NEW YORK (Univision Records) - 2004 marks the year that
Akwid takes their music and their unique style to the next level, coming to the realization that if radio doesn't exist for their music, they will create their own radio environment. Enter their most anticipated and most ambitious musical project to date:
KOMP 104.9 Radio Compa, their sophomore effort embodied as a fictitious radio station featuring 12 new tracks in a radio show format. The album, which is also offered in an optional CD/DVD combo package, drops in U.S. and Puerto Rican retails stores on June 15, 2004.
The first single that airs on KOMP 104.9 Radio Compa is "Jamas Imagine" (I Never Imagined), a song that thanks everybody, from fans, promoters to record labels. According to Akwid, the instrumentation of this track is strong, orchestra-like, and a cheerful song that is very entertaining and up-tempo. In it, they describe the way they feel from their humble beginnings to where they are now. "It puts us from the beginning to now, and why we're thankful; it expresses what we feel about all the people that have helped us along the way," said Sergio.
The DVD, included as an added value and an option, includes three music videos, two from their debut album: "No Hay Manera" (There's No Way) and "Siempre Ausente" (Always Missing), and a treat for all their fans, the video for their new single "Jamas Imagine" (I Never Imagined) with behind the scenes footage. Also included on the DVD are a photo gallery and highlights of their biography.
"For those who believe that we stumbled into a sound, this is to prove that it is no accident. We've implemented more instruments into the entire product to break the notion that Banda music does not have a guitar or that Norte�o does not have a piano; this is truly blending instruments according to what makes sense to us and what sounds good together," added Francisco.
If "Proyecto Akwid" was great, then KOMP 104.9 Radio Compa is that to the 10th power, a feat already evidenced by the impressive preliminary ship out of roughly 175,000 units in the U.S.
In order to take the music to another level on this new album, Akwid focused their attention on a lot of other instruments that are in the music that they listen to. As far as the duo is concerned, this is a much more complete album in sound, concept and content. "We pretty much did what we know how to do and what we like, but it's full of instruments that break the tradition of what people think music should sound like. It's much more sentimental and more serious," stated Sergio.
The album is comprised of stellar collaborations such as a live recording with Norte�o legend Lorenzo de Monteclaro on "Mi Aficion" (My Hobby), and samplings from renowned artists such as Mexican Cumbia idol Rigo Tovar on "Como, Cuando y Donde" (How, When and Where), and internationally acclaimed German Lizarraga y Sus Estrellas de Sinaloa band on "Tu Mentira" (Your Lie). KOMP 104.9 Radio Compa proves Akwid's artistic growth and their creative evolution.
Other notable tracks include "Mu�eca Fea" (Ugly Doll), a song that gives credit to women who live that 'other' lifestyle and are ostracized by society; the ones that people look down upon and are downgraded, the satirical, energy-charged and linguistically-coded tongue twister "Sifi Ofo Nofo," "Pacheco," a track that describes the definition of their artistic name, and the heavy-duty serious track of the album "Harto" (Fed Up).
In the past year, Sergio and Francisco Gomez, better known as Akwid, became synonymous with unprecedented success in the Latin music industry. In less than a year since the launch of their debut album "Proyecto Akwid" under the Univision Records label, which sold over 300,000 units in the U.S. and garnered them their first RIAA-certified Latin Platinum Album, Akwid's name incited public euphoria and critical acclaim worldwide.
While most U.S. radio stations were resistant to spin their records, Akwid went ahead and worked arduously to build a core fan base and gain new allies and followers in cities across the continental United States. The word about the pioneering brothers spread like wildfire and in a matter of months they were being requested to do shows in Mexico, Central and South America, and most recently Spain. Akwid's commercial success can be evidenced by the myriad industry awards they were nominated for in 2004, among them a Grammy for best "Spanish Rock/Alternative Album," two nods for Premio Lo Nuestro Latin Music Award in the urban categories and most recently, three nods for the Latin Billboard Music Award of which they took home two awards.
