Pepe Aguilar
Having reached an especially contented and settled moment in his life, Pepe Aguilar now looks to the future with determination and optimism. He hereby pays due respect to the music industry by presenting his 22nd disc as a soloist, an EP of only six songs – pop/fusion music – entitled “Negociaré Con La Pena” (I Will Negotiate with the Pain). It features two original compositions by himself and four by Fato, the writer of several of his most successful recent hits.
At this point in his career he is able to masterfully make use of past, present and future, featuring his family, working style, his talent, his passionate love for tradition, the way he actively accepts the new challenges posed by digital technology and above all, his wish to “get back to his roots” as “everything in life is cyclical”, all of which have helped him to produce a recording of exceptional quality which concentrates high levels of artistic excellence and pays great respect to his audience.
This new album, “Negociaré Con La Pena” is the first of a series of two, with Pepe Aguilar explaining his new direction in his own words; “This is a new way of doing things that has nothing new about it, I’m going back to how they used to do things a few decades ago: providing greater quality at a lower price. There’s only six songs. But each could be a single. We’re offering this EP at half the price of a normal album. We’ve gone back to working properly on our music, to caring about what we do, taking responsibility. This is going to make it possible for people to follow their favorite artists the way they used to with pirated discs. That’s what we want to happen.”
Considering his immediate present and future as an artist and businessman, he says that this album is being released in both physical and digital formats: “We must make use of both distribution systems,” he says categorically. “This is something I’m passionate about. At first the industry resisted change. Now they’ve resigned themselves to the new digital reality. Music is about to go through a golden period because distribution has never been as easy as it is now. Fans are going to start buying legitimately sold music, both individual songs and albums, because they can keep them along with their photographs and videos on their mobile phones and in their cars. There are going to be millions of business possibilities. We can market our products in unprecedented ways. The old industry models have disappeared. We are definitively experiencing a new paradigm. The Internet has caused the end of one industry and the beginning of another.”
Firm in his convictions, inspired more than ever as a composer and producer, Pepe also finds the time to support his children Ángela and Leonardo, 7 and 11 years old respectively, who have a major surprise coming in the next few months.
Looking back objectively on his own childhood, he remembers with emotional clarity those first years on the stage with his parents, the legendary Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre, from whom he inherited the talent and heritage, the family tradition of being raised “between concerts”, in front of the cameras, because he spent most of his childhood at family shows; “As soon as I was able to pick up a microphone and sing I was part of the show.”
Born on the 7th August, brought up on noble Zacatecan land, at the age of three he made his debut at no less a venue than Madison Square Garden in New York; the beginning of a singing career which, in his own individual style and manner, would also see him attain legendary status. However, in spite of the importance of this protective, familial tutelage, he developed his talents himself, leading a movement that would mix the mariachi tradition with the energy of contemporary pop music.
With global sales of his recordings surpassing 11 million copies and hailed by critics in North America as a ‘Latin Music Superstar’, he is nevertheless still moved and gratified by each experience, saying that “the greatest prize is to see a full auditorium” at the venues where he performs, because singing live and interacting directly with his audience is something unique and lasting.
The level of success Pepe Aguilar has achieved is also shown in the 15 songs that have reached the top of the Billboard charts, managing to open doors for dozens of singers from the same genre because, thanks to his contemporary style, ranchera music is now being played on radio stations that had never played it before.
Apart from his exceptional voice (he is hailed as the “The Voice”, by many radio DJs), in his role as composer and producer he has worked with many renowned figures in the music industry, from traditional Mexican folk singers like Lupita D’Alessio, Edith Márquez and Guadalupe Pineda to Spanish-language rock stars such as Julieta Venegas and Ely Guerra. His special commissions include the writing and production of the theme for the Premios OYE in 2005, for which he wrote an electronic song without lyrics. In the same year, he wrote and produced the theme for Teletón Mexico, which he sung with Sin Bandera, Reyli, Kalimba y Natalia, and La Forquentina, amongst others.
