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A Transfusion of Simplicity By: Emilio J. Sanchez Translated by: Laura Lavernia Searching for the Right Words. The interview was scheduled at the Universal Records offices in Miami Beach on Collins Avenue. They informed me that before interviewing Juanes, I would have the privilege of listening to his new single Mi Sangre (My Blood), which had just been completed; in fact, Juanes was still adding some changes prior to release. Seated at a table of eight, with the music playing at such a high decibel that my eardrums reverberated with the pounding rhythms - pretty much how all music is listened to these days, at “club” decibel. We listened to the twelve tracks, each one of them complete with Manager, Andres Recio’s, observations. There is a great deal of rock fused with vallenato, salsa, and Caribbean sounds, making the two ballads necessary. Although the same team participated—Gustavo Santaolalla, producer; Anibal Kerpel, conductor; and Thom Russo, sound engineer—this time, the listener can appreciate the musical arrangements more because the release covers themes that are familiar to this Colombian singer: love, war, falling out of love, peace, companionship and solitude… Juanes arrived a few minutes after the preview session was over. His hair had grown longer since I last saw him perform at the Jackie Gleason Theatre in Miami. Ironically, he was wearing the same get-up: a loose button-down, jeans, and sneakers. In a soft, almost apologetic tone, he described his record and posed for a few shots. A while later we were able to sit down and chat over coffee. A good-humored Juanes explained to me how it was that he was able to make this record. “While on a hectic tour schedule all around the world, I would write these songs. Some are desperate: they have a lot of love and passion. Others refer to more social issues. I’ve been a father for a year now, and that has changed a lot for me: it has changed my sensibility and how I view the world. This record speaks of who I am; what I dream, wish, yearn for, suffer, fear, and love.” I asked him which song was the most difficult to compose. “Composing is never easy for me, especially when it comes to the lyrics.” [delete “] I wanted this record to be different [edit] from the previous one, to start a new stage. I tend to spend a long time on the lyrics. Every word is important because they are about my life, and that is something very serious and intimate.” When asked if he had lost his spontaneity, Juanes replied, “Not at all. The creative process has this difficulty for any artist; in my case I either have to love or suffer intensely. When I listen to it today, I feel very content and I think that it is just what I have wanted to make for years.” I then asked him about his reputation for being a perfectionist. He smiled. “I’m very obsessive. I suffer because of this, brother. I have always been like this. There are times that a song come out fine in 20 minutes; other times, it takes me a long time.” Every composer has his own inspiration. Sometimes the lyrics come first; for others, it’s the melody. “Normally, I take the guitar and I begin to improvise. Nothing has been thought out. I later take some lines of melody that I like and I build the song. Once it’s finished, I play it and from this melody, the lyrics come. Sometimes it depends on my mood: if I’m feeling a little sentimental, a ballad may result; if I’m very energetic, something more animated is produced.” Regardless of the creative liberty an artist has innately, the record label and the demands of marketing, the main objective being to sell and profit, must still be faced. “Do you feel pressured, Juanes?” I asked. “Lets just say that sometimes I do. Well, sometimes there’s a contract, lets say, to make 5 records in 5 years. In my case, I’ve enjoyed flexibility. It’s not about making a record because the record label asks me to, but rather, because I make music, and would like to see it put on a recording. It’s both a challenge and a necessity for me to express myself. There’s no deadline, the record comes out when it comes out.” Juanes likes to be distinguished as a singer/songwriter. However, none of his more famous predecessors have sold as many records. I asked him to what he attributes his stardom. “I don’t know, man…I don’t know. When I start to think how things have happened to me, it feels incredible. I made my last album in my bedroom in my home in Bogotá without any tension, because I didn’t have anything to prove. Maybe it is because the lyrics to my songs are simple and easy to understand.” As opposed to other singers who only add a voice to what others compose, the new troubadours run the risk of running out of themes, melodies, magic. Juanes is conscious of all this. “Sometimes I think about what will happen when I’m older, if I will want to continue composing. This doesn’t worry me for now. I’ve done this for 17 years already. With every day lived, there lies an experience and, therefore, material for a song. It’s about having sensibility and being alert; if you're not open, you won’t see a thing. If you want it, you can see more than what appears at first sight.” Now 32 years old, the path to being a rocker has been a long and, at times, bumpy one. Fame arrived like a wave and over-shadowed everything. The same guy who used to walk around Los Angeles with no one knowing who he was still doesn’t seem to perceive that he is now recognized because he is now among rich and famous. Since his life has changed so much, it’s surprising that he remains faithful to his roots. “Well, I’m still the same guy. Now I feel calmer, because I’ve learned to live life. If one has a very clear notion of the traveled path, there is no reason to change. Music has meant everything to me since I was an eight-year-old boy. Today, I’m thankful, man, to everyone who buys my records, goes to my concerts. This is why I see myself in the same place. It’s not that I feel good because I’m famous. On the contrary, the more famous I get, the smaller and weirder I feel…” He is so sincere, almost humble, that it is difficult not to believe him. At this stage, he should be used to interviews…but he says they still make him nervous, because they take him out of his world… “I’ve never been extroverted. I have had to struggle against being timid in interpersonal relations, to figure out how I’m going to say what I think and feel. That’s why in every