Hey, everyone. Anthony Fantano here, Internet's busiest music nerd. Hope you're doing well.

Today, I thought we would get a little bit international, considering some of the recent political goings-on here in the US with respect to our foreign policy vis-a-vis Venezuela. Our country's recent abduction of Nicolás Maduro has sparked a lot of polarizing opinions across the political sphere, understandably. I thought this could provide an interesting opportunity to actually talk to some Venezuelan music fans and journalists and ask them not only what they think about this whole situation, but also what contemporary artists on their music scene are standing out to them today.

My first guest who I want to bring on here is Gustavo Alberto, one of the co-founders of the experimental online pirate radio station, Radio Nudista, a passionate online musical social club covering a lot of different music scenes across Latin America and beyond, which is exactly why I thought he would give me some great music recommendations.

Anthony Fantano: All right, before we get into the music itself, Gustavo, would you be able to speak personally as somebody who's from Venezuela to what you see as the political situation over there now as a result of this regime change?

Gustavo Alberto: Sure, Anthony. Well, it's complex, but I cannot speak for 30 million Venezuelans, but that's how are they feeling currently. Certainly, our dictatorship has led to one-third of the population to go into exile. And we have 26 years living under authoritarian dictatorship. Of course, with humanitarian crisis. I think I'm not going into that deep because it's well known, but certainly it's unexplainable to see your dictator being in jail. That's the thing I want to highlight.

Even the outcome of all of these situations will be better or worse, or someone can be happy or sad. This means a lot for us because will be the, maybe, maybe, just maybe, the the thing that was happening that was missing to happen in order to us for a return to our country. So I think that will be the main point of this. Later, we can discuss some politics, but for someone who's been tortured, I think that today the urgency is other.

I would like to highlight an album from the last year. It's a pop folk project. The name of the album is La Vida Que Nos Tocó, which will be translated as, "the life that we get". The artist is Mariella y Venero, which is a duo from Valencia, Venezuela, and Chivacoa.

AF: What outside of maybe the lyrical themes and what it's speaking to as far as an experience, outside of that, what makes the music stand out to you? Is it the vocals? Is it the instrumentation?

GA: Well, that's a great question because this is an urban folk project that uses native instruments from our country, based with Cuatro, which will be our ukelele, and maracas, don't need translation, but I think that will be the main highlight, instrumentally speaking. And of course, you can't approach all the experience on one album, but I think this one has a pretty nostalgic and resignificative view of what is the life that we are living in right now and what is our job to do or to communicate. So the Venezuelan identity is not clear.

AF: This might be difficult to speak to in a greater sense, so no offense if you just put it simply, but in your experience, from what you see as somebody who covers Venezuelan music, a passionate Venezuelan music fan, and also living abroad, too, how can you explain or is there a way to describe what being under a dictatorship can do to the creative process of an artist when trying to make a career behind their music and what they do? I mean, they want to express themselves. They want to put themselves out there. They want to make the music that they want to make. But simultaneously, is there always a fear there of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing and bringing too much attention to yourself that may be unwanted?

GA: Certainly, if you context that one-third of the population is outside the country, and not only the music industry, but all the industries in Venezuela were blocked or ruined by Chavismo. The arts are not an exception of that. So basically the music industry, the last maybe 15 years or something, inside the country, won't have a great volume or a huge visibility for you out there. So mostly of the main artists of Venezuela are in exile. And it doesn't matter, actually, if you are a protestant, actively militancy against Maduro.

But the humanitarian crisis reaches all. It's a interesting conversation to have that all of us as Venezuelans have to re-imagine what a Venezuelan identity is nowadays. Because me, the Venezuelan that migrates to Brazil, Colombia, or the United States will have a different context, will have a different optical, including outside of what happened, how they heal, their own processes. And you can see that in the music manifestations. I want to bring that thing to the table, that I question constantly. The biggest musical movements in our continent came from dictatorship. The tropicália in Brazil, the Argentina rock, of course, I like to think that our manifestation is not just one.

