The lead singer for Caifanes and Jaguares, Saul Hernandez, just released his second solo album, Mortal, which includes new songs as well as live material recorded with his new band. This past weekend, Saul and his band, Los Imposibles, played an energetic and emotionally charged show to a packed house at the El Rey Theater on Wilshire Blvd.
Looking youthful and energetic, Saul and his band took the stage and from the first song, the classic, “Jaguar”, the band went into full gear with a tight, urgent sound that gave the Jaguares and Caifanes songs a refreshed sound, while giving the solo work a good platform to be consumed by the excited audience.
A couple of days before the show, we had the chance to talk to Saul Hernandez about his new production and his feelings about playing with different musicians. Check it out!
Although the album’s name, Mortal, sound fatalistic, the song lyrics feel like a beacon of hope in these crazy period in Mexico, tell us about the album.
Yes, you are right, the album basically is about hope, it’s also about not giving up no matter what’s going on, not only personally, but as a collective and we have to keep moving forward.
Why did you choose the name “mortal” for the album name?
“Mortal” has to do with a lot of things, it has to do with the what is present and what is not; it has to do with that solo tour after the album Remando, which started small and it just kept growing and growing, and as I listened to the songs on this new album, I found a mortal sound, in the good sense of the word, it has dualities, it is strong, profound; it also has to do with the album cover, (a picture of muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros taken at the Lecumberri prison in 1960, taken by Hector Garcia) which is a very powerful picture, with a strength and a attitude of resistance and when I put it all together, I thought “this is mortal”, is like taking it to the its last consequences or the end.
The video for “Fuerte” was just released and I was very impressed by the simplicity and the strength of the video, which makes the lyrics of the song that much more powerful, tells us about the idea behind the video.
When I wrote the song I was thinking of the situation we have in Mexico, so I had many images in my head and that’s why you see all types of people in the video, you see children, teenagers, parents, elderly people and basically you see Mexico and its people whose heart they will never be able to break. Socially speaking, as Friedrich Nietzsche stated, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger” and Mexico is showing that spirit right now, there’s a sense of strength, union, solidarity that is very strong and we wanted to show that through these images, so more than a music video, I think is more like a documentary depicting what’s going on in Mexico.
On the song “Entre Tu Yo”, you had the opportunity to sing with your daughter Zoey, tell us about the experience.
It was something very beautiful, Zoey likes to sing, so that’s nothing new for us, but this was like sharing something very personal from our family life. Zoey loved the song from the first time she heard it, so I thought I would invite her to sing on it and she accepted and it was a very magical moment and I think it gives the album a sense of purity, but we are not looking at kick starting her singing career or anything like that, there is no pretention behind it, we are just sharing a personal moment and that’s it.
Is there any relation between this album and the previous one?
Yes, I think it’s more like a trilogy which ends with the live portion of this new album. Without the previous album Remando, I could not have made this album because when I began working on the first album, it took me to places I had never been to before because I had always worked with the same group of people, first Caifanes, and then Jaguares. With this new project I am learning so much more about music and myself personally. I have faced some demons and I have understood many things that I didn’t even realize and I want to continue exploring with my music and working with Los Imposibles, who are amazing musicians who come from a jazz background and have opened me up to so many different ideas that I am in awe.
Saul Hernandez and his lyrics have become almost like prayers to many of his fans who for three decades have been finding answers to their sorrow, agony and desperation and also a close friend, but after his performance at the El Rey Theater this past weekend, it seems that Saul has finally found himself as he appeared to be more self assured on stage and this new band has taken his music to new and exciting musical terrains.
