Until recently, Julián De La Chica’s 11 Poemas de Bar had been sitting in a pile of unpublished music waiting for the right collaborator. In development since 2010, the intimate collection of songs “explore the most ordinary conversations that take place after 3:00am in a New York bar.” These everyday snapshots grew out of De La Chica’s passion for people-watching when he first moved to New York City — observing everyone going about their daily business, and imagining what their stories might be.
When De La Chica was introduced to mezzo-soprano Yana Mann, the connection was instantly electric and eventually led to the world premiere recording of 11 Poemas de Bar, sung by Mann and accompanied by De La Chica on piano and synth. Through their shared passion for filmmaking, the duo has produced gorgeous, highly cinematic music videos to accompany many of the tracks on the album, including today’s video premiere. In “Su Voz,” De La Chica’s stark piano foregrounds the emotional weight of the text and the heartbreaking melancholia of Mann’s voice.
Yana Mann (Photo by Yulia Kem) and Julián de la Chica (Photo by IGM)
Here’s what Julián had to say about “Su Voz:”
“I remember composing ‘Su Voz’ with this one particular woman from the bar, who was always alone, in mind. By the early hours of the morning, her voice was usually quite hoarse, but she tried to sing along with the songs that were playing in the bar, with her tired voice. From time to time she would chat with the bartender, revealing aspects of her love life: ‘He went back to his ex,’ for example. The bartender would listen patiently, and eventually the woman would go home alone.
I have had the pleasure of directing many of Yana’s videos, but due to the pandemic, most of them have been made remotely, with me in Brooklyn and her in Dubai. Taking advantage of her recent visit to New York for her Carnegie Hall debut, we decided to do something that was totally different: something distinctly New York. The concept was to create a dialogue between a dual image of the same person, the ego (Yana) and superego (Oscar Ruiz-Schmidt). The video leaves enough room for the viewers’ imaginations, by choice. That way, everyone can identify with it in their own way.”
11 Poemas de Bar was released by Irreverence Group Music on May 21, 2021 and is available to stream or purchase here.
About Julián De La Chica
Award-winning Colombian composer Julián De La Chica is a multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, NY, whose influences range from minimalism & post-minimalism to the alternative electronic scene. His work is often inspired by everyday images, the search of personal spiritual reflection, and the inner darkness. It mixes piano, strings, and classical singers, with electronic keyboards and controllers, crossing over from classical to ambient and electronic music. This prolific artist, equally at home composing a string quartet and a symphony as he is an electronic set or directing a movie, began studying piano at the age of 5, in his native Manizales, a small city nestled in the Colombian mountain ranges. He entered the National University of Colombia, based in Bogota, as a music major, but after only a semester he withdrew due to his frustration with the conventionality of conservatory life: “I did not want to spend five years confined to a practice room, learning the same works as everyone else.”
About Yana Mann
Yana Mann is a singer, song-writer, and music producer based in Dubai. Yana began her music studies at a very young age immersing herself in the world of classical music, fine art and theater. She completed her studies at the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music and graduated from the Tchaikovsky Academic Music College at the Moscow State Conservatory, and the Russian Academy of theater Arts and Academy of young singers at the Mariinsky theater. It was during this period that she experimented with different artistic media, including fashion and modeling. Although Yana’s musical background came from classical music and opera, she has a great interest in exploring new genres and musical architectures. Yana was a member of a heavy metal band and she has also explored the electronic music. In late 2020, Yana announced the release of her first studio album, 11 Poemas de Bar, a work commissioned to minimalist composer Julián De La Chica, and published by independent Brooklyn Record Label, Irreverence Group Music.
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