Calle 13 presents its new album ‘Multi_Viral’

Frontman Rene Perez of Calle 13, right and Julian Assange collaborate on track. (AP Photo/Calle 13)

“Multi Viral” comprises 14 songs with an intro by Uruguayan poet and writer Eduardo Galeano. There are another two collaborations, with Cuban singer Silvio Rodriguez and with activist Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks.

“We once read an interview in which Silvio Rodriguez praised our music, so we thought it would be nice to contact him,” said Visitante during a phone interview with VOXXI explaining these collaborations.

“We first met him in La Habana… It was really cool to combine both worlds, his and ours.”

Regarding Galeano, when Residente met him, the idea to collaborate “kicked immediately, naturally.”

Working with Assange was a little more complicated because he is confined in Ecuador’s Embassy in London, where he is protected from US attempts to bring him to court for leaking US military information.

“The Ecuadorean government helped us on this regard,” said Visitante, briefly.

Multi Viral reflects what Calle 13 is all about. Its music is original, creative, with poetic and entertaining lyrics, mixing dialogues, humor and activism.

“We have room for social-oriented music but also for the other music. The problem is when you go only one direction,” Visitante says about their style, he is also the band’s producer. “I believe in diversity… We also have songs about love, or just simply to dance. It’s like when you are having dinner at home, with your family, you talk about many things, don’t you?”

But what is Calle 13?

“We are the honest project. On stage we are 11 professional musicians… Today you don’t see much of that anymore, what you see these days is basically a DJ, one guy playing music with a computer and with nice lights,” says Visitante with a tone of mixed humor and irony.

Eduardo Jose Cabra Martinez, Visitante Calle 13, speaks to VOXXI. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

“Music is like language, [it] evolves, changes and new languages emerge. There’s lots of musical rhythms, but new ones also pop up. Nothing is pure, we create over what is created already. We try not to repeat ourselves. For example, we won’t repeat ‘Latinoamerica,’” —the band’s huge hit in 2013.

To prove his point, Visitante recaps the band’s albums —which brought them countless nominations and awards.

“This is like a voyage…. Our first CD was more ‘islander,’ more local. The second one portrays our trips and experiences. On the third one we deepened what we did on the previous one. On the fourth album there is a discourse and more elaborate music.  And the last one is like a recap, it includes many places and musical influences…. If someone still thinks of us as reggaeton, he or she is totally wrong.”

Still, the current complexity of Calle 13′s musical arrangement doesn’t overshadow the base of its Latino beat and tone.

Each Calle 13 concert is a living proof of the band’s popularity and interaction with its audience. On the stage, the irreverent Residente sings, talks, jumps and dances with the music while thousands sing and dance along.

A good reason not to miss their next concert.

SEE ALSO: Calle 13 Heads To Palestine In Official Video for ‘Multi_Viral’