A band that challenges borders and limits.
With a crowded musical panorama of predictable formulas it arises Winona Riders as a lighthouse of innovation and authenticity. This Argentine band, born shortly before the pandemic and has polished its sound during confinement, has managed to captivate own and strangers. Since its inception this group has built a sound and discursive narrative that defies the established norms. Now, with his third album, Don't make me regret, Winona Riders He invites us to a trip through the recesses of his creative chaos, his courage to challenge the norm and its political commitment.
A frantic beginning
Winona Riders It is not a band that bets safely. In just a few years since its formation, the group has managed to consolidate a unique proposal that mixes psychedelia, garage, electronics and rock, generating a sound identity that refuses of labels. Its history, like many of the greats, began in an adverse context: pandemic. While the world stopped, they found a refuge in music. “We had a chance to have a friend who has rehearsal rooms at the moment when you could not go out for the insulation measures, he opened the doors, then throughout the quarantine we dedicated ourselves to rehearsing and playing and thus the album comes out debut, then when we could go out to play we were very oiled and, well, he did not stop, “they explain, remembering that stage carefully.
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Dedication and passion soon being given. After its debut, the band has maintained an accelerated rhythm, throwing three albums in a short period of time and presenting a tour of Latin America. But how do they handle that accelerated rhythm of production and creation? “Our worst enemy is really time,” they confess. “First two albums, we came from playing the songs a lot of live; then, they began to produce live and there as they were mutating I had left the best parts, playing very often every weekend makes you not put the production”. They share with conviction.
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“There were two album songs, three actually, the first time we rehearsed and that was at the time of recording them; then, I also feel that the album has a little of that, of that first time, like the adrenaline of knowing that you can shit it , doing badly and that adrenaline makes you end up acting in a way that if you had not done it under pressure, it would have been different. “
In a context where social networks dictate a vertiginous rhythm of consumption, demanding constant releases, viral videos and endless updates, the band finds in the live a more authentic and efficient way to deliver their art. In addition, working live allows them to challenge the limitations of digital, reminding their audience that music is not only heard, but also feels.
The weight of words: Don't make me regret
The title of your last work, Don't make me regretsummarizes the spirit of the album and also its creative philosophy. “Both in the title and in the lyrics of the songs (at least the ones I write) they attract my attention (and, well, also in other foreign songs) these phrases that we may use daily and we have them so naturalized,” comment.
“The phonetics, the design of a word, I feel to tell someone 'do not make me regret' is very strong and do not tell anyone. Well, with the letters too, I try to have a little of that, always I give the same example as what at least made me notice these things that is the subject of 'Life on Mars' of David Bowie“They explain.
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This exploration is also reflected in your music, which captures the tension between chaos and the control they have in each of their presentations. When listening to issues such as “Take out the leather” either “Hondart”It is evident that the band feels comfortable experimenting with different styles and structures. This manifestation in his songs is like an act of faith for the band, showing that authenticity is what gives life to the complete album.
The theme 'Do not make me regret it', it is really a zapada and just as it was recorded, it remained, nothing else joined. This topic, one of the ones we were saying … embodied there, in the study, because we were not preparing it and we did it in two shots, in one of those two shots it is directly everything that appears on the album. “
A political speech without masks
Songs like “Take out the leather” and “Hondart” They have a strong sound experimentation. How did these compositions arise and what role does improvisation play in your music? “'Take me leather'here in Argentina, taking out the leather is said a lot and that is when you speak badly of someone behind them, but it can be taken in so many ways, seen with other eyes. Musically, I think it is one of the first themes where the influence of Fat White Familyyou are also listening and you find things. “
“'Hondart' It was the only topic we all did together in an essay, it was mutating, at first it was one thing and ended up being what it is; So I feel that it is the most experimental just because of that; It has something that the rest of the themes do not, mainly the bass has a very leading role in the album and in 'Hondart' Each one could show off in their own way, “they say.
