Quieto, a band led by University of New Mexico theater professor Alejandro Tomás Rodriguez, released their new album “Fuego” to streaming services on June 10, experimenting with a new sound and brand for the band, which embraces Afro Latin, blues, rock, cumbia, funk and hip-hop inspirations. Their lead single, “Galope Nocturno,” has received over 1,300 streams on Spotify so far.
Formerly a trio known as Engine, five members make up this iteration of the band: Rodriguez on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Robin Gentien on electric guitar and vocals, Pierre Lauth-Karson on harmonica, keyboards and vocals, Marivaldo Paim on percussion and John Luis Grande on bass. “Fuego” also features guest musicians Joseph Altamirano on charango, Carlos Kalin Noboa on quenas and zampoña and Jean Kapsa on Moog synthesizer.
This album, which the Franco-Argentinian band began work on two years ago, represents a new direction in their sound for Rodriguez, inspired by international artists like Jupiter & Okwess, Residente and Louta.
“We are in a big transition now of reshaping our identity: a lot of urban sounds, more like rap, reggaeton … The transition in this album was very smooth, but surely in what is coming, it will be way different from this. I really feel it,” Rodriguez said.
The new name, which translates to “quiet” or “still” in English, also reflects this change in the band’s branding and style.
“In Quieto, there is an engine. The music and the way of performing and the concepts we are working on are driving — there is nothing really quiet and calm. It is more like a volcano: you see it is still outside, but inside there is a fire erupting and bringing lava everywhere. With Engine, we created the basis of the band we are today,” Rodriguez said.
As a professor, Rodriguez splits his time between Quieto and his work with the University. UNM alumnus Charlie Dearing, who worked with Rodriguez previously in theater classes, expressed gratitude for the work he poured into his and others’ educations, even while still pursuing music with his band.
“He is simultaneously creatively energized and eager to instill equal creative and artistic passion in those around him. You can't help but soak in some of that spirit in his presence,” Dearing wrote to the Daily Lobo.
The music of Quieto, most notably “Si Viene la Muerte,” was featured recently in “The Last Dream” with the UNM Department of Theatre and Dance, a devised work written and directed by Rodriguez based on Eugene Ionesco’s “Exit the King.” Quieto provided live music and Rodriguez, Gentien and Lauth-Karson all had roles in the show as well.
Quieto began with Rodriguez and Gentien in 2014 when they met as a part of their theatrical work together at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Pontedera, Italy. Soon, one of Gentien’s high school classmates from France, Lauth-Karson, joined them, and the band was born.
These three original members are all interdisciplinary artists with their work in Quieto being informed by their other expansive artistic interests, according to Rodriguez.
“In the music that I do, or when I write lyrics or when I perform, there is this acting part very strongly pulsating. The way I think of performing with the band, it’s not only putting your head down and singing. It’s related to engaging the public, to know the connections, the little actions — the interpretation of the lyrics is pretty much the work of an actor,” Rodriguez said.
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Spenser Willden is the culture editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @spenserwillden