As a businessman, Pepe Aguilar has founded music labels dedicated to traditional Mexican music and Spanish-language rock whose main objective is to help develop new talents. A visionary man of action with diverse interests, he is just as likely to be found dressed as a cowboy on an album cover as in an elegant New York suit. His album credits include mariachi bands and symphony orchestras, although in the case of “Negociaré Con La Pena” he organized the orchestral accompaniment himself using the best professional musicians in Los Angeles, with Humberto Gatica, the renowned sound engineer, winner of 12 Grammy awards for his productions of Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, amongst others, acting as producer.
In Pepe’s recording studio, the vihuela and guitarron mingle with electric guitars and saxophones, in a balanced, vivid, graphic reflection of his first musical production, released in 1987, a rock album with his band Equs, for which he wrote ten songs. In conjunction with international tours with his parents and his brother Toño, this was also a major stage of his incredible, unstoppable artistic progress.
“Rock is part of my musical background,” he says. “My brother, who is eight years older than me, introduced me to music which I was supposedly not meant to listen to at seven or eight years old, for instance Pink Floyd, or The Who, to mention a couple.” They still have an influence on his music: “Rock is my inspiration and best weapon. My music is distinctive thanks to rock.”
His career went through many important phases. His first traditional album, entitled “Pepe Aguilar with a Tambora” was released in 1990 and featured such a distinctive vocal rendition that it immediately transformed the music scene. But it was not until 1998 that he career exploded, reaching another level with his classic “Por Mujeres Como Tú” (For Women Like You) which sold two and a half million copies and stayed 52 weeks on the Billboard Top 20.
In the year 2000 his eponymous single won the Billboard Prize in the “Hot Latin Track of the Year” category, making Pepe Aguilar the most important figure in Mexican music and number one for radio play in all Latin America.
Two years later, recognition rained down with his first Grammy (American) in the best Regional Mexican Album of the Year category for his release “Por Una Mujer Bonita” (For a Pretty Woman). He won a Latin Grammy in 2006 for his disc “Historias De Mi Tierra” (Stories From My Land) and simultaneously began to receive a series of other important international awards.
Considered an extremely innovative and audacious artist for his decision to modernize the mariachi sound whilst preserving the original structure and essence, Pepe’s voice and arrangements have made history not only in Mexico and the USA but also throughout the world as his music is used on successful soap operas such as ‘Destilando Amor’, which is distributed by Televisa all across the planet.
This widespread coverage continues today with “Ni Contigo Ni Sin Tí” (Neither With You or Without You), which he composed, the first single on the album “Negociaré Con La Pena” being chosen as the theme for a globally distributed Televisa soap opera. From the perspective of author/writer his successful collaboration with Fato is strengthened by this new production and complemented by an ambitious joint writing project.
Addressing the growth of his repertoire, Pepe Aguilar says that when he began his career he only “sung other people’s songs because that was what people did then; but, little by little, I began to want to use my own lyrics. Now, I think that it’s important to include my own compositions on the discs. I need to say more, to tell my story. I think that producing a track, arranging a song and singing it too, fulfills you wonderfully as an artist, but if you can also compose your own songs, that adds a very unique and special dimension to your musical creation.”
Grateful for the life he has, a tireless forger of his own destiny, curious, disciplined and respectful, he is a man who asks lot of himself, a cowboy at heart; always willing to work 16 hours a day. Pepe Aguilar’s present and future are full of hopes, expectations and plans, tours, new releases and journeys, the vivacious and organized activity of an artist who gives everything both on and off stage, an expressly human person who shows the pride he feels for his roots, his family, culture, music and above all, history, with everything he does. Because his history is also the history of his people; the history and popular heritage of Mexico.
Albums
• From 2010 “Bicentenario” (Bicentenary) which he produced himself, is an album whose purpose is to celebrate Mexico through some of its most representative songs, bringing together the key genres of traditional Mexican music: the Ranchera and Banda forms.
• From 2008 “Homenaje A Don Antonio Aguilar” (Homage to Don Antonio Aguilar), (September 30th, 2008) a thirteen-track tribute to his father, the great Antonio Aguilar, whom he describes as “a very humble and tireless worker in his vocation”, a human being uniquely committed to perseverance. In this recording he makes his own commitment “to the truth history gives us”, in recognition of someone who was “more than a father, a colleague, a Zacatecan artist who opened many, many doors in his exemplary time in this world.”
