“To mourn death is to disrespect life.” After his shocking murder in Guatemala City last Saturday, Facundo Cabral’s own words ring with a sad resonance. Many have ignored these words however and openly mourned this great Argentine folk singer. Impassioned vigils have taken place across Latin America.

22nd May 1937 marked the beginning of Cabral’s life. From what can only be described as humble beginnings, much is publicised about the struggles and challenges he faced. His father abandoned him soon after birth, along with his mother and siblings, and life continued to bring hardships. At the age of nine he left home to look for work, infamously walking 3,000km, with the aim of reaching Buenos Aires to talk with then President Juan Domingo Perón, who promised to give the poor work.

Cabral’s career and relationship with music begun after he escaped prison, where he was carrying out a sentence for violent behaviour. This period behind bars saw him learn how to read and write, and crucially the beginnings of his involvement with Christianity.

Success was initially evasive. Under the artistic name ‘El Indio Gasparino’ his first songs were not well received. However by 1970, and under his own name, he was enjoying widespread popularity. This was especially the case after the release of ‘No soy de aquí, ni soy de allá’ – arguably his most famous song.

The late 1970s brought heartache for Cabral. Not only did he lose both his wife and one-year-old daughter in a plane crash, he was also exiled by the Military Junta from Argentina in 1976. Labelled a protest singer by the dictatorship, he returned to Argentina in 1984 a sacred name to the Argentine people. This period in exile also brought Cabral immense international success, especially in Latin America and his ‘second home’ of Mexico.

Cabral’s murder will secure his position as one of the greats of Argentine music. However his life story, which also includes surviving cancer and being named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 1996, and his beautiful, passionate songs should not be overlooked. His music is lyrical and melodic. It is also haunting and evokes a whole range of emotions. Maybe that is now because of his tragic death, or maybe it is because of sad life story, but ultimately it must be because of his great skill as a musician and lyricist.

Genre: Folk

Dates Active: 1954-2011

In his own words: ”I always ask God, why did you give me so much? You gave me misery, hunger, happiness, struggle, lights…. I saw everything. I know there is cancer, syphilis, spring and apple fritters in the world”

Most famous song: No soy de aquí, ni soy de allá

Best lyric: ‘There is half the world waiting, with a flower in their hand, and the other half are waiting, for that flower’

Famous for: Cabral will probably become most famous for his death. However his life story, and all the struggles within it, will remain a fascinating story to tell.

Best to listen to: Just want to sit and think, maybe have a little cry? Stick this on, and feel the emotion in the lyrics and the instruments.

Some call him ‘the Bob Dylan of Latin America’. Indeed, León Gieco, earned his reputation in the 70s as an outspoken social protester who used his folk-rock music as a voice for young people. His brusque voice, poetic lyrics and strong convictions eventually turned him into a legend in Argentina as well as a national hero for those who shared his beliefs.

León Gieco at Casa de América (Photo: Casa de América)

Celebrating his 60th birthday this Sunday, Gieco was born in a small town in the province of Santa Fe, on 20th November 1951. His love for music developed at an early age. When he was eight years old he used all his savings to buy a guitar and learned to play live by performing in school shows, influenced by bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

At 18, he left home and moved to Buenos Aires to try to tap in to the burgeoning rock scene of the 60s. With little money and never having seen a big city, he got lucky and met Gustavo Santaolalla, another aspiring artist who had achieved some success with his band Arco Iris. Together they produced Gieco’s first album in 1973, under the rock label Music Hall.

The 70s were difficult years in Argentina. As Gieco felt increasing pressure from a government that wanted to censor his work, he decided to leave and try his luck in the United States. In Los Angeles he reconnected with Santaolalla, and spent the next year defining a unique style of folk-rock and pop-blues that appealed to counterculture.

In the early 80s he returned to Argentina and embarked on a three-year tour, travelling the country from one end to another. The result of this journey was documented in his well known album ‘De Ushuaia a La Quiaca’, which featured an assortment of recordings by folk musicians, each performing in their own small corner of Argentina. The success of this project led to another international foray, this time to Moscow and then on to Germany.

One of his most interesting songs, ‘Ojo con los Orozco’, was skillfully written so that the only vowel to feature in the lyrics is the letter ‘O’. Almost rap-like in its rhythm, the song is a kind of reverse tongue twister with a catchy beat.

