Their name translates to something like ‘you won’t like it,’ from Spanish. Their most recent album titled “Suenan las Alarmas” (The Alarms Ring) was nominated for the Latin Grammy for Best Rock Album.

Thanks to The Music Joint, we had the pleasure of talking to Guzman Silveira, bassist of the Uruguayan band ‘No Te Va Gustar’ in a conversation that de/viated from music to food, legalization and more. Here’s our chat’s translation:

Clandestino Radio (CR): What was your experience with the album ‘Suenan las Alarmas’?

Guzman Silveira (GS): This is a record with which we are very happy. It took a lot of work and it was an album in which we tried something we had not done before. We had already recorded tracks, by layers. Then we worked with Joe Lenny, another US producer who came with the idea of playing all together in our rehearsal room. The truth is that it was a very nice experience. And now we were lucky to work with Hector Castillo, who is an excellent producer. He proposed a hybrid between what we were doing before [and the new way]. We recorded all the bases together and then we added the winds and the voices, by layers. Above all, we made a rather meticulous treatment of the audio aspect. Then we worked a lot on the effects, the percussion, especially the guitars. And the truth is that we are very happy with how the album sounds. It is impressive [to hear] the sound that was achieved and the truth is that it accompanies the songs and the general concept of the album very well. We are extra happy with our work, which was hard, we’re glad people received [the album] very well, they like the songs and they show it in our shows. So very happy, really.

CR: Was it decided to adopt a specific genre or style before recording?

GS: Actually, it’s not that we made a decision. We choosing the songs as they appear, I think that for this album were more than twenty songs and we picked the best. It’s not that we choose by style, it’s what the songs are about, how good is the lyrics are, the music, etc. They were the best songs and our album sounds more like rock, pop, folk something like that.

CR: Is the Guzman that joined No Te Va Gustar the same now?

GS: For me, No Te Va Gustar was a school of life. I grew up with this group in every sense, in music, in technique, in human relationships; that’s extremely important in such a large group [of people]. It was a school of life, I have obviously seen evolution from the beginning, [we were] very young and now most of us are parents and we see things from another perspective. I am very happy and I think that everyone in the band has evolved in every way.

CR: Did you always dedicate yourself to music, full time?

GS: Luckily, my family has always supported me since I was a kid. At 15 I knew I wanted to dedicate 100% to music and luckily they supported me and I did it. I’ve always been dedicated to music in one way or another, playing with a cover band or playing in a [dive] bar (barsucho) out there, also teaching. Later at 22 (now I’m 33), I joined the band and now, yes, in the band we all dedicate ourselves full time to music. We all live from doing what we like. The truth is that it’s a good thing, and we are all very grateful to be able to dedicate ourselves to this completely.

CR: What type of music has more influence in your life?

GS: I’m particularly weird because I don’t hear one style. I am very open in the music I like from folklore to reggae, rock, pop, indie music, and the truth is that it is very varied. I do not like to mark the field. Now I’m listening to The Nationals, they released an album a few months ago that is very good, I can recommend it. Here, from Uruguay there is a band called Los Cuerpos, which is very good too, for those who want to listen to something more Uruguayan, something folkloric mixed with popular music and I do not know what else I can recommend you. Beck, I like a lot too. I have so much variety that I can not think of anything else (laughs).

CR: What’s your favorite type of food?

GS: Meat. We have very good meat here in Uruguay, first class. So, without doubt, I like to eat a good barbecue. That’s quite common.

CR: A few years ago Uruguay set a precedent by legalizing marijuana. This year Canada did the same. What do you think as a Uruguayan?

GS: I am very much in favor of regularizing. In this case it was marijuana but here, for example, the issue of abortion is also being discussed. That is to say all those things that people do illegally and that society turns its back on them, like they do not exist but they are there. They always existed and will continue to exist. So I think it’s much smarter to regularize than to do a chase. And well obviously it is very clear that behind regularization there are many interests, a lot of money at stake. I imagine that it should not be easy to make that path, I even imagine that there must be a lot of mafia and it should not be easy to say “well, let’s regularize everything”. The truth is that there are people who have to have a lot of eggs to do it and even more if there are threats in between. I know that it is difficult to face people who have power but without a doubt the road is regularization.

CR: What do you like most about No Te Va Gustar?

GS: The strongest [aspect] of the band is the live show; it’s what we like to do the most. Albums are an excuse to go out and play with people, hand in hand. That is the strongest point of No Te Va Gustar.

Minneapolis, Oct. 2018 ®

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