Juan Luis Guerra Talks About His New EP “Radio Güira”

If you are Dominican and have been alive through the Eighties and ’90s, chances are high Juan Luis Guerra’s hits turned the soundtrack of your life. They’d play at each household operate, throughout lengthy automobile rides, or on the seashore, and he was possible your mami’s favourite artist to blast throughout her Saturday morning cleansing rituals. Throughout his prolific and four-decade profession, Guerra has not solely reinvented the tropical rhythms of his native Dominican Republic alongside his band 4.40, however he is additionally reached audiences means past simply the Dominican neighborhood. With 30 million-plus albums bought world wide and greater than 20 Latin Grammy wins, Guerra has change into a legend within the Latin music house and never only for his poetic lyrics — he is sometimes called the Pablo Neruda of merengue and bachata — but additionally for by no means being afraid to innovate or coloration exterior of the traces of what “Dominican music” is meant to sound like. His new EP, “Radio Güira,” which was launched earlier this month, proves simply that.

“Radio Güira” was impressed by each a radio present Guerra had years in the past, in addition to his love for the güira, a percussion instrument that is usually performed in Dominican folklore music. The modern EP additionally consists of interludes, radio-style commercials, and even certainly one of Guerra’s favourite habichuelas guisadas recipes by Nuna, the lady who cooks in his residence. You hear her reciting the recipe within the intro to the “Cositas de Amor” observe.

“I had a radio [show] in the Dominican Republic called Radio Viva and it played music from the continents. Then when I started working on the album, [and] I realized it was a lot of new things — things I haven’t done before,” Guerra tells POPSUGAR. “[With] ‘MAMBO 23,’ we had never done merengue that fast. We began mixing it with classical, adding French horn to the violins, which normally is not done, and [we] varied the orchestration.”

Guerra has been fusing completely different sounds and genres because the ’80s, when virtually no different Latin music artist — not to mention a Dominican artist — was daring sufficient to attempt. It’s what has contributed to his signature sound. If a Juan Luis Guerra music performs on the radio, even when it is your first time listening to it, you will simply acknowledge it as certainly one of his. And with “Radio Güira,” there is a celebration of each old style and new faculty Guerra. It fuses genres like mambo, merengue, rock and even jazz.

“I tried very hard to connect with a younger audience in this album. I have already connected with other audiences, the ones that will listen to my music because they like it — thank God. But I wanted to connect with a younger one,” Guerra says.

Guerra’s inspiration to fuse sounds early in his profession had loads to do with the music he listened to throughout his youth ­— lots of it being rock. He was an enormous fan of The Beatles rising up, for instance.

“The sound of our guitar, the way I play guitar, it is very rock-oriented within bachata,” he says. “That’s why our bachata has a different color compared to others. I have always been drawn to mixing different genres and I think the result was very good [and] a lot of the younger generation are doing the same.”

Guerra, who has additionally been in the course of his US tour, is up for 3 Latin Grammy nominations for his music with Colombian artist Fonseca, “Si Tú Me Quieres.” With a long time of success underneath his belt, the Dominican artist nonetheless feels humbled by the accolades and help he receives from the neighborhood.

“[It’s] a privilege I accept with a lot of gratitude and fills me with joy. I accept it as a gift from God that they are motivated by my music,” he says. “It is a great responsibility and a great privilege at the same time. Remember that at my age, I had the responsibility to set the path in Europe. . . . When we arrived to Europe, remember, everything was salsa. If we did merenge, to them it was salsa . . . I have had the privilege of opening doors, mostly with merengue and bachata because salsa was already known, and of course, it is a privilege for us Dominicans to share our music with them. “

As for his poetic lyrics that may soften anybody’s coronary heart, Guerra credit his religion for all the pieces he is been in a position to write and for carrying him by way of such an extended and profitable profession.

“My faith in Jesus is what holds me. When we gather here, mostly musicians, we pray: ‘Our God, from you comes our capacity. Holy spirit take control over everything we are going to do here,'” he shares. “Everything you hear is inspired by him. We are simply putting our projects in his hands and he directs us.”

With all of the devastation occurring on this planet, Guerra needs listeners to expertise pleasure with “Radio Güira.” He refers back to the EP as “good news” that’s a lot wanted within the instances we’re at the moment residing in.

“The goal of every artist is that this music is understood. When I find or when I know that a song can transform the life of another person, I think that’s when I feel the most joy,” he concludes. “When I sing ‘Las Avispas’ [a track off of his 2004 album ‘Para Ti,’ which is entirely dedicated to his faith] and the message is received and a person changes from sad to happy, I believe that’s the most beautiful gift that God can give us musicians. Therefore, to transform the lives of others is my biggest hope with my music.”

Indeed, remodeling the lives of others by way of music is one thing many would agree Guerra has already carried out.