Montreal’s El Balcón Blend an Array of Musical Styles on New Single “Enredada”
Since long before its conception, traditional music has been at the center of the priorities of the musicians who formed the group El Balcón in the summer of 2018. Josh (requinto and oud), Valeria (vocals and foot percussion), Charles (vocals and jarana), Alex (double bass), and Nicolas (cajón and other percussion) initially made up the ensemble. Shortly after, Nominoë joined on violin and vocals. Drawing on learnings from travels across several continents, El Balcón experiments by arranging songs from the Son Jarocho repertoire, a folk music from Veracruz, Mexico, with rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic concepts borrowed from Eastern European countries.
With the strength of their first two real productions of traditional covers and compositions released in 2020 and 2021, La Bruja and Contracorriente, the group is now preparing to present its first album consisting entirely of original compositions titled El Errante, which will be launched in the spring of 2025.
The new single, “Enredada,” is about being from different places at the same time and getting to know yourself through culture. In Spanish, “Enredada” means tangled up. The song is a very special blend of many styles of music that the group love: son jarocho, rumba flamenca, samba, balkan music, gnawa. It was written in Xalapa, Veracruz, and recorded at Wild Studios in Lanaudière, Québec.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
El Balcón, formed in 2018, is a group deeply rooted in traditional music, with members Josh, Valeria, Charles, Alex, Nicolas, and later Nominoë, bringing together diverse influences. They blend Son Jarocho, a folk music from Veracruz, Mexico, with elements from Eastern European traditions, creating a unique sound. After releasing two productions, La Bruja and Contracorriente in 2020 and 2021, they are preparing their first album of original compositions, El Errante, for a 2025 release. The group has performed over a hundred shows across Canada and is currently touring Belgium. Known for their dynamic live performances, they have garnered a reputation as innovators in the contemporary world music scene. Looking ahead, El Balcón plans to continue exploring and merging global musical traditions, expanding their audience.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
Enredada in Spanish means tangled up. It’s a song about being from different places at the same time and understanding your identity through culture. We are always inspired by these realities because we live them personally and we are close to a lot of people that relate to it as well.
How do you typically go about the songwriting process? Do you have a specific method or creative routine that you follow?
We typically like to write our songs in a collective process, Everyone always brings something interesting during our writing process. This song was written in Xalapa, Veracruz. This place is for us a nest of inspiration since half of our members have lived there at some point. This influence of Son Jarocho (Veracruz music) is a huge part of what gave us our original sound. For this reason, we see it as a blessing that this song gave birth there.
Looking ahead, what are your plans for supporting this new release? Are there any upcoming tours, music videos, or additional content that fans can look forward to in connection with this project?
We are currently touring Belgium, promoting our new material over there for the month of August. We also have a good amount of new releases we are super excited to release in the upcoming year, including singles, music videos, and more. We look forward to sharing what we have worked on the last two years.
Looking back on your musical career, is there a particular moment or accomplishment that you consider a turning point or a highlight?
Our biggest highlights are definitely all of our tours, where we get to meet amazing people and play in a variety of places. We could not be happier to be touring Belgium right now, and we feel blessed and honored to play our music around the world.
Last but not least, it’s time to pay it forward, what upcoming band or artist would you recommend your fans check out?
We are very close friends with a wonderful artist called Li Kouri, Her music and her whole creative process are very beautiful. You should give her a listen for sure.