Today he continues to play and perform, giving pleasure to fans of years past and also inspiring the younger generation. His latest album, ‘El Desembarco’ is released this month.

Originally from Bergen in Norway, self taught musicians Eirik Glambek Bøe and Erlend Øye have come a long way from playing the art house cinemas and university unions of ten years ago.

Finding themselves in the same musical frame of mind, they combined as acoustic pop duo Kings of Convenience and purposefully looked to develop a simplistic, stripped down sound.

Kings of Convenience (Photo courtesy of EMI Music)

Since then, ‘Quiet is the New Loud’ in 2001, ‘Riot on an Empty Street’ in 2004, and ‘Declaration of Independence’ in 2009, have each sought to satisfy the theory of less is more.

Having said before that if they ever strayed too far from what they originally intended to do they’d have to change the name, Kings of Convenience have succeeded in creating three ‘word of mouth classics’ without ever moving too far away from a formula that works.

Limiting themselves almost exclusively to two voices, two guitars and a sparing use of backing instruments, their intimate sound and laid back, easy charm has earned them a dedicated following in places you might not imagine.

With their first big tour of North America in 2005, Asia in 2006, dates in Mexico and South Korea in 2007 and 2008, and longer tours taking in several continents in 2010 and 2011, they’re also much more travelled than people might expect.

Currently in the middle of their first South American tour, The Indy caught up with Erlend as the band arrive in Argentina for the first of two sell out shows at La Trastienda.

The South American segment of your current tour combines Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and a return to Brazil, where you played a one off date back in 2005. Tell us a little about how this leg of the tour came about. Has South America been on your mind for a long time?

Yes. We’ve tried to make it happen before, but the offers were very low – just enough to cover the airfare. But as years have passed, it seems more and more people have come to know our music, and promoters have slowly realised that we also have fans here. That said, the tour was mainly our own initiative.

With successive shows tonight and tomorrow night at La Trastienda, you’re one of the few European acts to play here besides festivals. Why do you think that is?

Many bands sit and wait for an offer to come in, and then it’ll most likely be a case of playing at a festival, because the festivals have bigger budgets and strong sponsorship backing. But we don’t have a manager, or travel with a big crew, so it makes touring in far away places more possible. Because we’re adventurous, and we have the freedom to make our own decisions, we’ve been able to travel to Argentina and other ”peripheral” places like Indonesia and Peru.

Eirik Glambek Bøe and Erlend Øye (Photo courtesy of EMI Music)

You’ve talked before about being musicians who are at once commercial and relatively unknown depending on where you are. Yet tickets for your concert at La Trastienda sold out in a surprisingly short time. Was that something you anticipated?

Well, we often have a strong self-confidence about our popularity, but then the local promoters have a low confidence, and then we start believing they’re right. But then the show always sells out. Experience is a comb life gives you when you’ve lost all your hair.

How did you gauge your following in Argentina and other places in South America when you were planning the tour?

Facebook is, of course, very helpful – and a very new tool for us. We’ve only been in control of our fan-page since this year. But we can also get a sense of our fan base from meeting fans at concerts in Europe who tell us that we have fans in their country.

All of your songs are written and recorded in English, but you seem to have a created a sound that’s very portable to countries where English isn’t a first language or maybe isn’t widely spoken. What do you think about this idea?

I think it has a lot to do with the fact that our English is easier to understand than the English of most English bands. Our lyrics have little slang and a big attention to pronunciation. And we don’t have the insider jokes that only English or Americans understand.

Acoustic pop duo Kings of Convenience (Photo courtesy of EMI Music)

You’ve previously expressed a fondness for old bossa nova and once performed a cover of ‘Garota de Ipanema’ in Portuguese. Besides João Gilberto, are there other Latin American musicians or styles that you find particularly inspirational?

Our inspirations come from so many places it’s hard to trace them now. We don’t really know much about Argentine music, but as far as we know, no young bands in Argentina are working with tango effects. It seems like a dead form of music. But that’s the same story with Brazil and bossa nova. There’s been no great heir to that tradition since the 80s.

