Seis

by Mon Laferte

Overview

Chilean singer and songwriter Mon Laferte is no stranger to change. She has embraced it in so many areas of her life and work that it seems an aesthetic principle. Early on, she recorded and performed as Monserrat Bustamente, a straight-up Latin pop singer. In 2007, she immigrated to Mexico and started playing rock. After being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2009 and beating it, she changed her name to Mon Laferte, and began recording in an indie rock style that netted her a Latin Grammy for 2015's Volume 1. 2017's hit La Trenza showcased her embrace of Latin American song traditions in a modern recontextualization. 2019's Norma, an intensely personal album, focused on heartbreak through different dance rhythms with wildly contrasting instrumentation and arrangements including 1940s big band mambo, rockist psychedelic cumbia, and '70s boleros and salsa. Seis, her sixth album, is rooted in Mexican folk traditions. After the onset of the pandemic, Laferte moved to Tepoztlan. She saw a documentary on the life of iconic ranchera singer Chavela Vargas, who spent her final years in the bucolic town. Vargas' music spurred Laferte to explore a wide range of Mexican styles in her writing. These 14 songs run the gamut from rancheras and mariachis to boleros, bandas, and corridos tumbados. Laferte bookends the set with contrasting versions of her harrowing commentary on gender violence titled "Se Me Va A Quemar El Corazon." On the first, her grainy, angry, yet vulnerable vocal is accompanied only by guitar and bajo sexto. She revisits her "La Mujer" in a duo with one of her earliest and greatest inspirations, Mexican pop/rock icon Gloria Trevi. Laferte hasn't sung it in years; she came to consider its lyrics too dysfunctional. Here she not only rewrote them and revamped the music, it is now a feminist manifesto adorned in a snaky bolero, saturated in reverbed guitars and brass. The women's contrasting voices are resplendent in immediacy, passion, and authority. "Esta Morra No Se Vende" is a bouncing corrido, while "Aunque Te Mueras Por Volver" weds theatrical bolero to classy pop with a rock band and an orchestral string section. The single "Que Se Sepa Nuestro Amor" is sung as an a unabashedly romantic ranchera with the legendary Alejandro Fernandez; the duo are accompanied by the all-female Mujeres del Viento Florido. The meld of Laferte's and Fernandez's voices delivers it with the conviction of a treasured standard. While "Se Ma Vida" is a slow-burning corrido, the closing version of "Se Me Va A Quemar El Corazon" is offered in a heartbreaking collaboration with La Arrolladora Banda El Limon fronted by singer Esaul Garcia. Seis stands with Norma as a milestone in Laferte's career. Each track is delivered with the consistency, care, honesty, and obsessive attention to detail that Laferte's poetic lyrics and melodies require. The humble presentation here contrasts with her songwriting ambition in what amounts to a truly visionary work of popular art. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	04/09/2021
Label:	Universal
UPC:	0602435907635
Rank:	44348

