Have you ever wondered what rock music would sound like if it was written by a Puerto Rican living in Belgium? I hadn’t, but I learned anyway and I like it.
Last.fm recently recommended me a track by Gabriel Rios, and I’m still listening to his musical mashups. Here’s the biography from his official website:
Gabriel Rios was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. One morning, when he was four years old, he attempted to fly: he jumped from the couch in the living room and landed in a huge glass vase that immediately burst into pieces, cutting his left eyelid.
His grandmother, who was sitting on the same couch reading, began to scream, waking up Gabriel’s parents who ran over to
see what had happened. They quickly took him to the bathroom where they held him up with his back to them, facing the mirror.
At the time, he didn’t understand why he was being shown his own bleeding face. Later on, they took him to the hospital where, still dressed up as Superman, he received twelve stitches and an eye patch that resembled that of a pirate, which he kind of enjoyed.
The rest of the story, I have gleaned from the internets. As a young musican in Puerto Rico, Rios fell in love and decided to follow the woman back to Belgium to continue his education. While there, he played in several rock bands before feeling nostalgic and re-exploring his Caribbean musical roots. He also has an interest in electronic music, and combines all of his influences with clever lyrics like these (the videos are good too, check them out below):
Broad Daylight
Back in the old days, tight like a fight
Used to hang with the devil in the broad daylight
We had a route, a walkabout
Until we had a row, a kind of falling out
He showed me the low, he showed me the down
Called it the happy low down
We used to rock some tunes with a guy named Lloyd
Lloyd still got them polaroids
Broad daylight
Broad daylight
Stop climaxing, you got your fight
Leaving him alone in the broad daylight
He might get it on, on his own and start building a throne
Out of worn out razors
Look at you shaking you can’t find his plight
Got you scared of ghosts in the dead of night
While you’re making up stories trying to make it OK
He’ll be bringing them in to let them out and play
In the broad daylight
Broad daylight
Leaving me alone in the broad daylight
In the broad daylight
Broad daylight
In the broad day
Please, don’t leave me alone
Leaving me alone in the broad daylight
You’ll get your money, you’ll get your night
Just leave me alone up in the broad daylight (Broad daylight!)
I need some shit of my own, i need a throne
Not them razors
And who you think you are screaming Hollywood burn?
If you really want to stop it then burn your sperm
‘Cause this here be going on until its not and then a little more
Broad daylight
Leaving me alone in the broad daylight
In the broad daylight’
Broad daylight, in the broad day
Please, don’t leave me alone
Leaving me alone in the broad daylight
In the broad daylight
In the broad daylight
In the broad daylight
In the broad daylight
Oh
In the broad daylight
Broad daylight
In the broad day
Please, don’t leave me alone
Leaving me alone in the broad daylight
The English lyrics in this next video are probably for his European audience. I like this because I’m used to Puerto Rican musicians who are hoping to reach an audience in the United States. Either way, the song is very sexy and makes me want to dance.
The more I listen to “Angelhead,” the more I love it. The lyrics are wonderful, the music sounds a bit like “Squares” by the Beta Band, and the video is fun to watch, despite being very artsy/indie-rock.
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