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Latin Alternative Music Conference

LAMC announces concerts at Central Park SummerStage

April 21, 2014 By Austin Vida Staff

LAMC poster webThe Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) will be happening again in New York City this summer for a special 15th anniversary celebration, including two free concerts at Central Park SummerStage featuring Beatnuts, Ana Tijoux, Bodega Bamz and DJ Tony Touch on Wednesday, July 9th and Babasónicos, Juana Molina and La Santa Cecilia on Saturday, July 12.

Now in its 15th year and called the “Sundance of Latin music” by the NY Times, the LAMC features free concerts at SummerStage in Central Park and Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park, plus intimate private concerts at various venues around the city, as well as numerous industry panels and Q&A’s with special guests, showcases and events. Additional LAMC events and concert line-ups will be announced later this spring.

Registration is now open; discounted yet once again at only $99 for a limited time at  here. Early bird registrants are automatically entered into a contest to win an exclusive LAMC guitar from Epiphone. Discounted hotel rates now available here.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: LAMC, Latin Alternative Music Conference, music festival, SUmmerStage

Interview: Irene Díaz, from Kickstarter to Latina indie darling on the rise

August 26, 2013 By Jessica Ramirez

LA-based singer-songwriter Irene Díaz. Promo photo by Miguel Morales Cruz.

When you look at singer-songwriter Irene Díaz you would never guess that such a big and soulful voice comes out of that petite figure, but trust me it does. We met up at the Downtown Rehearsal studio—east of downtown Los Angeles—where she told me all about the whirlwind of a life she’s had in the last three years and what is in store for her music career.

Díaz grew up performing at church and learning the piano. Yet, it wasn’t until she picked up her dad’s guitar at 16 years old that she started writing songs. For the songstress the songwriting goes hand-in-hand with the music and the instruments. Anytime she’s playing an instrument she’s thinking of songs to write.

“I love all of it, but what I wrote back then was really depressing,” the singer says as she laughs. “My writing has changed over time. I’ve found people that inspire me. The music I have right now is inspired by friends or experiences that I’ve had as a young adult.”

She admits that when she first started writing she would hide in her room and not share her music publicly. Even though music was a major part of her life, Díaz decided to pursue a higher education in an effort to find the career path for her.

“In school I was always trying to figure out what to do. Deep down I always wanted to do music but the music classes just weren’t as fulfilling for me,” says Díaz. “I realized then that I just really wanted to do music full time so I stopped going to school. It actually felt really good to make that decision. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when it came to school but I knew for certain that I wanted to do music.”

Since 2010 Díaz has tried to establish her career as a singer-songwriter and initially she had no clue where to begin.

“A big part of my collaborating and networking process was learning how to play, write, be creative and be free with the music and I couldn’t have done that without the help of the friends I’ve made along the way,” says Díaz. “In the beginning I would just go and be inspired and creative with them during their jam sessions. It helped me get out of my comfort zone.”

It took some time but she eventually broke out of that shell. In 2011 she met Carolyn Cardoza—her now ukuleleist and booking coordinator—who helped her alleviate some of the work involved in establishing a music career.

“When I met Carolyn a lot of things just started unfolding for me, since then a lot of doors have opened because I had someone to help me work everything out” says Díaz. “She introduced me to many people who helped me book shows, produce and do other creative things.”

'I Love You Madly' is available now on Itunes and CD Baby.

Among those things was the planning and launch of a successful Kickstarter campaign in November 2012. When Irene Díaz started recording her extended play album “I Love You Madly” she decided it was a good time to start a campaign to help fund her project. After two months of pre-planning and some blood, sweat and tears, their Kickstarter was successful and they were on their way to having a finished product for supporters and fans to enjoy.

“Luckily we had friends who had already done their own Kickstarter campaigns,” says Cardoza. “We talked to them about what worked and didn’t work for them in order to get as much information beforehand.”

“There’s a ton of work and effort that goes into a campaign like this. Sometimes we were just like, ‘We’re never doing this again!’,” says Díaz laughing. “But it was all worth it in the end because I don’t see how this EP could’ve happened without the support of this campaign. This was great because people not only helped with funds but also because they believed in the project and to have people like that backing me showed me I was doing something right and that this is what I was meant to do.”

