Since 2017, Remezcla Studios has been an important stop during award show season with opportunities for music artists, producers, and more to connect, create new songs, and collaborate on a more approachable scale. Most recently: Remezcla Studios — in partnership with La Casa Del Sombrero — turned things up at Latin Grammys week with an idea from Puerto Rican artist and producer Eduardo Cabra. For the first time at Studios, artists would be offered unique opportunity to produce music within 15-minute slots for just $1. The outcome? One-minute bangers crafted in collaboration with three accomplished figureheads, all of which were captured in a new mini documentary Canciones x 1 Dólar by Remezcla Films.
The documentary sheds light on the recent installment that unfolded on November 15 and 16, 2022, with Cabra, Puerto Rican songwriter and producer Rafa Pabón, and Mexican producer Raúl Sotomayor leading the charge. Transforming a hotel suite into a DIY recording studio presented an innovative way for artists to connect and create during the bustling award week, requiring meticulous planning in advance.
Before Remezcla Studios opened, the creative trio had a lot of work to prepare. Part of the process included the two producers Cabra and Sotomayor to be ready for any type of genre. They had to be on their toes to jump on anything the artist desired, whether it was hip-hop, reggaeton dancehall, regional, etc. The result was having more than 35 beats each in hand. As for Pabón, the composer, his role involved generating melodic ideas to piece together the songs within the given 15-minute timeframe. Through their collaborative synergy, the figureheads complemented one another and made it happen.
“Eduardo called me and told me that ‘Canciones x 1 Dólar’ was a project with the idea of making songs and charging a dollar. Part of his idea was to make a sort of photobooth, where you would put in your dollar, record a song, and your record would come out,” Sotomayor recalls about the project’s start in the mini-film. “The project’s development was based on a romantic idea of making express music.”
Moreover, the key aspect of it all was to make something epic in a record time – with no time wasted. “I think the important thing about all of this is that instead of criticizing how things [in the music industry] are being done nowadays, you can just act and do [something about] it,” Cabra expressed in the documentary. “[It’s about] trying to get into the immediacy – how music works nowadays – which is a quick matter, but with that same punk attitude. It’s more like an instinct and let it register. You do it in 15 minutes, like a photograph.”
These “photographs” proved highly successful, with each artist infusing their own creative flair using the prepared musical elements. Noteworthy contributors included Elsa Y Elmar, who crafted the impactful track “Hélio,” and Goyo, who devised the rhythmic song “De Donde Vengo.” Venezuelan artist Akapellah participated by producing the rap-infused track “El Minuto,” while Ambar Lucid delivered a mesmerizing dream-pop composition.
Although the tracks were birthed in under half an hour, their quality didn’t suffer. “To work in such a short time and work with the quality that we did was the interesting thing about it,” Pabón said in the new documentary. “Not losing that quality within how fast the industry is and how fast the movement is.”
The result of the project? Fifteen-minute sessions, 14 artists, and one complete album. The total cost? $14. These “express” records are set to be a part of Cabra’s record label La Casa Del Sombrero and Funny Little Kid’s concept album. The album is now available on Spotify.
Watch the Remezcla Films documentary Canciones x 1 Dólar here:
