Allá explores the universal language, plays Empty Bottle Dec. 28

Over the past six months, Latin psych-pop group Allá’s debut, Es Tiempo, has received acclaim for its songs that mix styles such as tropicalia, psychedelia and hip-hop; the band is currently recording an EP of covers and will play Dec. 28 at the Empty Bottle. But if you, like Paste:Local’s Kent Green, have limited Spanish knowledge, is it possible to understand what Allá is trying to convey in its music? We tested Longfellow's aphorism of music being “the universal language” by interpreting Es Tiempo’s Spanish-spun tracks with the band's guitarist/producer, Jorge Ledezma.

“Sigue Tu Corazon”
Paste: I thought this was a love song, sort of the singer calling for her lover to come to her.
Ledezma: The exact translation would be that.
Paste: Really?
Ledezma: Kind of, you know, “corazon” is “heart,” “sigue” is “follow,” so, technically, it's following your heart. I went through a lot of bullshit to get this record made and made a lot of sacrifices with it. I broke a really potentially amazing relationship with somebody to do what I love, so the song's kind of about that self-doubt. But then like, “I gotta do this,” even though at the time it seems very difficult to make that choice.

“Tu Vida”
Paste: This, I thought, was rejecting a point of view that you're not in line with and then affirming your stance.
Ledezma: Pretty close. Specifically, it's about gangs and peer pressure. The first part of the song is the point of view of a mother talking to her son about, “Don't go down that path.” And then we flip it at the end of the song. “Tu Vida” means “your life,” and at the end  [the lyrics are] "live your life for yourself, not for anyone else.” You know the first part of the song, there's a minor chord, so it has a little tension, and at the end, you sort of resolve it.

“Sazanami”
Paste: I thought this was a tribute to how hard the album was to make... but it also could just be a bunch of noises.
Ledezma: No, it was a mood, you know? That song and the other one, “La Montagne Segrada”-- we went into the studio, turned the lights down and improvised. Those are the songs that gave us another dimension as far as an artist. We weren’t just writing these sugary-soft pop songs. It’s a little darker-- experimental, I guess.

“El Movimiento”
Paste: I definitely heard your Kraftwerk influence here... and I thought it was your statement that, "We love this kind of music.”
Ledezma: I originally was going to write lyrics like that, which is funny you brought that up. Because when I wrote it, I was like, “I want to do a banger song on the record.” You know, that shit never happens. And so it ended up being-- “el movimiento” is a term they use in brown power, Chicano power. So this was our straight-up kind of political song. But it’s funny you brought up Kraftwerk. ‘Cause I put these elements in-- my brother and I are total music geeks, so I'm always dropping these little things in there. And that's what's great about what we try to do with Allá, is that if we hear stuff like that... Fuck it, I'm gonna put that on my record.

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