Eirik has said that he prefers to keep music as a passion, and in that respect hopes to remain indefinitely amateur, whereas you’ve compared music to carpentry in a professional sense. In between albums, you’ve each taken time away from Kings of Convenience to pursue personal interests and solo projects. What do you enjoy about those independent outlets, and how has it been coming together as a duo again?

Well, I can tell you Eirik has changed his mind about that. When he realized what a normal job means, or working as a psychologist for that matter. But we’re very aware of the line between having fun with the band and feeling like it’s a job. We never want to become numb to it, so for that reason, other projects are important to keep Kings of Convenience special for us.

And finally, you said ten years ago that you expected to find love on the road, and that you also thought you’d die travelling. This time around it seems you’ve got different goals. Is there anything specific you hope to see or do in the South American countries you’ll visit on this tour?

We just visited the Andes mountains near Santiago, which was amazing. And we’re looking forward to seeing Buenos Aires.

Jessie Akin shows a day in the life of Folkhop, a band who busk for money on the trains through the suburbs of Buenos Aires. Folkhop is made up of two folk muscians – Francisco from Salta and Alejandro from Jujuy – and rapper Israel from Buenos Aires. Their music combines Argentine folk rhythms such as chacarera and samba with hip hop and the fusion of Buenos Aires’ street culture and folklore is also expressed through their lyrics. Both Francisco and Alejandro have been playing folk music for many years both in their native provinces and around Buenos Aires, and Israel has been rapping since he was 12 years old. The band, which can be heard every day on the Retiro-Tigre train, was formed two years ago, and they are currently recording a new album.

Rapper Israel

The band play in the train

Folkhop logo stuck on Alejandro’s traditional ‘bombo’

Francisco sings backing vocals

Passengers look on as Israel fuses hip hop vocals with folk rhythm

Francisco and Israel wait for the next train after a short rest

Israel looks at his fellow band members as the sing their interpretation of 'Ojos de Cielo'

Alejandro plays the bombo

Alejandro on lead folk vocals

Israel collects change from passengers

The band poses at San Isidro station before heading on to Tigre

Israel walks off the platform at Retiro into the night

Mompox with all the members of the band: Ale Wonder, Fermin Echeveste, Maxi Russo, Juan Tobal, Maxi Cataldi, Ezequiel Spinelli and Ignacio de Andrés (courtesy of Mompox)

Mompox is the music you’d expect Argentine surfers to put on when resting their muscles after having braved the cold ocean waves.

Tags on the band’s official homepage read: Buenos Aires, electronica, folk, pop, psicodelia, rock, Argentina, indie pop, mompox, triangulo.

Triangle? Yes. Triangular is in fact is the name of their latest release (2011), the shape being one of the only decipherable labels given by the band.

Yet, if it is easy to guess what the three vertexes of the triangle are (rock, folk and psychedelic electro pop), the feel-good harmony they encompass is far from being easily-definable.

Three synthesisers recreate the ludic psychedelia, the complexity of the vocal harmonies and the unexpected rhythm variations of the early surf music. It is reminiscent of MGMT, Arcade Fire, Devo, Flaming Lips and the Beach Boys, all at the same time.

Many tracks are short epiphanies that last less than two and half minutes, songs that seem to be put there to transmit only ‘good vibrations’.

Despite singing in English and defining themselves as an “electro-popabilly-italo-judio” ensemble on their Twitter account, deep down they cannot be more Argentine.

The band saw the light in Buenos Aires, during the hot summer of 2008, when Ignacio de Andrés, Juan Tobal and Ezequiel Spinelli took on the unique quest to achieve the musical perfection they believed appeared in the United States during the 1950s and 60s.

Mompox, was therefore created with the explicit purpose of reviving the era when pop music was eventually submerged and carried towards new shores by a psychedelic wave whose traces are still visible in today’s electronic experimentations.

The recording of ‘Treehouse’ by the parallel band tRilaUs first put Mompox members together with jazz guitarist Tomás Becú, acrobatic pianist and accordionist Alejandro Goldberg, and a versatile DJ-drummer Maximiliano Cataldi.

Needless to say, all these names were known in the scruffiest underground clubs of Buenos Aires, pervaded by the thick rancid smell of Quilmes and wooden floors spotted with dark Fernet stains.

