DJ: DJ Afro
MIXTAPE: #281 Noches de Radio
DJ Afro caught me by surprise with this one. He put together an hour-long DJ set of ’80s rock en español in a format that resembles a radio show more than an actual mixtape (there’s very little, if any, mixing involved), and I was overwhelmed by the predominance of Argentine pop/rock.
Myself having been raised in Buenos Aires during those years of Argentine rock supremacy, I have a very odd relationship with the music from that era. I was never a fan of it, because it was so close and so prevalent that I took it for granted–it was our cultural status quo and I was a bit of a rebel. Soda, Enanitos, Charly, Fito, were always there, playing on the radio, as background, but I never actively sought them out. It wasn’t until I moved to the US as a young adult that I realized the impact that music had had all over Latin America and then I started appreciating it in a different way.
Now I re-listen those tracks, recontextualized by a Venezuelan DJ (and guitarist of Los Amigos Invisibles), seeing them through his own nostalgia prism and I can easily understand their appeal (there’re some funky guitars there!). But also, I found myself reminiscing over stuff that I didn’t even know I missed, like the opening song, by the pioneer Argentine girl-band Viuda e Hijas de Roque Enroll (last time I’ve heard this one my then-7-year-old sister was playing it from a cassette tape and we sung along to the catchy chorus without even having a clue that the song was about polyamorous promiscuity).
I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy this mixtape as much as I did. I might bring back elementary school memories to some, but to others it might be a first exposure into some obscure tracks of a bygone era. Either way, it’s always interesting to see where the primary influences of an accomplished musician come from.