Née: Mariana Montenegro and Milton Mahan
Raíces: Chile
Sounds like: The innocence of youth
You should listen to Dënver because…they know how to tell a story.
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In all its clumsy, angsty glory, adolescence is the subject of many a coming of age tales. Maybe people like cringing along with these stories, or maybe they find comfort in “at least I wasn’t that bad,” but teenage drama always seems to find a captive audience. And, even though it’s been done over and over, the bildungsroman takes on a new and exciting form in the hands of Chilean pop duo Dënver. Mariana Montenegro and Milton Mahan make light, wistful electro-tinged pop that perfectly captures all the highs and lows of adolescence with an honest and intelligent literary sensibility that creates narratives more compelling than whatever indie teen flick is out there right now. I’ll take “Lo que quieras” over It’s Kind of a Funny Story any day.
Montenegro and Mahan both grew up in San Felipe, a city they describe as small and kind of boring, where everyone knows each other. There they started playing together, experimenting with electronic styles, and eventually began recording and playing shows. Now the duo is based in Santiago and newly signed to the Cazador label, home to acts like Los Mil Jinetes, Fother Muckers, and Protistas. Their 2008 album Totoral was based heavily in electronic styles, but with the new album, Música, gramática y gimnasia, the duo is adding more instrumental arrangements into the mix. Look for it to be out very, very soon (no official date, but any day now).
Relive your rebellious teen years and download Dënver’s first single, “Los Adolescentes,” for FREE.
Also check out our Best Upcoming Latin Albums of 2010 to download Dënver’s “Lo que quieras” and watch the video below.