Hi, everyone! I recently sat down to do an interview with Juan Wauters, the Uruguayan-American musician based out of Queens. Originally from the capital city of Montevideo, Wauters and his family emigrated to the United States in the early 2000s. Once he established himself in the US, he created his own band called the Beets. Though the group didn't pan out, Juan signed with Captured Tracks and has steadily been releasing solo records since 2015. Over the years, he has also shared stages with the likes of The Mountain Goats, Mac DeMarco, and Wilco. I was originally attracted to Juan's music because he is very similar to Helado Negro, an artist I enjoy a lot. Like Roberto Lange, he writes songs in both English and Spanish, and they're all very good. Though he just finished touring through his home continent and beginning a US leg soon, I was glad I could sit down and chat with in the midst of his busy schedule.
bazzreviews: Which artists or albums inspired you to start a music career?
Juan Wauters: I was definitely inspired by bands that I knew I could write songs and have it sound like them. I’d say the two biggest ones for me were the Beatles and the Ramones.
br: I understand you’re originally from Uruguay, but moved to the states when you were a teenager; When did you first get introduced to making music?
J.W.: It really first started when I was a little kid, my parents would listen to all kinds of music around the house. I’ve been exposed to it for almost my whole life, but making music became sort of gradual thing. I’m still getting more and more into the music world as we speak.
br: You were formerly the frontman of another band called the Beets for a few years- what led you to transition from being a bandleader to going solo?
J.W.: The band dissolved as we were playing. It wasn’t really planned at all, we were all just growing up and had different ideas for how we wanted to live life. After we ended up disbanding, I went solo full-time instead of making my own music parallel to the group.
br: In the past, you’ve opened for bands like Mac DeMarco, Jeff Tweedy, and the Mountain Goats- what have those experiences been like?
J.W.: They’ve all been fun, I enjoy every type of show I do. I’ve loved sharing amazing moments with so many different musicians, and I love to be exposed to new audiences all the time. I don’t have one “favorite” show, I love shows, period. They’ve all been really nice to me, and I’m glad I haven’t had any bad experiences with anyone so far.
br: I’ve heard you’re known for a very immersive live experience, would you say that you prefer performing live over working in the studio?
J.W.: No, I wouldn’t say that I like one or the other. They’re completely different. With live shows, I see it as it happens. Then it stops existing because it’s something that’s in the moment. Watching clips from the show or listening to audio of that is not the same as actually being there. With an album, however, the recording lasts forever. Someone could listen to my album 100 years for now and it can still resonate with people like it does now. The way I like to think about it is as if you’re over for dinner at someone else’s house. You get the food, you eat it, and then you’re done. Are you really going to remember that one plate of food from so long ago? Probably not.
br: Can you describe your process for making songs?
J.W.: They come in all types of ways. Sometimes, they’re ideas that come in my head, and I’ll sing them acapella or on the guitar.
br: When you’re making a song, what’s more important to you- lyricism, or production value and instrumentation?
J.W.: The most important thing is the song. Before I went solo, I was only really playing and doing gigs for fun. Now, it’s the real deal because I’m devoting so much of my time to making music. Yes, I’m trying to get better with my production style as I keep releasing music, but at the end of the day, you should be able to value the song in its barest form with its accompaniment.
br: Over the years, you have written songs not only in English- but in Spanish as well. What drives you to continuously write songs in both languages?
J.W.: I live a bilingual life. I was born speaking Spanish and I learned to speak English when I moved to New York as a teenager. Though my first language is Spanish, I started writing my music in English because I was getting so exposed to it in high school and college. As I started to become more popular, my music started reaching Spanish countries. Since that was the case, I knew I should start writing more songs in my native language so they can understand what I’m trying to say.
br: I know you’ve released two LPs this year, but do you have any other projects in the works right now?
J.W.: I always have music being written, but as of now, I don’t have any date planned for when I want to release new stuff. I’m really caught up with this tour right now, so maybe once that all dies down, you’ll see some new stuff.
br: Can you tell me a little bit more about what it’s got in store?
J.W.: Everything is really up in the air right now. All I can really say is that it will be different from these last few records I’ve been releasing.
br: What music goals do you have for the future?
J.W.: I don’t want my music to labeled under a certain style. I don’t want people to say that I play rock, indie, this or that. I want people to take it for what it is. I want everyone to like my music, little kids to even the oldest of folks. Those groups don’t really have the same filters as us, and don’t really have the same standards for quality that some of us in the music biz do.
LIGHTNING ROUND:
Who are your non-musical heroes? I really look up to Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, and many of the world superstars of soccer.
If you weren’t doing music right now, what do you think you would be doing? Something creative, I really like to express myself. Filmmaking, gardening, baking, you name it.
Which artists or songs have you been listening to recently? OutKast, Tupac, Black Rain by Queen Latifah, Hunky Dory by Bowie and Bad Bunny.
What was the first album you ever bought? Made in Heaven by Queen
If there was one artist you could perform with, living or dead- who would it be?
Dr. Dre
I'd like to thank Juan for giving me his time for an interview. For those of my bilingual fans- go check out his music, it's really awesome! Thanks so much for reading this article, and I hope you all continue to stick around for more awesome bazzreviews content.
To check out Juan's music, log on to http://juanwauters.com/
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