After a 3-year hiatus from releasing music, Latin Grammy nominated Venezuelan artist collective, Rawayana, releases new single and visuals “Mi Amigo Luis” off of forthcoming album set to be released in 2021 via Broccoli Records. The song was premiered yesterday exclusively with Remezcla.
“Mi Amigo Luis” is deeply personal, dedicated to their friend Luis who died in a motorcycle accident a couple of years back. Luis, who was the life of the party and lived by the motto “siempre (always) fresh,” was memorialized in the song with actual voice notes embedded throughout the track. The Neo Soul-infused tune produced by Cheo Pardo, also touches on the toxic masculinity that is prevalent in Latinx culture, especially amongst hetero males, in regards to not expressing love and affection towards each other.
“This track pays homage to friendship. When we started, we made music for our friends and later a ton of people started to connect with the essence of that brotherhood which for us is a return to our roots. We all have a ‘Luis’ type relative or friend who brightens our day or brings life to those unforgettable anecdotes. This song has a purpose…to always remember that it’s not excessive to spread love to those around us and recognize that the best moment to do so is now while they are still in this dimension. We hope whoever hears this record for the first time will send an affectionate message to someone they love,” explains Rawayana.
The visuals were shot in Paris, France and directed by Pierre-Loys Joubert with choreography done by Brandon Miel Masele, who is also the lead performer. Conceptually and artistically, the video seeks to represent our attitudes about friendship, that force that fulfills our lives with courage and a lot of sass. We see this channeled through the choreography where a group of performers with a perfect synergy dance throughout the different scenes capturing the essence of “siempre fresh.”
The last couple of years led the collective to tour +50 cities across Latin America, North America and Europe as well as to share the stage with iconic Puerto Rican reggae band, Cultura Profética. This group of young creators has excelled as one of the most renowned projects in the Latin music industry by merging different world rhythms with a hint of psychedelia, captivating thousands with their audiovisual approach and consequently amassing +426M Global Streams and +220M views of their visuals. Rawayana is gearing up to release another single on January 1st and a full- length studio album in 2021.