With a risky bet, the MS Band puts “all the meat on the grill” this Friday with the launch of the song “Gracias a ti”, which incorporates an urban rhythm and a youth theme to conquer new generations and in the process erase the stigma that has marked Mexican banda music.
“We take the risk of venturing into this rhythm, which is an urban rhythm because we want to show that many things can be done with banda music, that it is very varied, very versatile,” says Oswaldo Silvas, founding member, and vocalist of the group. Mexican.
The interpreter states that “Gracias a ti” is aimed at a young audience, mainly Latino, and it sounds totally different from what the Mexican group has done so far.
However, he clarifies, that they were very careful “not to distance ourselves too much from the essence of the MS Band, so as not to disconnect from the public that we already have captive”.
It is not the first time that the group, born in 2003 in Mazatlán, Sinaloa state (hence the acronym MS of its name), integrates other musical expressions into its production.
Silvas mentioned, in particular, the collaborations with the American rapper Snoop Dogg and the Mexican Santa Fe Klan on the songs “Qué maldición” and “Dos Mundos”, respectively, which combine the romantic theme and sound characteristic of the Mexican norteño genre with the rhythm of the hip hop.
“We realized what can be done, the range of opportunities in the musical question and arrangements that can be made with band music”, he details.
That propensity to cross borders, musical and geographical, also underlies the new theme, with which the group wants to “reach countries where band music has perhaps not reached.”
“Perhaps with this foray into this new rhythm we can touch this generation, this new audience. I think the result will be positive; we hope so,” says the 44-year-old singer, from Mazatlan.
In pursuit of this purpose, the United States is a key part of the plan.
Next week the band will travel to Hidalgo, where they have scheduled two performances at the Bert Ogden Arena.
But the most important performances in February will be two concerts at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles where he will once again alternate with Snoop Dogg.
“The United States is the number one listening country that we have. Last year we worked at least 95% in the United States. We had an excellent turnout at the concerts,” said Silvas.
That country “has received us very well and we feel that it is an audience already captive to Banda MS. We hope that it will continue like this and with this song not only continue but grow even more in followers and in the public,” he adds.
He maintains that the group’s followers in the country are fundamentally Latinos of the most diverse origins, from Mexico to Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
“And that fills us with great pride, and also with hope knowing that if someone from one country liked our music, it can be liked by an entire country. We know the work that is required and how much we have to do in the future”, he added.
MUSIC: NEITHER VIOLENT NOR MISOGINE
The group’s plans in 2022 include presentations in many parts of the United States, but its participation in the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April stands out.
“We know the importance of the Festival, the impact on a global level. And it is a great pride to be the representatives of Mexico with our music,” he said.
Likewise, the band will participate in the Vive Latino festival, to be held in March in Mexico City.
“It’s something that fills us with great pride and also with responsibility because banda music is a genre that has been highly stigmatized for many years,” says Silvas.
He emphasizes that they want to remove that image, “to tell people that banda music is neither ordinary, nor vulgar, nor misogynistic, nor violent; but that many beautiful and healthy things can be done through banda music”.
He states that the group is proud of their music and intends to promote this genre and conquer new territories and audiences.
“We are doing things to open those doors and for banda music, through new generations, to reach much higher than where it is at the moment. And to be a benchmark in our genre”, he points out.