A night in the life: Federico Aubele

Argentine-born modern folkster Federico Aubele slides into Lolla this year with a festival show and an after-party set opening for labelmates The Thievery Corporation. We called up the Latin American song stylist with just a week before Lolla, to find out what makes him so smooth.

Time Out Chicago: Have you played big festivals before?
Federico Aubele: I’ve played ACL and Montreal’s fest, which is not as big of course. I think Lollapalooza is the biggest one… but I’ve never played such a big festival—such a legendary festival as Lollapalooza.

TOC: Does playing big outdoor venues work for your music? Are you excited, intimidated?
Federico Aubele: Depending on the situation, I make the band bigger or smaller. In this case, I’m gonna have a quintet with me. That makes it easier. Generally speaking I feel that music is suitable for an intimate and indoor environment but I have no problem, I actually enjoy going on a big stage like that. I just bring more musicians.

TOC: Does your band have any habits on tour?
Federico Aubele: Ah well, let me think… We definitely have some beers after the show. We have some running jokes as every band has on tour. We always say we wanna do more yoga on tour, but we never get around to do it. We have a day off in two days—yeah, I’m gonna practice yoga that day. Cool, cool. And then we come across each other in the corridor. Did you do yoga? No I didn’t. Me either.

TOC: It sounds like you a pan-Latin American song base, you take from.
Federico Aubele: Its all kinds of different influences. I have a feeling that at the end of the day it all sounds like me. But the influences as you said, are from different parts. Its not like I just play Argentine music. When I was a kid, my parents listened to bossa nova and tangos and boleros from Mexico. Those are my main influences. When it comes to other styles, I don’t know much about it. I hardly know anything about salsa. I was always more into the melodic styles rather than the rhythmic styles. That’s what I listened to as a kid—plus Bob Dylan and Joan Baez or the Beatles. When I grew up, I listened to my own music, reggae, punk rock and this and that. Later, I started mixing everything. Someone said a writer, he is basically what he reads. A musician is pretty much what he listens to.

TOC: Do you share a cosmopolitan and European sensibility with the ESL guys because you are from Buenos Aires, which is so culturally connected with Europe?
Federico Aubele: The fact that I am on that label has to do with the fact that they have a cosmopolitan sound and I do too. Maybe their focus is on other styles, different from mine, but the concept behind it is pretty much the same. I never thought about the fact that I am from Buenos Aires, and the people from Buenos Aires consider themselves closer to Europe and that makes it more cosmopolitan. Maybe that also influenced the type of music I make, that sounds reasonable. The Argentine society… was basically formed by European immigration. There were no huge cultures before the Europeans arrived. There were much smaller, more nomadic tribes there. There were no huge temples and buildings. Unfortunately, the government them out in the late 19th century. The culture that these European immigrants would fill wasn’t competing with local Indian culture.

TOC: Does the North American audience get your music?
Federico Aubele: People totally get it. I’ve never had a problem with that. They like it a lot. That a good part of my crowd doesn’t even understand Spanish is a demonstration that grabbing a scoop of the traditional and a scoop of the modern, you can crossover. This is a crowd that doesn’t understand the music, but they just like the music. Like for me as a kid, I didn’t understand the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, for me it was just music.

TOC: Does the music itself express your attitude that people latch on to?
Federico Aubele: the audience coming to me after the show made me realize there’s this strong sensual element without me even realizing it. Some guys would be like I got laid thanks to your music last night.

TOC: Do you get laid to your music on tour?
Federico Aubele: I’m married man, I’m a married man. I tour a lot with my wife, she’s part of the band. It’s easier. I always bring the same girl to the hotel room after the show. Once you know each other a lot more, you can fool around a lot more.