Mompox - Big Umbrella (courtesy of Mompox)

Ignacio de Andrés and his friends already had more than 20 tracks in mind when they finally locked themselves up in a room to record their first studio album, ‘Mompox & The Big Umbrella’ (Panda, El Pie, Mandarina).

With The Beatles, David Bowie and the Kinks in mind the band worked through the summer of 2009. The result was independently released and distributed at the beginning of 2010, and featured the appearance of more than 20 special guests.

‘Mompox & The Big Umbrella’ is a babel of electronic rhythms, psychedelic sounds, folk, pop, orchestra, rockabilly, jazz and bolero that blew the mind of many concert-goers in the capital’s most famous venues: Niceto Club, Teatro Margarita Xirgu, Outsider Festival, Café Vinilo, La Castorera and Plasma, to name a few.

According to the official version, the first 1,000 copies of the original edition were sold out by the end of November, thanks to songs like ‘The Sisters Klein’ (a homage to vaudeville with klezmer airs, where a banjo accompanies the lyrics, and tuba and clarinets duet with a piano), ‘Mary’ (an oneiric and almost Gregorian piece where voices are melted by the smooth sound of the accordion) and ‘Robbery’ (a demonstration of how chameleon-like music can be, thanks to its unique blend of Brit-pop, rockabilly and gypsy tunes).

Mompox are still alive and kicking, and this week are presenting their latest album, ▲. The band will play a series of exclusive concerts at La Fabrica (for a maximum of 30 people and by invitation only).

“We play the whole album. You come inside and you have go through the whole journey, whether you want it or not,” they once said of their live shows.

Genre: Surf-electro pop music

Dates Active: 2008-present

In their own words: “The prolix psychedelic band and the ‘retro-futurism’ that hooked Fabio Alberti up […] We ended up being in love with ourselves.”

Most famous song: “Perfect Service”

Best Lyric: “Don’t want to freeze, don’t want to get old/ Don’t want a bad dream, don’t want to get lost / I’m on the rooftop ready to fall /Looking for a rush before I get old. ” (Friday Night)

Famous for: Being one of the least definable bands on the Argentine musical panorama: a sound that you might as easily find in some hippy festival in San Francisco or in a dark basement in East London.

Best to listen to: Their CDs are an invitation to sit down, close your eyes and simply go back to the ancestral act of listening to a musical artwork from the beginning to the end.

Puente Celeste

Currently celebrating over a decade playing together, the Argentine folk band Puente Celeste are proving themselves to be somewhat a staple of the contemporary music scene here in Argentina. Often referred to as ‘folk’ this band is actually a true fusion of different genres – a base in folk yes, but also a good dash of tango, jazz and 20th century classical music are mixed in too. Once you’ve deciphered what genre you’re working with, searching for their influences becomes an equally daunting task. They have been inspired by artists all the way from Asia, Africa, Oceania, Europe and then of course the Americas. The list of composers who each player has listed as an influence range from Stravinsky, Messiaen, Miles Davis, Hermeto Pascoal, Ralp Towner and far beyond.

First formed in 1997 under the banner of ‘Santiago Vazquez and Puente Celeste’, they enjoyed early success in 1998 winning an award from the newspaper Clarín for ‘Disco Revelación‘. This success has continued throughout their careers. They have performed concerts around the world and produced four critically acclaimed albums. Known as perfectionists their entire back catalogue is the obvious result of much time and effort, as well as individual talent. ‘Canciones’, their latest album released in 2009, is a collection of their best songs, and reflects the quality if not also the diversity, of the band.

This is a band that creates amazing layers of instruments, rhythms and melodies. They manage to combine all of their sounds in a natural way, and seamlessly link their inspirations from across the globe. Rather than a clash of egos, each member is given the space to show off their talents and the result is a harmonious blend. When seeing them live there are often jazz-inspired improvised solos which punctuate their classic songs. Regulars at la Bomba del Tiempo, this is a band to dance to as well as to just sit, listen and appreciate the musical journey you are being taken on.

Genre: Folk

Name of current band members: Edgardo Cardozo, Luciano Dyzenchauz, Marcelo Moguilevsky, Lucas Nikotian and Santiago Vazquez.