A protestant music against the regimen could be in a celebration tone, "Let's go to party, let's go to beach," they can't take our right to be happy. You can see that in the mainstream music, of course, we're a Caribbean country and we can't just stop dancing. Mostly of the mainstream music will have that current. But certainly the underground music or the more activist music, it happens to be outside as well.

AF: How would you say this next artist that you want to recommend fits within that between the mainstream and the underground?

GA: Thanks. Regarding the queer community, I brought Yajaira La Beyaca into the conversation because maybe she's the most transgressive manifestation of our queer community. Of course, it's not a competition, of who is more transgressive, but she is currently based in Colombia. I think she migrates a short period of time to Spain. But it's a great example of a very, very curious case to take a look on because the character is anonymous, so nobody knows who she is. And that's part of the creation of the character. And that gave her some freedom to speak what she wants to speak and not being persecuted. So mainly, Yajaira La Beyaca with CARACTER ANAL, which was her last album. It's a very, very transgressive view or manifestation of how a queer artist from a... I'm not going to say hard working class, but living in poverty person can manifestate as well.

AF: We're obviously going to link to Radio Nudista in the [description] box, especially since I decided to bring on the CEO of it as well, Lucho Milazzo Yanes, who is a Venezuelan native himself and had a couple of great recommendations to offer as well. Okay, so speaking with Lucho here, let's get into the first that you want to recommend, who is this, WEED420 producer. Now, when I reached out and started asking people who it was on the Venezuelan scene was worthy of talking about, was of interest, this person got mentioned the most. Why, in your view, is that? Why is WEED420 building up so much buzz in Venezuela and on the Internet?

Lucho Milazzo Yanes: Okay, this makes me really proud because actually with Cuatroventé, it's a collective from Venezuela. That they came together and actually at a party that we hosted as Radio Nudista.

AF: That's cool.

LMY: That's so awesome. It's one of our greatest, I don't know, greatest gift that life has given us. It's a collective of very young kids. They make this hypnagonic pop. It's very weird. Because their music pays an homage to the music that plays at Encavas. Encavas, that's where the name of the album come from, Amor de Encava, 'Love from Encava'. Encava, it's a very bad public transportation that we use in Venezuela. It's like these busses, public busses, that they're usually playing salsa, reggaeton, cumbia, vallenato, a lot of Latin music. So they take this music and they chop it and make it a very, very distorted version of that. So playing with samples with guitar riffs and stuff, very noisy. So they make very good music. And for me, it's a reflection of the current situation in Venezuela because it's this thing that it's very nostalgic and very reminiscent of a better time, maybe, but also in between or in the middle of this noise and chaos that we are living. And plus the music is very good, so I recommend it to you very much.

AF: Yeah, I actually am going to probably see myself diving into this album further later in this week. There was something psychedelic and trippy about it, too. Almost like Animal Collective, a little bit. But again, it seemed like the reference points, and as you said, there's a lot of samples in the music as well. It seemed like a lot of the baseline influences were very different and very specific to Venezuela.

LMY: Yeah, totally. It's like a perfect reflection of the current context in Venezuela.

AF: Who is the next artist that you wanted to talk about here?

LMY: Well, the next artist is known cowboy. He's a great artist from La Victoria. It's this, I don't know how to say, small city, town, maybe, in Venezuela. And he made an album in 2016, it's one of my favorite records of Venezuela. It's called Andy's House is Black. And it's incredible. That record is incredible because he made that in a little computer that the government gave away. A very, very, very poor, very cheap computer.

So it's incredible how off this computer, he, I don't know how to say that, he made very beautiful music in the middle of the worst crisis that we have had in Venezuela. 2016 was a very rough year for us. Power shortage and no food and a lot of economic crisis and stuff. Having this little kid, having this little kid coming from that scenario and giving us this beautiful record, it was something beautiful to be... It makes me proud as a Venezuelan.

