Tesis de Menta: pure cuban Rock
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- Arts and Culture
- Music
- 10 / 03 / 2007
Within the Cuban music panorama, the group Tesis de Menta excels for its creation of a rock sound all their own.
"We try to convey our reality, to sing about love and, at the same time, to critically look at reality," said band leader Roberto Perdomo, who started a lively conversation with us in our editorial department about his life and his group, which at this stage of his career are the same thing.
Tesis de Menta was founded at the end of 2003 with influences ranging from Silvio Rodríguez, Santiago Feliu and Charly García, to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, and The Police, said Perdormo as he drew a circle with his hand to covey all possible perspectives.
The bands sound is quite different to some of the more extreme expressions of Cuban rock. "I lean towards melodies from the British scene. Perhaps this has marked the difference of Tesis de Menta, as compared to other local bands, but I have nothing against metal."
"The 1960s were the starting point and inspiration," says Perdormo speaking about Cuban rock. There are some interesting things happening in Cuban rock. But there are also a lot of bands that need to further develop their sound, that need to study. Some just associate rock with long hair, piercings, black clothes, and lots of distortion. Its important to look at the past and understand the links between that music and the social movements of the 1960s. I try to incorporate that into Tesis de Menta."
Perdormos voice rapidly becomes excited when he says, "The identity of Cuban rock is not based on sounding more or less Latin. If your songs reflect our experiences, then it will undoubtedly be Cuban rock."
Perdormo also spoke about the last edition of the Caiman Rock Festival, "The most important contribution of that festival was that it led to the founding of the Cuban Rock Agency, thanks to the support of the Hermanos Saíz Association. Now its up to the agency to establish an effective, and above all, courageous strategy. Bands need to have more access to record companies and public venues."
Tesis de Mentas first CD, Mi Generación, produced by guitar whiz Elmer Ferrer, is a good example of the self-taught songwriters reflection of reality as are the videos Lo que dejaste, by Alex Gil-Roldán, and Generación X, by filmmaker Pavel Giroud. "The latter is a tribute to a classic of world cinema, Ridley Scotts Thelma and Louise. It depicts a trip down a road that represents my life, my generation. I invite young people to move on, to make their dreams come true. This is the message I tried to convey."
Source: By Michel Hernández, Granma
"We try to convey our reality, to sing about love and, at the same time, to critically look at reality," said band leader Roberto Perdomo, who started a lively conversation with us in our editorial department about his life and his group, which at this stage of his career are the same thing.
Tesis de Menta was founded at the end of 2003 with influences ranging from Silvio Rodríguez, Santiago Feliu and Charly García, to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, and The Police, said Perdormo as he drew a circle with his hand to covey all possible perspectives.
The bands sound is quite different to some of the more extreme expressions of Cuban rock. "I lean towards melodies from the British scene. Perhaps this has marked the difference of Tesis de Menta, as compared to other local bands, but I have nothing against metal."
"The 1960s were the starting point and inspiration," says Perdormo speaking about Cuban rock. There are some interesting things happening in Cuban rock. But there are also a lot of bands that need to further develop their sound, that need to study. Some just associate rock with long hair, piercings, black clothes, and lots of distortion. Its important to look at the past and understand the links between that music and the social movements of the 1960s. I try to incorporate that into Tesis de Menta."
Perdormos voice rapidly becomes excited when he says, "The identity of Cuban rock is not based on sounding more or less Latin. If your songs reflect our experiences, then it will undoubtedly be Cuban rock."
Perdormo also spoke about the last edition of the Caiman Rock Festival, "The most important contribution of that festival was that it led to the founding of the Cuban Rock Agency, thanks to the support of the Hermanos Saíz Association. Now its up to the agency to establish an effective, and above all, courageous strategy. Bands need to have more access to record companies and public venues."
Tesis de Mentas first CD, Mi Generación, produced by guitar whiz Elmer Ferrer, is a good example of the self-taught songwriters reflection of reality as are the videos Lo que dejaste, by Alex Gil-Roldán, and Generación X, by filmmaker Pavel Giroud. "The latter is a tribute to a classic of world cinema, Ridley Scotts Thelma and Louise. It depicts a trip down a road that represents my life, my generation. I invite young people to move on, to make their dreams come true. This is the message I tried to convey."
Source: By Michel Hernández, Granma
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