FEATURE: Spotlight: MJ Nebreda — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

MJ Nebreda

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WHEN thinking of the artists…

who will shape the direction of this year, MJ Nebreda spring to mind. For most of my Spotlight features, I have featured English-speaking artists. Music that is sung in the English language. I have neglected other languages. A wonderful Spanish-language artist based in Miami, María-José Nebreda’s incredible music and production stands her out as someone to watch closely. Born in Venezuela and currently Miami-based but raised mostly between London and a handful of other cities, this is a worldly talent who is influenced by Electronic and House. Her new E.P., inspired by the Raptor House genre that originated in Venezuela, is Amor en Los Tiempos de Odio. There are some interviews that I want to bring in. CLASH featured an amazing artist who is reaching those far beyond the Spanish-speaking world. Music that is instantly connecting with such a wide and admiring audience:

“A generation of incipient stars are sidestepping big label attempts to commodify the worldwide Latin takeover. Take Sandungueo, also known as Perreo, a ceremonial style of dance synonymous with reggaeton, adopted en masse by fans even beyond the Spanish-speaking world. MJ Nebreda, a singer, DJ and producer based in Miami, is much more than a proponent of Perreo, but a scholar honouring its roots.

“There’s a big difference with what Perreo means depending where you are,” MJ explains. “Perreo in Miami is different from in Perreo in Spain, but it comes from Puerto Rico and draws inspiration from artists like Plan B, DJ Nelson and Jowell y Randy. It’s one of my biggest passions as a DJ and where I do most of my research.”

With a background in A&R, MJ developed an acuity as a tastemaker within the Latin urbano and pop worlds, but her own latent ability as a producer bubbled to the surface during the pandemic. “I was working in the background of the music business for 4 years but once I started producing during quarantine I simply couldn’t stop. I was singing on top of the tracks from the start and I guess somewhere in that process, I realised I was making songs that I needed the world to hear,” she shares.

MJ soaked up her influences moving between Latin America, London and her current base in the US, and the impact of those scenes and subcultures is an implicit marker of her creative DNA. “I let my music explain that part of my story but being multicultural is of course a part of my identity. I was an 11-year-old dancing to reggaeton songs in a Minteca and also a 15-year-old obsessed with Frank Ocean, Grimes, and Odd Future in London. Both parts heavily influence how I approach any song that I create,” MJ continues.

Still, a sense of being tethered to one place has brought with it a sense of ownership and belonging. The place she calls home is Miami; its embrace of cross-cultural experiments in dance enriching her fluid process as a budding beatmaker: “I’ve always loved Miami because it’s the first city I lived in that makes me feel like I’m from here. Miami is the city I chose to be my home. The scene is so inspiring. I’ve had the chance to work with club scene artists like Coffintexts, Bitter Babe and Danny Daze. Look out for my track ‘Arquitecto’ in the Homecore! Miami All-Stars EP with all your faves coming out in December!”

MJ’s ‘Sin Pensar’ EP, released earlier this year, is a patchwork creation of buoyant 90s house tropes and dembow dirges – a soft precursor to the darker, hybrid feel of her new collaborative EP, ‘Amor En Los Tiempos Ds Odio’. The latter was created with Nick Leòn, affiliated with innovative Mexico City imprint and talent incubator NAAFI. Together they shift between honouring and destabilising the essence of raptor house, which came to prominence in the 00s as not just a genre but a municipal lifestyle born in the capital city of Venezuela. There are of course core conventions to adhere to. “To me, it’s about the fast-paced drums, vibrant synths and dance melodies,” MJ explains. “There is a heavy cultural meaning behind it and I think we have to keep pushing it out so that more people support the growth of the genre and continue to elevate its pioneers”.

There are not that many interviews available with MJ Nebreda online. I think that will change this year as her music spreads worldwide and she gets more exposure. Back in September, in one of the best interviews with Nebreda, Remezcla spoke with an incredible producer and artist who was bringing Raptor House back. Many might not know of the genres and sound. It means Nebreda is even more essential and important. It is going to open so many people’s eyes to something new or undiscovered. It is no wonder she is already acquiring a healthy and growing fanbase:

“Now embarking on a new side of the industry, she has new avenues to express herself she didn’t have access to before — something she uses to full effect in Amor en Los Tiempos de Odio. The four-track EP is inspired by the Raptor house genre that originated in Venezuela and even features the style’s originator, DJ Babatr, on her first single, “Frida Kahlo.” The project was made alongside fellow producer Nick León and, as a whole, the four songs encompass a different manifestation of expressing love.

