Juana Molina
Encyclopedia
Juana Molina is a singer-songwriter
and an actress.
, her mother fled the country and lived in exile in Paris
for five years. She grew up in a musical environment her tango
-singing father taught her guitar
from the age of six.
Juana Molina started her career in 1988 as a comedic television
actress in Argentina
on the show La Noticia Rebelde. She later starred in Juana y sus hermanas, a hit sketch show across the Spanish
-speaking world, for which she remains better known in Latin America
.
In 1996, she pursued singing and has released several albums since. The lyrics on her albums are sung in her native Rioplatense Spanish
, except in "The Wrong Song," sung in English, from Segundo, and "Insensible," sung in French, from Tres Cosas, and often accompanied by acoustic guitar
among other instruments. Her music features elements of ambient
and electronica
, and she is often compared by critics to Björk
, Beth Orton
, and Lisa Germano
. She usually writes, mixes tracks and performs on her own. Her second album, Segundo, was named Best World Music Album 2003 in Entertainment Weekly
and gained a Shortlist Award 2004 nomination. Tres Cosas was placed in the Top Ten Records of 2004 by the New York Times. It was recently announced that Molina has been chosen by Matt Groening
to perform at the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties
festival he is curating in May 2010 in Minehead, England.
' Elastigirl for the Argentine
dub
of the film.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and an actress.
Biography
Following the 1976 Argentine coup d'état1976 Argentine coup d'état
The 1976 Argentine coup was a right-wing coup d'état that overthrew Isabel Perón on 24 March 1976, in Argentina. In her place, a military junta was installed, which was headed by General Jorge Rafael Videla, Admiral Emilio Eduardo Massera and Brigadier Orlando Ramón Agosti...
, her mother fled the country and lived in exile in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for five years. She grew up in a musical environment her tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
-singing father taught her guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
from the age of six.
Juana Molina started her career in 1988 as a comedic television
Television comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
actress in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
on the show La Noticia Rebelde. She later starred in Juana y sus hermanas, a hit sketch show across the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-speaking world, for which she remains better known in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
In 1996, she pursued singing and has released several albums since. The lyrics on her albums are sung in her native Rioplatense Spanish
Rioplatense Spanish
Rioplatense Spanish or River Plate Spanish is a dialectal variant of the Spanish language spoken mainly in the areas in and around the Río de la Plata basin of Argentina and Uruguay, and also in Rio Grande do Sul, although features of the dialect are shared with the varieties of Spanish spoken...
, except in "The Wrong Song," sung in English, from Segundo, and "Insensible," sung in French, from Tres Cosas, and often accompanied by acoustic guitar
Steel-string acoustic guitar
A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
among other instruments. Her music features elements of ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, and she is often compared by critics to Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Beth Orton is a BRIT Award–winning English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s. However, these were not Orton's first...
, and Lisa Germano
Lisa Germano
Lisa Germano is an American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has released seven albums featuring her often-hushed vocal style, confessional lyrics, and distinctive violin. Her 1994 album Geek the Girl received widespread critical acclaim, including being featured as a top album of...
. She usually writes, mixes tracks and performs on her own. Her second album, Segundo, was named Best World Music Album 2003 in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
and gained a Shortlist Award 2004 nomination. Tres Cosas was placed in the Top Ten Records of 2004 by the New York Times. It was recently announced that Molina has been chosen by Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
to perform at the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
festival he is curating in May 2010 in Minehead, England.
Discography
- Rara (trans. "Weird (Woman)") - 1996
- SegundoSegundo (Juana Molina album)Segundo is Juana Molina's second album. It was named Best World Music Album 2003 in Entertainment Weekly. - Track listing :#"Martín Fierro"#"¿Quién?"#"El perro"#"¡Que llueva!"#"La visita"#"Quiero"#"Mantra del bicho feo"...
(trans. "Second") - 2000 - Tres Cosas (trans. "Three Things") - 2002
- Son (trans. both "They are" and "Tune") - 2006
- Un DíaUn DíaUn Día is Juana Molina's fifth album.- Track listing :#"Un día" [One Day] - 5:35#"Vive solo" [Lives Alone] - 5:58#"Lo dejamos" [We Leave It] - 7:31...
(trans. both "One day" and "A day") - 2008
Appearances in other media
In 2004, Molina voiced The IncrediblesThe Incredibles
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
' Elastigirl for the Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
dub
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
of the film.