It’s quite rare that we get to hear music from Argentina, so I was very excited to discover Mariana Masetto and her new tune, Yendo. She’s released eight albums so far and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon, so it’s high time she got more traction in the musical world! If you haven’t checked Yendo out yet, you can find it at the bottom of this interview.
By Jane Howkins
You released a single titled Yendo. What can you tell us about the track?
Yendo is the third track from my next album Numina, which will be released in June. Yendo like all the other songs on this album, is written in two different languages, with Spanish as the base language. Yendo is a song written in both Spanish and French. The game for us to compose in this way comes from travelling to other countries, where this mixture is usually listened to or spoken, and I truly love to reach new levels of understanding by interacting with two languages. It’s a lot of fun. And it’s very musical to my ear! It is an additional texture, like a spice to the song. Nowadays, I hear it a lot in songs between Spanish and English. But I haven’t heard it so much with other languages. My idea is to try to explore this new linguistic universe.
How has the reception to Yendo been so far, and where can the song be purchased?
The reception has been exceptional. The lyrical game in Spanish and French has been very popular. Yendo is available on 30 digital platforms such as Spotify, Tidal, iTunes, Deezer, Amazon, etc. It also includes a YouTube video clip with English subtitles.
Do you plan to release any more singles in the near future?
Yes, Numina will be online in a few days. It will also have a video clip and lyrics in Spanish and Italian. This single will also be the name of my 9th album. It will be finished in June.
You’ve already released eight albums. Do you plan to release another album or an EP anytime soon?
I have worked on 8 albums. La Bumbunita (2010), Soy libre (2012), Mientras viva yo iré cantando (2014), Ela e o mar (2016), Narciso (7″ vinyl, 2016), Abro (2018, mastered at Abbey Road Studios), Je ne pense qu’à toi (2020), Uno es amor (2021) & Ciclo (2022). Yendo is the third single from my next album, the 9th, that will be released in June, with 8 unique compositions. Each album, from the beginning of my path as a musician, has a video clip available on YouTube. We have been working as an ensemble since 2012 specifically with director, composer and filmmaker Eng. Ariel Gato.
Your music has a folk-pop sound. What/who influences you most as an artist? What have you been listening to recently?
The truth is that I have multiple influences! In this great musical rainbow that we all live in, at the present time, I enjoy Peter Gabriel, Harry Styles and Paul McCartney, as well as Ólafur Arnalds. Nevertheless, I also listen to a lot of world music in relation to African music. In that sense I have to highlight the great work that Peter Gabriel has done with his Real World label, which has brought us beautiful music. What’s more is that Gabriel himself has fused that into his wonderful music. I never stop being surprised by his music.
What is the writing and recording process like for you?
It all starts with an image, a place, an action, a word, even something unexpected in relation to a different place, that triggers a story, an idea or even a descriptive phrase. Then with that image comes the rhythm, with which I debate in different directions, until the same image gives me its rhythm. From there the melody comes, and then the lyrics that are linked to that phrase and that initial melody. I do all this work together with my partner Ariel Gato, with whom I go on these trips, and we talk about these ideas, almost ‘kneading’ them as if they were a delicious meal to be tasted later. Ariel is a sound engineer and he is the one who makes the musical ideas that the two of us have come to life.
What do you think is the biggest challenge in the music business at the moment?
The biggest challenge is to keep the consistency in creating music, because many artists are performing simultaneously. It’s very different from the days of CD and vinyl! Today on Spotify the number of artists is impressive, and of course that’s very good, but to have visibility whilst composing, creating and making stories with videos is also a necessary combination. To sum it up, the challenge nowadays is to be seen, then people will listen to you.
You’re based in Buenos Aires. How is the local music scene faring at the moment?
In Buenos Aires, it is the same as in the rest of the world: there are a lot of artists, but the gap between what is fashionable and what is trendy is relatively small.
Luckily, for local artists we have the web that allows us to expand our creativity and showcase our new work.
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
In 2017 and 2018 I have been presenting not only my music but also a book about a singing method of my creation in connection with yoga under the title Our Voice has Body in the UK, which is also available in 3 languages for everyone via Amazon. At the moment, after the pandemic, I do not have any tours lined up yet.
Any last words for the fans?
It’s such good fun to listen to my music and travel through two languages on every track. It’s as if you travel around the world and you have to be more attached and more focused to get or make what you want… This kind of discomfort awakens and strengthens.