Dates Active: 1997 to present

In their own words: ‘I think the key to our music is the diversity in the musical tastes of every one of us. The inspiration that we all draw on is very different’

Most famous song: Milonga del bicho feo

Best lyric: (from ‘El Amor’) ‘If I left or died, I am not an angel yet, I don’t want to lose you, The water in your pond, And the thirst in your soul, love, love’

Famous for: Their entertaining concerts and wild improvisations

Best to listen to when: The terrace asado is starting to heat up on a long, hot summer evening

Victor Heredia in concert (Photo: Cantú Guerra)

With 35 albums to his name, Argentine musician and activist Victor Heredia is famous for his encapsulation of social problems in Latin America, many of which he has been intimately affected by.

Born in Buenos Aires, in 1947, to a French father and indigenous Argentine mother, Heredia retained a connection to the indigenous communities of Argentina.

Having studied music from a young age, he participated in various television and radio shows, as well as festivals, throughout his youth. When he was only 20, he won the Youth Revelation prize at Cosquín festival in Córdoba, with a self-composed samba called ‘To Charge Up’. This marked the beginning of a long and respected musical career, shining the first ray of public light onto his unique perspective and ability.

After a series of concerts called ‘Gritando Esperanzas’ held in the region, and only two years after his Cosquín debut, Heredia was again awarded a prize from the area. Then, in 1972, he participated in Peru’s Agua Dulce festival and was awarded best performer. In the same year, he composed music to accompany the poems of Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda.

Tours of Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico followed, earning him fame throughout the continent and attracting fans in their thousands, as well as appearances at festivals in Spain and New York.

Heredia’s most respected album, ‘Taki Ongoy’, is a conceptual work composed in 1986 in homage to the 16th century fight of the indigenous people to achieve liberation after the Spanish first conquered.

The musician presents Latin America as a heart-wrenching combination of conquerors and the conquered; a society composed of two sides. In his album, he poses a perspective of mourning, proclaiming that all indigenous people should yearn for the years when they once owned the land. “America is alive, and I am part of its body, refusing to celebrate when it wants to cry,” say the lyrics.

Other successful works include ‘Todavía Cantamos’, ‘Sobreviviendo’, ‘El Viejo Matías’, ‘Dulce Daniela’, and one of his most well known recordings, ‘Razón de Vivir’.

During his career, he has collaborated with renowned artists such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Mercedes Sosa, León Gieco, Milton Nascimento, El Cuarteto Zupay, Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés and has, himself, had a fruitful run.

Like many other artists, his music was banned during the military dictatorship of 1975-1983, but Heredia’s misfortune was added to when his sister, Maria Cristina, became one of the thousands of people known as desaparecidos who went missing at the time. Ever-since, he has held close ties to organisations such as Madres de Plaza de Mayo and Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, as well as other indigenous organisations.

In 1991, shortly after an appearance at Buenos Aires’ Luna Park stadium, he was invited to attend the First International Meeting of the Peoples of Africa and Latin America. Two years later, the artist toured ten different locations along the Atlantic coast as part of a government cultural project, spreading his music over the province for free. In 1998, he was awarded a gold record for his work, ‘De Amor y De Sangre’.

The singer-songwriter then began to commemorate famous leading members of Indigenous tribes, dedicating an entire album to Don Atahualpa Yupanqui, the last Inca Emperor of Peru. Today, Heredia continues to pay tribute to somewhat mythical icons, bringing to the forefront a troubled past that many would rather forget.

Genre: Folk

Dates Active: 1968 – Present

In their own words: “This is the perspective of the defeated, or at least the ones who appear to have been defeated; the reverse of the coin so far has shown the supposed victors. But it is left for one to wonder how far one has been defeated when our collective memory underlies and struggles stubbornly to endure centuries, still achieving permanence of ancient rites and beliefs with the constant vigilance of direct descents of those that who once were masters of these territories and the entire continent. It is an inevitable emotion that overwhelms us.”

Most famous song: Taki Ongoy

Best lyrics: “This is the day of the year when the pain has ended, here come the songs of prophecy, the Indian has not died.” Or, “I walk on this earth surviving, surviving, surviving, I don’t just want to be a survivor anymore, I want to chose the day of my death.”

Famous for: Highlighting the pain that remains today among indigenous communities all over Latin America.

Best to listen to: Reading the news on a Sunday whilst relaxing with a coffee.