As MJ approached them, “Bubalú” is love towards a partner in the romantic sense, while “Ahora Empezó” is more carnal love and passion. “Rottweiler,” in turn, is about the complicated love between family members and neighbors. The track was inspired by a recent trip to Peru, where half of her family is from, to bury her late grandmother. “I was there, and my whole family was just being so anxious and dramatic and loving each other but also fighting each other, and I was actually inspired,” she shares. “We all have so many [inner battles], and all I could think is, ‘This is my tribe — we’re all anxious, but look at us all still here, meeting up.’” Finally, “Frida Kahlo” is an ode to oneself and an endorsement of what you can accomplish when you bet on your talent and drive. MJ hopes the song’s cheeky chorus isn’t taken the wrong way and interpreted as an insult to the celebrated Mexican painter, instead intending it as “move aside Frida, I’m also a badass.”

As for her next steps, she’s already in the planning stages for a few more EP releases she wants to stagger across 2023, including a concept album/opera following an alter ego of her own creation named Fiona. She tours as a DJ and performer as well, with an upcoming show in Puerto Rico, Isla del Terror Soundsystem, MC’d by fellow singer-producer Enyel C, whom she collaborated with on his song “Nuestra Canción.”

Her innate smarts and natural intuitiveness have made her well aware that she’ll have to scale uphill to succeed — and she is already running into some of the many sexist speed bumps other female artists have long spoken about. “It’s become so much more obvious how many more things I need to do to be seen as respectable as a man at my same level,” she says. “Even though this guy is doing something, and it’s dope, as a woman, I feel like I have to do three times as much. You have to prove yourself way more.”

Hand-in-hand with the business acumen and creative wherewithal she gained working in the industry, she also saw some ugly truths that she’s now facing head-on, including body shaming. “The Latinx music industry is super sexist — it just is. And things are changing; people are finally into [queer and Black artists] and beyond,” she remarks. “At first, it was just like, ‘You’re not anorexic-looking enough, you’re not polishing yourself enough to look presentable to men,’ and shit like that. I’m not doing that, and you’re going to take me less seriously? Because I’m not getting work done on my face, or not doing the things that you think that a female artist should do? [It] doesn’t mean I’m less good.”

Having finally found her calling, MJ is determined to add her voice to a genre sorely lacking it — and isn’t going to allow those who underestimate her to disillusion her. “I’m just not gonna put myself in rooms where, as [an artist], I’m not feeling welcome,” she declares. “I know what I’m doing, and I’m focusing on that”.

I am going to wrap it up with an interview from Glamcult. They spotlighted an artist who was firmly putting sound of Venezuela on the map. Many people might not be aware of the music culture and sounds of the nations, so it is wonderful that MJ Nebreda is such a wonderful and passionate proponent. She is someone who is going to have a remarkable and successful future:

“Hello – great to be in touch – how are you today?

I’m doing amazing thank you!

Your new work, Amor En Los Tiempos De Odio is dedicated to Venezuelan music culture. Can you talk me through the significance of Changa Tuki (aka Raptor House) to yourself as an artist, and the ways it is hailed through your sound?

When I started releasing my music my family back in Venezuela first reaction to hearing it was to tell me that I was doing raptor house. I didn’t know what it was but the second I started to learn about it I just saw myself so identified with the hyper-ness of it all. I think that it’s a genre that hasn’t had the chance to popularise itself because of the crisis Venezuela has been in for the past twenty years. It could be for Venezuela what Dembow is for Dominican Republic and Reggaeton is for Puerto Rico. To me, it’s something that I feel connected to naturally.

Within this, however, there is a futurism – love songs beyond the ballads or slow-emotive betas – what inspired this take?

In the raptor house genre in general, there hasn’t been much exploration into what that genre can look like with lyricists on top. I wanted to just push myself to go there which ultimately also made the EP give its own take on it.

The visuals are also beautiful, the red veil with the bodysuit. How important is visual identity to your artistry?

Thank you! I’m exciting to keep working on my visual identity as I progress sometimes it can be a little overwhelming as I really like to keep most of my focus on being better at making music and DJing. This being said, I like to use a lot of symbolism in my imagery usually something that can get a message across without having to do too much.

There is also a level of humour in some of your work that feels somewhat reminiscent of the early work of Doja Cat. Is this an important element of your practice?

The early work of Doja Cat is amazing. I have been tuned into what she was doing since those days so that’s a huge compliment! I’ve noticed it is, I like to be real and have fun and find that the silliest things can hold so much meaning to me.

I can’t wait to see what is on the horizon for you – any goals for the coming year?

I’m excited to just keep releasing music and keep discovering things as a producer, a writer and a DJ. My goal is to release my three projects by the end of next year, so basically I will be working non-stop until 2024!”.

It does genuinely seem like MJ Nebreda has this drive and tireless work ethic that will see her tour the world and bring her music to people through this year. I do hope she gets to rest at some point but, with a recent E.P. under her belt, there is a demand for her to tour. I am a recent convert to her music, but I am already so compelled and fascinated. The phenomenal MJ Nebreda is among those who are going to make this year…