Colombian triumvirate BALTHVS arrive where the best of their Latin contemporaries dock: in the future by way of centuries past. Balthazar Aguirre (g/v), Johanna Mercuriana (b/v), and Santiago Lizcano (d/v) practice charged tranquility, casting a universal chill through highly instrumental meditations traversing blues to cumbia. July’s Harvest quenches like a Southern Hemisphere oasis.
Austin Chronicle: You’ve played Austin a bit. When was the first time and how did that go?
Balthazar Aguirre: Our first Austin show and our very first U.S. show, actually, was at the Flamingo Cantina. The show was okay, but the highlight was meeting Austin band Nemegata, which are all of Colombian origin. We’re still very good friends to this day and they helped us a lot on the following tours. We were blessed right on the first night.
AC: Lots of watery tones on Harvest. Those aqua sounds liquefy your albums Third Vibration and Cause & Effect, but they’re more pronounced on the new album – even beyond just “Like Coconut Water,” “Aguacero,” and “Mango Season.” What are we hearing in your music that evokes water? Spots of it remind me of a surf trio from San Francisco called the Mermen.
BA: Reverb has such a watery feel to it. It really feels like notes rippling through space, like a drop falling onto a pond. I am very fond of that effect because it allows me to project a big sound out of a relatively clean guitar and fill up the space. Since it’s only three of us, we really want to get the biggest sound we have. The Mermen had a very unique approach to surf rock, giving it a more ambient spacy feel as compared to the classic sounds of the Ventures and the Shadows. I can relate.
AC: Texas guitarists: Dimebag Darrell, Paul Leary, Willie Nelson, Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, St. Vincent, T-Bone Walker. Which of our pickers do you pick for your all-star team?
BA: Texas has some of the best in the game indeed! I would have to go for Junior Brown, SRV, and Mark Speer. All great mentors in my musical journey.
AC: What is Latin music to BALTHVS in this 21st century?
BA: Groove and syncopation is almost ubiquitous in Latin music. I hope our music shows that. We also try to show how boundless it can be. It’s just not salsa and reggaeton. It can be more explorative too. Colombia and Latin America are very psychedelic!
Saturday 5, 4:20pm; Saturday 12, 3:05pm, Tito’s Stage
This article appears in October 4 • 2024.