“'Hondart'It is a story that my grandmother of a neighbor told me who at the time of the military dictatorship in Argentina.'Hondart' It is actually written without HY at the end, but my grandmother wrote it badly and it was like that, it would be 'Ondarts'. He was a known doctor in the Morón neighborhood and El Chabón by having panic and fear if the military will grab him on one of those nights, a ring had armed himself and had cyanide inside; To, if necessary, take it, die and not suffer, and said and done; They went to look for him, he took the cyanide and died. “
The story behind this musical theme is fascinating and presents a layer of greater complexity in the narrative of the album that goes beyond improvisation and experimentation. The richness of the sound work that presents Winona Riders Elevate the album and are positioned as a group that redefines the garage rock with the discursive art that merges in each musical note.
Beyond sound experimentation, Don't make me regret It also stands out for its discursive content. Located in the center of the disc, “VV” It is a direct political statement that denounces social tensions in ArgenTina: “There is nothing worse than lukewarm,” they say.
In Argentina, for the art world they are violent times … “.
“… For the art world and for everyone, but from our side, we are part of the solution and we also feel responsible for being able to do something we have … it would be good that they be ashamed again . It is to analyze it in another in another program, someone has to wake them up, we try to do what we can do with what we like to do the most. “
The rawness of “VV” Contrast with the introspective narrative of other issues, but underlines the band's ability to address a variety of songs without losing their essence. Winona Riders It shows that when talking about issues such as their country's policy, they take a firm and radical position, showing that warm is not part of them, which seek to raise their voice and with it, generate echo to make a difference.
Sound identity: between garage and electronic
Define the sound of Winona Riders It is a complex task. While their influences include several artists, the band avoids pigeonholing. With so many genres that converge in a single album How do they define their sound identity at this time and what influences predominate in this album? “The spectrum Winonawe try not to pigeonhole it, or define it because it comes out alone and so the album sounds, it is a different, very different album, “they mention with determination.
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They talk that: “… also the garage is always, a lot, and I realized the importance of the garage the last time we went to play Uruguay, which was the first time we played many of this album's songs for the first time , and a boy approached, who loved it and said that I loved it, the new songs, everything, but that the rabby was not what to give him and that we never left the garage, there that he opened my eyes a little about That and, although, the album goes on a more electronic side, the idea was that the songs of garages such as 'Fiesta in the elevator' either 'Jazz time' either 'False kings'whether more garage than we ever did, such as not letting ourselves be carried away by the polidity or fineness of the technological and the technological how to fold the bet in every way. “With that, they show that the garage is a constant basis, But they also explore psychedelia, electronics and other genres.
They comment: “There were two album songs, three in reality; that, the first time they were tested was at the time of recording them, then I also feel that the album has a little of that, of that first time, such as the adrenaline of knowing That you can shit it and do it wrong and that adrenaline makes you end up acting perhaps in a way that if you had not done under pressure it would have been different. “
What were those issues? “'Penetrame', 'Don't make me regret' and 'Separate at birth'. 'Separate at birth' Actually it was recorded in parts. In Romaphonic It was where we recorded the album and then in our rehearsal room, in the room in the seal trial Indie folks that you also have to record; We finished doing the rest, it was like a kind of Frankensteinbut it is the only one. “
The variety is evident in issues such as “Take out the leather”which combines couples and Riffs With a Fade rhythmic that delights, or “680/680”whose pulse is enriched with a Saxo in the background as a differentiating factor that attaches and flows with the rhythm.
Looking to the future
With three albums under your credit, Winona Riders It is a group that does not remain still. “We don't want to stay still, because we have nothing else to live,” they say. “There is never a limit, there is not for now there is nothing more than touching and defending this, ideas and desire to continue recording there is always, that is, until last week I was talking with Santi, The bassist, who would be good to make two albums this next year, but suddenly the time comes and we do one there, we do not do any thing, anything can happen. “
Facing the official presentation of Don't make me regret which took place on December 21, 2024, the band gave a unique experience since the show It was the way to show all the details of the album playing live. “During the year, although we play themes already of this album, you are always playing as a visitor going to other places, touching where you do not have full control, it ends up being a party because you have the total control of the show, so you are completely chosen Everything people are going to see. “
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Winona Riders It is a band that does not fear risk or change. With Don't make me regrethas shown that chaos can be a powerful creative tool and that the unconscious, when it follows with courage, can reveal deep truths. His music is a reminder that art is not only about aesthetics, but also commitment and authenticity. In a world where lukewarm abounds, Winona Riders Choose to raise your voice.