Last year, he released... Well, last month, actually, he released this new record after almost 10 years called love & wishes, which is very good. It dips into dream pop or an ambient maybe. It's about a break up, so it's very poetic. Even the pieces that don't have a lyrical content, they take you to the place that he's coming from. I would recommend you to check both his albums because they're very good.

AF: Just to be clear, are the compositions and the instrumentation, are they primarily electronic? Is there a lot live instrumentation?

LMY: He's a guitarist. He plays guitar, but he's also a producer. He makes these beautiful soundscapes. If you or the people that listen to this, can play his music using headphones and laying down on the bed, it's the best, or going to the beach or something like that, because it really is music that takes you to a different state, to say the least. It's very, very beautiful.

AF: Are there any closing thoughts you wanted to leave us with about the scene and how people might be perceiving what's going on in Venezuela currently?

LMY: Well, I just want to highlight this is not a very... This is a very complex and complicated situation for us. I know we have all eyes on us right now, so let's try not to oversimplify the things. If you know a Venezuelan or you talk to a Venezuelan, just ask. Just get into a conversation, a deep conversation. Try to hear our thoughts in this. Instead of giving a lecture about the current situation, try to learn from Venezuelans, understand that this is very difficult for us. It doesn't matter where you come from, actually. We all want the same. We all want to have freedom of speech. We want a good life. We want food. All the things that us as human beings deserve.

AF: Another person I've spoken with is cultural journalist and content creator, Eliza Perez, who's done work with the independent label and festival promoter, Cusica. Who is the first artist that you would like to recommend to us from the Venezuelan scene that you've been telling me about?

Eliza Perez: I really want to recommend a band, they're called Sr. Falla de Origen. They are from Valencia, Carabobo, and they are post-punk and rock. The things they do, I think is really interesting. I don't hear this sound since a band called Sentimiento Muerto. They are from '80s, '90s. They no longer anymore. I think Sr. Falla de Origen is doing a great, great job.

AF: Yeah. From what you were saying in our previous chats, there's not a whole lot of bands on the scene currently that quite do this style exactly.

EP: No, not really. I heard a Venezuelan band since, well, I think forever. I think this is the first time I was, "Oh, my God, I think this is really great." Even I think they have a few things about the Cure, the Smiths, a band called Number I really like.

AF: Who is this second artist that you wanted to turn me on to? La niña brava?

EP: La niña brava, yes, I think they are really, really interesting. They have the sound like Julieta Venegas in her beginnings. They do indie and folk. They're a debut even last year with their EP, la niña brava is homonymous. I think their songs are really nice. It's like to grow, to heal, and to turn the page.

AF: Okay, that's cute. They're doing a lot of folk instrumentation. When we say folk, we're talking about folk music. I mean, does the root of that sound or the instrumentation that is being used, I imagine it's something that's got to be local to Venezuela, right? I mean, it's not just general acoustic instrumentation.

EP: No, they even do a banjo, synth, accordion, guitar. And I think that's really interesting about that. And they're fusion. I don't know if I'm saying-

AF: No, fusion, fusion.

EP: Venezuelan music and American music. Because all of them live in United States.

AF: Oh, okay.

EP: I don't know if I can tell you about Americania. I know you say the two bands where I have a third.

AF: There's a third. What is the third group?

EP: It's called Americania. They do folk, pop, and alternative. This year, they're going to launch their new album called Saludos de Americania. After 12 years, their last album was launched in 2013, and they are a cult band. They sound like Soda Stereo, a lot of Phoenix, even a fusion in the Beatles and Los Panchos. It's really interesting because they have this melancholic sound and with hard feelings.

AF: Finally here, I want to bring in music writer Marcos Sanoja, who's written for not only Clash magazine, but Caracas Chronicles as well, and has been covering the Venezuelan music scene, among others, for a while now.

All right, so finally, we have Marcos here with us, like I said. Who is the first artist that you want to throw our way and what makes them special to you on the Venezuelan scene?

