NEW YORK (Universal Records) - "Mi Sangre" (My Blood), Juanes' new album, just entered the final mix phase and will be in stores in October.
"Mi Sangre" (Surco-Universal) contains 12 original songs all written by Juanes. The first single will be released to radio on August 16th. Most of the songs were written in hotels, airports and dressing rooms during his 114-date concert tour that took him to 24 countries.
Juanes started working on the first track 15 months ago in a hotel in Amsterdam.
"It was very difficult for me to write songs. I worried thinking that nothing was going to come out of my head" comments the Colombian producer, guitarist, singer and composer Juanes. The results seem to contradict what the artist thinks.
Juanes worked with the same production team from his two previous albums. Gustavo Santaolalla and Juanes are the producers, Anibal Kerpel is co-producer and Thom Russo is the engineer. "Juanes has surprised us again - his creativity continues to ascend. "Mi Sangre" has no comparison" states experienced Santaolalla, President of Surco. "This artist knows what he wants, and does what he knows better than anyone. It is an honor to work with an artist and a human being of this dimension".
Several of the musicians from his previous projects participated in this recording, among them David Campbell who arranged the strings, Fernando "Toby" Tobon, a friend from his old band Ekhymosis, recorded the bass, and also three new musicians: drummer Victor Indritzo (Macy Gray, Beck, Stevie Wonder, Avril Lavigne) and keyboardists Emmanuel Brice-o and Greg Kurstin. As he always does Juanes plays the electric and acoustic guitars on all the songs.
More than 75 per cent of the guitars that will be heard on "Mi Sangre" are the same ones that he recorded on the first demos.
Juanes writes his songs with the help of his guitar. The melodies usually come first and the elaborate process of writing the lyrics goes through several phases before he shows the song to anyone. No more than seven people have heard material from the new album by this artist who has consolidated his success by being one of the most innovative and creative artists in the last five years.
"Mi Sangre" has high doses of rock with the original fusion of Latin American rhythms, specially from Colombia. It includes two powerful ballads, several up-tempo tracks - twelve amazing songs that surprise with their rhythm, beautiful melody, poetry and musical form.
Original and simple, the themes continue to deal with personal relationships, love, and the urban aspects of society. Life, death, family, survival, hope and solitude are the basic elements recurrent throughout this composer's innovative language.
Juanes put the final touches on these compositions within the four walls of his small garage studio at home. Long daily sessions for the last five months served to perfect the songs during a rigorous and often-times lonely pre-production process Juanes goes through before letting anyone listen. "Mi Sangre" is what I live, what I love, my love, my daughter, my family, my music, my people, my passion, my guitar, my memories, my yearning, my doubts, it is what I suffer and want. "Mi Sangre" es eso: mi sangre (My Blood is that: my blood)", says Juanes as he explains the title of his awaited new album.
Juanes will start his new concert tour in February 2005 and during the next three months will focus on the intense promotion of "Mi Sangre" in Latin America, the United States and Europe. "I was convinced that Juanes would deliver a new album that surpassed his excellent previous works, but the truth is that my expectations came up short.
"Mi Sangre" has no comparison, the 12 varied tracks comprise a marvelous album with all the classic elements of Juanes' music yet with a higher level of quality and innovation" comments Jesus Lopez, Chairman of Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula.
Juanes has garnered nine Grammys and more than 16 other prestigious international awards. His previous album "Un Dia Normal" has sold over 1,8 million copies producing 6 radio hits and setting a record by staying in Billboard Magazine's top 10 for an unprecedented 92 weeks.