• From 2007 “100% Mexicano”, on which he also acted as producer, working with renowned composers such as: Marco Antonio Solís, Martín Urieta, Leonel García (Sin Bandera) and Reily Barba, amongst others, who contributed new tracks. This production included mariachi tracks and a Sinaloense band – two of the most important and traditional genres in Mexico – in order to pay homage to his country.
• 2006 “Enamorado” (Lover).
• 2005 “Historias De Mi Tierra” (History of my Land).
• From 2004 “No Soy De Nadie” (I Belong to No-one), showed his desire to achieve new dreams in the Pop/Ballad genre, taking his music to new markets for him as a soloist, such as Puerto Rico.
- The first single “Miedo” (Fear), was a romantic tribute to love written by Fato and produced, arranged and sung by PEPE AGUILAR with the participation of composers such as: Fato, Juan Gabriel, Luis Demetrio, Jesús Monarrez, and also featuring his own writing.
- In Mexico it was the most played song on national radio for 8 weeks.
- Some of the most important successes in the star’s career were in collaboration with the composer Fato, who wrote “Por Mujeres Como Tú” (For Women Like You), “Por Una Mujer Bonita” (For a Pretty Woman) and “Lo Mejor de Nosotros” (The Best of Us). “Fato and I have a long history together,” explains Aguilar. “He has played a very important role in my career. We’re like a band although we don’t share the same stage.”
• 2003 “Y Tenerte Otra Vez” (And To Have You Again).
• 2002, “Con Orgullo Por Herencia”, (With Pride in my Heritage) another tribute with a special touching homage to his parents through twelve ranchera music classics which were popularized by Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre.
• 2001 “Lo Mejor De Nosotros” (The Best of Us).
• 2000, “Por Una Mujer Bonita” (For a Pretty Woman), which earned him a traditional GRAMMY® in the “Best Regional Mexican Album” category.
• 2000, “Lo Grande de Los Grandes” (The Best of the Greats), was an homage to stars of Mexican music such as: Pedro Infante, Jorge Negrete, Javier Solís, Vicente Fernández and of course Antonio Aguilar. An homage to “The most important figures in Mexican music”.
• In 1999 he released “Por El Amor de Siempre” (For the One True Love), which was a tribute to the best balladeers of the 70s including Camilo Sesto and José José.
• En 1998 his fame exploded with the disc “Por Mujeres Como Tú”.
-2 million copies sold
-Spent 52 weeks on the Billboard Magazine Top 20.
-The single “Por Mujeres Como Tú” won a ‘Billboard Prize for Latin Music’ in the “Hot Latin Track of the Year” category making him the most important figure in Mexican music throughout Latin America.
-This single was a historic ‘cross-over’ hit on all radio formats (pop, regional Mexican, contemporary) becoming the most played track on the radio in the USA, Mexico and Latin America.
• In 1990 he released his first traditional album entitled “Pepe Aguilar Con Tambora”, his distinctive voice immediately transforming the musical scene.
Awards
GRAMMY®
• 2007 Best Mexican/Mexican American Album award for 100% Mexicano
• 2006 Best Mexican/Mexican American Album award for Historias De Mi Tierra
• 2000 Best Mexican/Mexican American Album award for Por Una Mujer Bonita
LATIN GRAMMY®
• 2007 Best Ranchero Album award for Enamorado
• 2006 Best Ranchero Album award for Historias De Mi Tierra
• “Por Mujeres Como Tu” ‘Billboard Prize for Latin Music’ in the “Hot Latin Track of the Year” category (USA)
• 10 ‘Lo Nuestro A La Música Latina’ Prizes (USA).
• Seven ‘TV and Novelas’ Prizes (Mexico).
• Eight ‘Furia Musical’ Prizes (Mexico).
• ‘OYE’ Prizes (Mexico)
• Three ‘People’s Prizes’ (Latin Rhythm) (USA).