With the outpour of support Díaz successfully reached her goal of $8,000 in just two weeks. She surpassed it by raising $10,209 at the end of the campaign. Díaz has worked hard since December to make sure the content promised went out to the fans in a timely manner.

With “I Love You Madly”, Díaz says she wanted it to be a listening experience that flowed nicely.

“I like to transition from one song to the other,” says Díaz. “That way people don’t get taken out of the moment and they can let the musical experience take over.”

Complete with interludes this album is one in which you can just relax and listen to from beginning to end.

“You can just get wrapped up in Irene’s songs, even playing with her, you don’t want the music to stop,” says Cardoza. “You want to stay in that moment in time. It’s a musical experience that just leads you somewhere else. You get wrapped up in the performance and you’re not interrupted.”

This summer she performed in Philadelphia and at the Latin Alternative Music Conference, where she stunned concertgoers with her soulful voice. As a result of her talent, she was featured on National Public Radio’s “Alt Latino” and “All Things Considered” and on Mucho Music. Up until now, the success Irene Díaz has achieved was earned through diligence and as part of a natural development.

“We haven’t had a PR person, we don’t have someone funding everything and as of right now I kind of like that,” says Díaz. “It’s very much about the people who enjoy and share my music with others. I feel happy with the way things are just happening organically right now.”

Díaz is currently working on getting her music to more college radio stations, performing on the road, writing more music and of course building her fan base.

“We are planning a West Coast tour for the near future,” says Díaz. “We’re also looking into booking some dates during South By Southwest 2014. Ultimately, I want to perform in showcases in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas as part of a Southwest tour so that is all in the works.”

In the last three years Díaz has accomplished great things in her musical career. Still, she knows there is a ton left to do and is facing the future with excitement and passion.

“I really want to influence people to do things that they love. If you’ve specified or realized what you want to do then by all means go for it,” says Díaz. “Music is what I love to do because I’m always learning by doing but mostly because I get to create an enjoyable experience for me and my audience.”

Keep an eye out for Irene Díaz because this little lady will be coming to Austin in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy her soothing and soulful sounds in this official music video for “Crazy Love”.

Filed Under: Events, Slider Tagged With: interview, Irene Diaz, Latin Alternative Music Conference, los angeles, singer-songwriter

LAMC 101: Intro to the Latin Alternative Music Conference

July 1, 2013 By Isabela Raygoza

LAMC founder Tomas Cookman / photo courtesy of Cookman International

New York City continuously seizes to amaze millions, notably for its unmatched entertainment empire. Summer just rolled in, and with that, New Yorkers and visitors expect tons of riveting shows to occur like every year. If you’re familiar with its music festivities, know a thing or two about the Latin alternative scene and know the difference between Bonnaroo and Vive Latino, then surely you’ve got the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) pinned down. But there’s a good chance you don’t know beyond the acronyms, or simply define it as the Latino SXSW or Latin CMJ. If your case is the latter, don’t worry. Let us guide you through it and give you the 101 on LAMC.

What is LAMC?

Though the LAMC is a critically acclaimed event that celebrates the Latin music scene, it’s actually normal to encounter music fest-goers who aren’t too familiar with it. Mainly because 1) they’ve never been to New York, 2) are not too exposed to the Latin alternative milieu. Whatever the case is, here’s a brief rundown.

Firstly, LAMC is a five-consecutive-day summer series of live music and panel discussions–this year commencing July 9-13. Yes, a bunch of Latino artists perform in all of the showcases who obviously play Latin alternative music, and yes again, they are based anywhere in Latin America, Spain or the U.S.

But who’s behind it, why does it exist, and how did it come about?

LAMC was founded by entrepreneur Tomas Cookman, CEO and founder of Nacional Records, in 2000–same year as Vive Latino and Latin Grammys. It emerged during a pivotal time when newer sounds of Latin music sought a more appropriate place to reside, outside of conventional Latin categorizations (regional, pop, rock en Español, etc.). Cookman was already responsible for importing and representing Latin alternative heavyweights like Manu Chao, Aterciopelados, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and other wunderkinds to the U.S. audience via his management and thriving label bringing the “New Sounds of Latin Music”–National’s slogan.

In a convo with Cookman, he recalls, “A little over 14 years ago, I noticed that a lot of the general market conferences were having Latino panels. They were more often than not about the genres of music that I was working with, supporting and championing–and they were well attended. That got a conversation going and before you knew it, the first LAMC was announced.”

