Latin music is bigger than ever right now in the United States, with stars like Bad Bunny and Karol G leading the movement. In Music City, the Latin music scene is also growing within Nashville’s lively Latin community.
Meet the Nashville-based electro-pop band Beso Rebelde, who constantly blend genres centered on all types of Latin American sounds from cumbia to samba with other influences like house music. Born in San Francisco with Chicana roots, frontwoman Mia Calderón has lived in Nashville for a long time. Now considering herself a proud Tennessean, Calderón makes music in both English and Spanish with Beso Rebelde.
The group’s new track “Fading Fast,” which describes pain and heartbreak and blends atmospheric synths and an electronic heartbeat with Spanish guitar riffs, is streaming now. Below, see the lyric video for the song, which draws inspiration from comic books and manga, and check out the band’s website and social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) for updates on a future album release event. The Scene caught up with Calderón to discuss the inspiration for “Fading Fast,” the engaged Latino audiences in Nashville, nuances of genres in Latin music and the challenges of using more than one language in her work.
You’ve described “Fading Fast” as a “moody song about crippling heartbreak” with an “emo vibe.” What brought about this direction in sound?
I do a lot of dance-y type music, and it was really refreshing to get a little deeper and do something that was a little moodier. I wrote it in the winter. Someone around me went through some crippling heartbreak, and it brought back all of this emotion that brought up the lyrics and the vibe. It's a very personal ode to reaching out to those that are going through something hard, so that they know that they're not alone.
What’s the creative process like when making a new song? Where do you normally get inspiration?
Everyday life — love, heartbreak. I generally will come up with either a melodic idea or a lyric idea and go from there.
You were born in San Francisco but now you’re Nashville-based. When did you move to Nashville?
I was born and raised in the Mission District in San Francisco. It's like the barrio out there. Now it's no longer, it's completely gentrified. But I still love it. It's my home. On and off, I've been in Nashville, I would say, 20 years. I'm straight-up Nashvillian now. I love it. I still love California very much; it has my heart, but Tennessee is my jam. I love it here.
What made you come to Nashville?
I actually moved here from Miami. I got a job here and wanted to move to Manhattan, but couldn’t afford it. I loved the area, you know, and traveling back and forth for three years, I eventually wanted to settle here because it was so artsy and so inspiring.
Nashville is known as “Music City,” but normally most people don’t think of Latin music when they think of Nashville, even with a prominent Latinx community. Can you talk about the Latin music scene in Nashville?
Over the years, since I've been here a while, it's completely night and day. I love Rudy's Jazz Room. That place has done a lot for salsa and all that good stuff — and DJ Julian, there were some big Latin parties. Maybe not the industry, but the people — the audience — is here. Yeah, I love that about Nashville. It's not known for it, but la Raza is here.
You mentioned the audience, but what would you say about artists based in Nashville, making Latino music?
I do know a lot of DJs. DJ Julian is an amazing DJ that throws all kinds of amazing parties. [Also Raul Oyarce], a guy who does Íntimo Nashville events.
Do you find making music in two languages challenging?
I think it is. It is challenging because I have both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking listeners, and I want them to all hear everything, but the way I write is bilingual. The way I think is bilingual, and I think it's a beautiful thing. I grew up listening to bilingual music. So, I think that English and Spanish going together in this country, and in this area even, is something that is cool and unique and it's a part of me, so I'm not gonna pick and choose. I'm gonna use both.
You describe your sound as electro or synthpop, but you also touch on EDM and even cumbia in tracks like “Neon.” You clearly don’t stick to one genre. Do you feel like staying within one genre should matter?
For certain genres, it does matter. If I was a country music star, it would matter if I transitioned into pop or something like that. But I think the Latino audience is specifically very versatile. I mean, people from Mexico listen to salsa. People from Puerto Rico listen to bachata and mariachi. I know there's a huge Mexican mariachi fan base in Colombia. So we — all Latinos — listen to all kinds of Latin music, and so do I. My influence comes from a lot of that.
Do you have a dream collab?
Yeah, I don't think I could name one. Probably No.1 would be Bomba Estéreo. That would be the funnest collab and that’d be the best show. But also Major Lazer, as far as producing, and Diplo — somebody like that to collaborate in the studio, producing with somebody like that would be amazing. Also Bebel Gilberto. I love Brazilian music. I grew up on samba and bossa nova. She’s an amazing voice as well as an amazing songwriter.
Any plans for live shows?
Yes. There's this rooftop venue that I'm trying to get — it's kind of a private venue, it’s amazing. And we're planning the next album release. I’m probably going to do a vinyl release party overlooking the city like during a happy hour and we'll have like a house cocktail type of thing, and it's gonna be awesome.
Do you have any plans for an album?
I'm working with an amazing producer right now named Mark Eckert. We're probably going to be releasing another song in the next few months, and I have quite a few songs already, so I'm probably going to compile them for that final release party. It's going to be called Luna Llena. My EP was Media Luna, so this is the full thing.
