El After by Qiensave

The new EP is 7 tracks deep that highlight the journey that the band has experienced. While touring they meet up with Eduardo Arenas, bassists from Chicano Batman who came on board to produce of the single “El DUI.” Arenas is El Padrino of the new Quebradita revival and he invited ¿Qiensave? to his L.A. studio, El Padrino Studios. There they created a homage to the late 80s/early 90s techno-banda, fused with the Juan Torres Robles organo melodico style, and a twist of the fun-loving sound that ¿Qiensave? is known for. They recall, “ It was a fun process, Eduardo Arenas had a variety of toys to get that banging qubradita sound. working with him was a warm learning experience. We took in some knowledge in the music game while also exploring new instruments like a rad keyboard with a massive sound bank from back in the day adding mad little punches and a digital drum machine.”

Another outstanding song is “Quemayama.” Teaming up with the renowned producer Greg Landau for the creation, they recall, “Quemayama was tough as far as arrangements we had arranged it to be simple and powerful but Greg came in and took us to another level pushing us to get a new sound out of the song. He would come in and say ‘I’m bringing in the bailometro (dance meter)’ when it was not on point he would say ‘the balometro is not looking good’ and we had to keep working.” For the band, it's a song that talks of pain and healing. They comment, “We decided to cover this song and introduce elements of cumbia and Afro-Cuban percussion to give the song a different flavor.” They continued “The juxtaposition of heavy-hearted lyrics and upbeat rhythms is our way of presenting the idea that even in the darkness, light always shines through.”

For “Asi Es El Amor” Alejandro Gomez, who is the lead guitarist and also sings, took the controls at his own Dubdog Studios, located in Marina, CA. The journey to making “Asi Es El Amor” is special for the band as they took a more organic approach to write the single. Cortez comments, “Mario and Ricardo were jamming on chords with a more ranchero vibe. Thinking of Love, Sex, and the future of Love, the song came together. As they were working on the song, Jandro randomly walked through the door like Kramer and joined in adding his musical direction and that sierreño touch with his bajo sexto. The song came in an organic way bringing a new touch to the ¿Qiensave? sound!” It is a song that shares the broad possibilities of what love can do to two people. The band comments, “ Love, the most popular addiction! Will love ever end or will it last forever? Asi es el Amor, nunca se sabe pero se siente bonito! ¿Qiensave? Que vendra en el futuro pero Siempre vale la pena darle la oportunidad Al amor!”

Rounding out the El After, ¿Qiensave? also worked with renowned rock engineer and producer Sam Pura from Panda Studios. This was the second time working with Pura as the band commented, “ he really knows how to capture our rock essence like no one else.”

Reflecting on at the full EP El After, Carlos Cortez says, “For us the new record and every album, is a book of what we went through in the last couple of years personally and artistically. It is always there you just have to look closer with open eyes and an open heart, and you’ll find pieces of the story in the whole album from the art to the producers to the track listing it all tells a piece of the story.” He continues, “This is only the first half of the story, so stay tuned…Caile al Baile!”

Since 2009 ¿Qiensave? have been making music together. They are Carlos L Cortez (Rhythm Guitar/Vocals), Alejandro Gomez (Lead Guitar/Vocals), Mario Cortez (Guida/Keyboard/Vocalsx), Ricardo Cortez (Drums/Vocals), and William Cortez (Bass). They are currently planning a tour in the coming months and look forward to performing the new material from this EP and the next one!

¿Qiensave? is a Cumbia Urbana group from Salinas California with roots stretching back to Michoacán, Mexico. They create high energy dance music that has fortunately blessed them with the opportunity to travel throughout California, Arizona, Mexico, and Colombia.

qiensavemusic.com