Marcos Sanoja: Well, I first want to talk about Safety Trance. He's mostly known for his work with Arca. I think when talking about Venezuelan music, we have to, for sure, mention Arca in some way. She's a blueprint in that electronic world where Safety Trance, mainly move. Yeah, he's this really cool DJ and record producer. He's been based in Barcelona for a while, and he mostly bases his project on underground rave scene and also when he goes by Cardopusher, he mainly goes to clubs, rave scene, that vibe. Then when he goes by Safety Trance, he leans into a more electronic, more Latin funk vibe, mixing reggaeton, but also breaking that pattern of reggaeton and Latin music that we're very familiar with. It's very in your face, quick, experimental, and very straight to the point, I think.

AF: This Lágrimas record, as you describe it as experimental with regard to some of these sounds that we might have heard in a lot of modern Latin music, modern Venezuelan music, Arca's music, do the experiments play out much differently? Does Safety Trance have his own way of experimenting or defining these sounds or making them sound weird or subversive?

MS: Yeah, it's very cool because he mainly focuses on mixing that EVN, a very industrial sound with Venezuelan sounds. In some ways, he implements a lot of Venezuelan instruments or melodies that you usually see, especially if we go way back with Simón Díaz or other Venezuelan artists that are iconic. I think he mainly uses that, but also keeping that very electronic sound and in your face hyper pop. He also collaborated with Dorian Electra and Sega Bodega, so he moved around that area of music.

AF: Who is this second artist and the second record that you wanted to pass our way as well?

MS: Yeah, I want to shout out Bucle Lunar. They're really cool indie pop, dream pop band that started in 2023 in Venezuela, and they're based in Venezuela right now. They started the project as a school project with almost no resources. Their song, "Subió El Maldito Dolar", got really viral in Venezuelan spaces last year, especially because of his lyrics. It tackles that Venezuelan nostalgia and topics that we see a lot as kids growing up there, as your friends leaving the country and leaving your family and all of that. But also it plays into more like a humor kind of way into topics like the economic crisis, the dollar going up and stuff like that. And it's just really cool to see how young Venezuelan people still express their views and their emotions still being in the country.

I really want to shout them out. I think they're really cool. I think they're doing really cool music with very but no little support. I think it's really important to name people who are are still in the country making music and supporting their music and throwing shows.

AF: To give us a little added perspective here, as you describe this artist and that song going viral. With respect to doing that while still operating as a musician in Venezuela, what does that look like? I mean, you're a music journalist. You cover a lot of different artists across the globe. Does that manifest itself in a way that's primarily online, like maybe a lot of the other artists that we know, or are there other channels within Venezuela that a song or a record might become a hit or go viral locally? Is it word of mouth? Is it music sharing? Is it radio waves? Are there other ways that certain tracks are gaining momentum these days over there?

MS: I think music in Venezuela live in a very different time and space. As in different countries, we're very excluded to the international conversation. And what happens a lot in Venezuela is that we don't really appreciate or give a voice or a platform to our own artists because many people don't know that they exist. Many people don't know their influence, especially when I name Arca, 80% of the general audience in Venezuela don't even know that name. So I think mainly if you want to succeed as an artist in Venezuela, you have to find other spaces.

So yeah, it's mostly online, mostly through other Venezuelan artists in other countries, especially the US. They're posting the songs and posting the music and supporting, but it's really hard, especially because the concert that they're throwing are, I think the tickets are selling for $3 or something like that in the country. You have to have a lot of passion and a lot of support in order to grow, but I don't think it's very... I don't think it could happen for artists to succeed and maintain a global status while still being in the country. But it's very interesting that it is happening for them in some my way.

AF: I thank you for taking the time and just being so descriptive and giving us some great stuff.

MS: Of course. Thank you so much.

Okay, that is going to do it for this video. I appreciate all of you guys watching. I really appreciate all of my guests for coming on, making some great recommendations. All the artists, all the records, all the everything is linked and listed down below, so you could check it out for yourself. Also, look further into my guests in this video.

Anthony Fantano, Venezuela, forever.