transparency and simplicity.

As artists who work for the art and aren’t concerned with being DJ gods or climbing to the top of the charts, they work solely for the love of the music.

And that’s a great reason to keep an eye on Chile in the future.

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