one of my songs, I search for the right words to express my feelings, you know?” And Juan Estaban Ariztizabal Vazquez’s family? Do they still treat you the same? I ask. “They see me as the same person. When I’m home, my mother still lectures me as if nothing has changed.” He smiled and looked down at his hands. “There is something great about my brothers and the mutual respect we have for each other. They’re the reason I’m in the music business today. At home, I’m still the same kid, the youngest of the family.” He then continued with a strong diatribe against consumerism and materialism. “Having too much money in the bank alone makes no sense. Sometimes I prefer to have nothing and to be happy, side-by-side with the ones I love. I notice that in America, compared to Colombia, the material aspect of life is much more predominant. Material things are really not that important; spirituality is much more important.” The goal of making money makes some artists think only of that which is immediate, instant. But in the long run, Juanes wants to have a more lasting, profound significance. “Sometimes I search so much that I become boring. Then I think, ‘Why don’t you just write something that means nothing…a stupid song…and that’s it.’ I can’t, I’m not capable of writing a song that means nothing, that doesn’t move me. This is how it’s been, and, I think, how it will always be. In 1978, singer/songwriter Leon Gieco wrote “Solo le Pido a Dios” (“I only ask God”) which was instantly an international hit and was played and sung by millions of people that went to his concerts or those of his fellow singer Mercedes Sosa. Curiously, the most famous song of this Colombian’s is “A Dios le Pido” (“I ask God”)…I wanted to know if any credit was due to Geico and Sosa… “Well that song came from my prayers…later I was told about the one that Gieco had written. He’s a magnificent artist and I have had the opportunity to work with his producer. So, I suppose there is a spiritual connection…” I then ask about his fellow countryman, Carlos Vives. “Carlos has touched me the most. He has opened the door for Colombian music through his work with folklore and rock genres. I respect him very much as an artist. Personally, I don’t know him very well but I know that he is an honest individual that does what he likes and defends it. Colombia owes him a lot.” Thanks to Carlos Vives, Shakira, and Juanes, Colombia’s name has been thrust into the everyday world of popular music. And though Juanes has received so much recognition for his work, he claims that he does not compose for awards. I asked him how he is able to please the fans and critics. Is there a “Juanes formula”? “There isn’t really a formula. It’s something that comes from my inner being. When I compose, I do so without thinking of an award. Compositions are things that come from the heart; they have to do with how I feel, who I am. Without any pretensions and without trying to impress, man. Simply to make music as I am. But if I had to say there is a formula, it’s this one: to make music that is honest.” Juanes then became a little more serious and began to discuss politics and Colombia’s necessity for peace. “Colombia has had conflicts for more than 50 years. President Uribe arrives at a moment when the country is tired and unhopeful; they are lost and desperate. War isn’t the solution for anything, man. Uribe has applied a stronger policy for confronting the guerillas and, due to this, Colombians feel a little better.” In complicated times such as these, people wish that war didn’t exist, that something as simple and beautiful as a song could miraculously stop the madness and disaster. “A song cannot change anyone’s mentality. If it did, I would already have succeeded. One listens to a song and can feel a certain strength from it, but this won’t change anything. Nobody likes to be told what to do.” Lately artists like Bruce Springstein have rallied people to vote and elect president Bush out of office. “I think it’s valid. Many people feel that what this guy is doing is crazy. If young people don’t change the future of the country where their children will someday live, then who will? Music is a massive vehicle and it can generate many positive things.” However, he does not see his social agenda the same way that his North American counterparts do. His agenda is much more personal: “I try to reflect the reality that I see and how I feel. If two people can identify with me, then we are three already. On this album, there is a song, “Volverte a ver” (“To see you Again”) dedicated to the soldiers. I had the opportunity to be in the mountains with a battalion of these soldiers. And I don’t talk about politics, I talk about a young man who can be killed any moment and who no one will miss.” For now, he brings us a new record. Although I’ve heard it only once, and for a little while, I think that “Mi Sangre” (“My Blood”) won’t have the same impact that “Un Dia Normal” (“A Normal Day”) had; nor the poetry in “Fijate Bien” (“Listen Here”). I guess we’ll have to wait to see the public’s verdict. In any case, the genius of marketing should never be understated for making miracles happen…I should mention that his musical team, and the record company all predict tremendous success and proclaim that this record far surpasses the previous one. Juanes seems to be much more realistic. He doesn’t seem to expect the same fruits from his labor as the first one, which turned him into an international sensation. “If I tell you it will, I would be crazy, because that’s something that’s unpredictable. I have made this album with all the love and strength I have in me. But, this is something out of my control. I think it’d difficult to win 5 Grammys in one night again. Maybe something else will happen: I will sell more records, have more concerts, connect with more people. The important thing is that I can succeed at maintaining or gaining more of the public’s affection.” Such an outpour of sincerity doesn’t leave room for opponents.	*Juanes presents his new album Mi Sangre* (My Blood).** » Listen to JUANES on Batanga's POP station » Subscribe to Club Batanga to watch videos and more! “I wanted this record to be different from the previous one, to start a new stage. I tend to spend a long time on the lyrics. Every word is important because they are about my life, and that is something very serious and intimate.” -- Juanes

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