Thanks to a collaboration between U.S. public radio and Chilemúsica, Rubio will perform live along with three other Ibero-American artists on July 21 at the KEXP Music Heals Stage in Seattle.

Chilean artist Chini.png will be part of the Live on KEXP Sessions, while Chilemúsica will participate in a panel on internationalization along with representatives from BIME, LAMC, Rolling Stone Magazine and the Mexican Consulate in Seattle.

KEXP‘s main mission has been to promote independent music since its beginnings as a radio station in 1972. In the last decade, it has built a musical exchange relationship with partners throughout Ibero-America, creating a bilateral bridge that has allowed them to travel to see emerging alternative music talent from countries such as Chile.

At the same time and from this virtuous relationship with Chilemúsica, it has generated the opportunity for national bands to participate in this cultural meeting in Seattle with artists from Chile, Mexico, Spain and Argentina, selected by the team of El Sonido, the first podcast in Spanish of the prominent public broadcaster KEXP.

El SONIDO LIVE is a collaboration between KEXP and its local and Ibero-American partners, such as BIME (Bilbao, Spain – Bogota, Colombia), Chilemúsica (Chile), the Mexican Consulate in Seattle (Seattle, WA, Mexico) and LAMC (Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York City). It will feature performances by four Ibero-American artists, presented by each of the partners who made this musical exchange possible:

From Chile, the return to Seattle of the band Rubio, led by songwriter, producer and singer Fran Straube, who since this year have been based in Mexico working on their internationalization.

On the other hand, the Mexican Consulate in Seattle will present experimental composer and multi-instrumentalist Pahua, while BIME will facilitate the participation of Spanish rock band Carolina Durante. In turn, LAMC will present pop-rockers Usted Señalemelo. All of them will record sessions for the YouTube channel Live on KEXP, which will also be joined by Chini.png, the project of María José ‘Chini’ Ayarza, who has received good reviews for her debut album “El día libre de Polux”. Her style, which combines psychedelia with dream pop and folk, has managed to place the musical project as one of the most relevant in this last year, gaining new audiences at BIME PRO in Bilbao and Lollapalooza Chile, among others.

“The value of the exposure in public media like KEXP is very important in the United States. They have reach and credibility in the artistic and audience communities interested in an independent sound. That makes the Chilean scene feel comfortable. In addition, for several years we have had a particular relationship with Seattle. Similarities that Dj Chilly has been able to transmit to us the two times he has visited Valdivia. There is a certain aesthetic of the south of the world that is assimilated to that of an isolated territory like Seattle. There is a genuine interest from producers such as Jack Endino, who has worked with several national bands and has become a local friend” says Oliver Knust, director of Chilemúsica.

Knust will also participate in “Breaking Borders: A Panel on Internationalization” on Thursday, July 20, along with representatives from BIME, LAMC, Rolling Stone Magazine and the Mexican Consulate in Seattle, who will share their experiences with the local artistic and cultural communities to continue building a better present and future for independent artists. There will also be an opportunity for networking with the Seattle music industry and guests from other US cities.

Chilemúsica hopes to continue helping to position the Chilean music industry in the U.S., a competitive market, but at the same time with great opportunities for Latin American music. The two projects that will be presented on this occasion are an example of the stylistic diversity and the unprejudiced way the local scene writes songs and presents them live. The opportunity to be in this Ibero-American cultural gathering and to be able to play and record in one of the largest public media in the United States, is undoubtedly a path that begins to open for the Chilean music industry with this first mission.

Chilemúsica, la marca sectorial que promueve la industria de la música chilena en el extranjero, fue creada gracias al trabajo de la Asociación Gremial Industria Musical Independiente de Chile (IMICHILE); ProChile, la Subsecretaría de las Culturas y las Artes, la Corporación de Fomento de la Producción (Chilecreativo) y la Sociedad Chilena de Autores e Intérpretes Musicales (SCD) para enfocar el trabajo que se hace con la exportación de la música nacional.