Thereafter, Cookman with Nacional Records have been accountable for groundbreaking newer artists into the US such as luminary techno newcomers Bomba Estereo, Nortec Collective, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Pinker Tones among countless more. But when it comes to LAMC performers, not all of them are part of the Nacional roster. Some include artists from Latin American indie labels you probably never heard of like Quemasucabeza (Gepe), Arts&CraftsMX (Torreblanca, Delorean) to corporate major ones that everyone knows like Sony (Calle 13, Julieta Venegas) and Universal (Mala Rodriguez).

Another important thing to know that often gets misconceived is that…

LAMC 2013 happens July 9-13 in New York City.

LAMC isn’t your Latino SXSW or CMJ

Sure, all three above have similar formats (e.g. live showcases, panels, badges, etc.), but very different agendas. SXSW is focused on showcasing local and international music in Texas’ culturally renowned music-heavy city, Austin–a focal point and key differentiator. And CMJ Music Festival introduces college radio, industry types and the audience groundbreaking music around the world across Manhattan and Brooklyn.

So how is LAMC different from these? Three words: Latin alternative music. It is more than just a “Latin” genre but a subculture and an attitude, which we’ll shortly get to. To Tomas Cookman, he explains, “The beauty of it all is that [all music conferences] are important and serve their purposes. It would not make sense for there to be just one outlet for all this creativity. Imagine only the Cannes Film Festival but no Sundance or Toronto Film Festival. The same goes with the Billboard Latin Music Conference [which covers only Latin POP (Shakira, J Lo)]. Music is so varied and markets are so complex that it is key that there are professional and well-run events for people to get together and show what they are all about.”

So what is the LAMC all about? It’s about Latin alternative.

Now, Latin alternative is a fairly new subculture and music genre for the mainstream. Technically, neither “Latin” nor “alternative” are actually real music genres, but as my colleague Matt Barbot of Remezcla puts it, they are “umbrellas covering tons of different styles that have some basic things in common.” Under those umbrellas we’ll see that ñu-cumbia is like cumbia with newer elements, reggaeton and moombahton are totally different sounds and styles, and rock doesn’t have to be ‘en Español’ or is not limited to be. For these reasons and more ‘Latin alternative’ exceeds the categorization of what ‘Latin music’ was considered to be by the mainstream.

But really, it takes way more than a paragraph to explain it all, and Cookman knows that pretty well. He states, “Defining Latin alternative is a full time job as “rock” can be (and all the genres within that broad word). It’s hip-hop (and all its variations), electronica, reggae, tropical… well, just about anything. It’s about wanting something new” He reassures that it’s not just a sound but also an attitude and a feeling, as opposed to being defined by a drumbeat or rhythm. So you see, the spectrum of Latin alternative is very wide with a bright, evolving, and promising future ahead of it.

So what should you expect at LAMC?

First thing to do is reserve your badge. This will guarantee your entry for those five days. It will include access to the press area, panel discussions, and interaction area, all held at the New Yorker Hotel. Here, lots of networking, mingling, and publicity exposure occurs as well as knowledge gaining in the panel room addressing today’s most sought-after topics and debates in the music and media industry. You’ll also notice tons of industry types waiting to sign the next Calle 13, and others aiming for the latest exclusives on Los Rakas, Astro, Natalia Lafourcade… Surely, expect to attend indie and acoustic showcases, massive outdoor concerts, and more, all held in Central Park’s Summerstage, The Mercury Lounge, Crotona Park, S.O.B.’s, Gramercy Theatre, and Prospect Park’s Celebrate Brooklyn.

Indeed, this 2013 will be a bit different then those proceeding because LAMC is expanding not just in music but also in film, books, spoken word and food. Cookman informs us that this is the first year of LAMC Latin Tastes of New York. He says, “We continue to grow year after year and it is our goal to make this the center of all things cool and Latino every year. For one week in July, whatever your art is, you can celebrate it in New York.” And as the saying goes, if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.

Now that you got the 101 on LAMC, we await to see you there. Check out the full lineup here and for more info visit www.latinalternative.com.

Filed Under: Events, Slider Tagged With: LAMC, Latin Alternative, Latin Alternative Music Conference, music festival

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