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mon Laferte   Primary Artist,Voices
Banda Femenil Regional Mujeres Del Viento Florido   Primary Artist
La Arrolladora Banda el Limon de Rene Camacho   Primary Artist
Gloria Trevi   Primary Artist,Voices
Banda Regional   Primary Artist
Alejandro Fernandez   Primary Artist
Alfredo Pino   Trumpet
Luz Vasquez   Percussion
Rosalio Martinez   Trumpet
Francisco Mora   Trumpet
Yolanda Hernandez   French Horn
Carmen Martinez   Clarinet
Oscar Gonzalez   Double Bass,Double Bass
Mayra Gomez Martinez   Clarinet
Ana Paula   Percussion
Xally   Flute
Maria Martinez   Clarinet
Ana Maria Martinez   Clarinet
Jose Isidro Beltran Cuen   Voices
Juan Francisco Osuna Aramburo   Clarinet
Norberto Cordero Magallon   Vocals (Background)
Eric Alberto Iturralde Lizarraga   Trumpet
Candelario Urias Vazquez   Tuba
Jazmine Diaz   Percussion
Victor Ibarra   Drums (Snare)
Jair Alcala   Accordion
Alberto Hernandez Gomez   Sax (Tenor)
O. Zlotnik   Saxophone
Sandy Martinez   Sax (Alto)
Pedro Antonio Garcia   Trombone
Miriam Reyes   Piccolo
Miguel Gonzales   Vielle,Guitarron,Vielle,Guitarron
Nabani Aguilar   Violin,Strings
Manu Jalil   Piano,Choir/Chorus
Santiago Ortiz   Percussion
Rosalie Contreras   Soprano (Vocal)
Cristina Arista   Cello
Leticia Martinez   Musical Director
Nataly Andrade   Trumpet
Anna Arnal   Viola
Sebastian Aracena   Bass,Drums,Organ,Guitar,Choir/Chorus
Sal Vasquez   Sax (Alto)
Estrella Lopez   Trumpet
Benjamin "Bolo" Alcala   Drums (Snare)
Mercedes Martinez   Sax (Tenor)
Daniel Zlotnik   Saxophone
Rene Camacho   Clarinet
David Vitela   Violin
David Maldonado   Cello
Dave Gutierrez   Sax (Alto)
Orlando Avalos   Trombone
Jeronimo Gonzalez   Bass
Efrain Benavides   Violin,Strings
Leonelys Sanchez   Violin,Strings
Vincen Melendres Garcia   Voices
Julio Emmanuel Herrera Lamarque   Trombone
Esaul Garcia Morales   Voices
Marco Antonio Osuna Terriquez   Clarinet
Marco Antonio Ramirez Montes   Clarinet
Miguel Rene Hernandez Rosas   Trumpet
Rosario Martinez Gomez   Trumpet
Omar Alonso Nieves Castanon   Trombone
Omar Ranfla   Clarinet
Yesica Judith Fabian   Trumpet
Alondra Estefania Rivera Sanchez   Percussion
Citlali Zarate Baltazar   Sax (Baritone)
Perla Sarahi Gallardo Jimenez   Sax (Alto)
Regina Lopez Lopez   Soprano (Vocal)
Soledad Baltazar Illescas   Soprano (Vocal)
Gilda Jimenez Orozco   Sax (Alto)
Karina Guadalupe Pineda Antonio   Sax (Tenor)
Hanlly Michelle Ruiz Ramirez   Trombone
Iveth Mayte Vasquez Martinez   Clarinet
Manek Tsupijy Frida Vasquez Orozco   Baritone (Vocal)
Yaanis Itzel Morales Valentin   Soprano (Vocal)
Ana Paula Gutierrez Diaz   Percussion
Araceli Hernandez Gomez   Sax (Tenor)
Xally Rubi Vasquez Diaz   Flute
Salma Lizbeth Nolasco Vasquez   Sax (Alto)
Rosa De Crystal Sanchez Contreras   Soprano (Vocal)
Flor De Lima Gutierrez Diaz   Sax (Alto)
David Vina   Violin
Diana Gabriela Martinez Gallardo   Tuba
Danna Luz Perez Vasquez   Percussion
Cynthia Alejandra Vasquez Orozco   Clarinet
Ana Perez   Clarinet
Eduardo "Cabrerita" Cabrera   Viola
Ulises Manuel Gomez Pinzon   Bass,Strings
Fernando Camacho   Musical Director
Braulio Hernandez   Bassoon
Claudia Alejandra   Clarinet
Karen Lopez   Clarinet
Andrea Perez   Trumpet
Maria Del Mar Gallardo Martinez   Tuba
Salvador Aguilar Cruz   Tambura
Victor Manuel Castillo Ibarra   Drums (Snare)
Ignacio Sanchez Plascencia   Trumpet

Technical Credits

Arturo Quintana   Recording,Mixing Engineer,Mastering Engineer
Abelardo Rivera   Recording,Mixing Engineer
Pepe Navarro   Mixing Engineer
Jair Alcala   Recording
O. Zlotnik   Recording
Mon Laferte   Composer
Felipe Castro   Mixing Engineer
Manu Jalil   Producer,Recording,Vocal Arrangement
Eduardo Barreiro   A&R
Alonso Rendon Franco   Recording
Rodolfo David Aguilar Dorantes   Composer
El David Aguilar   Composer
Pablo Rojas Ancira   Recording
Chalo Gonzalez   Mixing Engineer,Mastering Engineer
Jesus Caballero   Recording
Aureo Baqueiro   Recording
Kany Garcia   Composer
Daniel Zlotnik   Recording
Carlos Luna   Recording,Mixing Engineer,Mastering Engineer
Sebastian Aracena   Composer,Producer,Recording,Mixing Engineer,Vocal Arrangement
Fernando Camacho   Producer,Vocal Arrangement
Eduardo Del Aguila   Recording,Mixing Engineer