Growing up in the punk scene of the Rio Grande Valley, Charlie Vela found his passion for working with audio. However, it wasn’t until the lead-up to the pandemic that he fully immersed himself in a new hobby. Vela began collecting keyboards, synthesizers, and regional conjunto albums, particularly from labels like Falcón, Bego, and Ideal. These albums served as a memory of the defunct regional conjunto Tejano labels. One day, he had an idea – to use these albums as source material for a sample-based project.
Inspired by hip-hop sampling from African American communities, Vela wondered what it would be like to create music based around the accordion, bajo sexto, and Spanish lyrics. Thus, the Fronterawave project was born. Fronterawave tracks are described as fuzzy, dreamy, and nostalgic versions of accordions and keyboards, with Spanish lyrics infused with influences of 90s hip-hop and lo-fi music.
Capturing the undulating heat musically is one of the challenges Vela faces. He likens it to the distortion caused by heat rising in the distance, reminiscent of dream sequences in 90s TV shows. Another inspiration for his music is “The Johnny Canales Show,” with its catchphrase “You got it, take it away! Eso!” making its way into some Fronterawave tracks.
Vela has released approximately 50 songs on music streaming platforms like Spotify, with his latest album “Sabor Eterno” dropping in July. This album, a collaboration with writer and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Leal, is an ambient electronic musical score created for a “multisensory dining experience” titled “Sabor Sin Fronteras.” The sci-fi dinner series, conceptualized by James Beard Awards semifinalist Joseph Gomez of Con Todo in Austin, incorporates sound textures sampled and synthesized from natural elements like corn husks and kernels, along with interviews and monologues from individuals involved in food production.
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