Music · Behind the Record
Behind MexiAmericana Album & Radio
By Veronique Medrano · 4 min read
Trying to contextualize a period of my young adult life with music started as a reflection on my life so far. From 2016 onwards, there was a change in me with regards to how I engaged with creating music. I had already made 2 albums and was embarking on a third, but I wanted to move beyond just chasing a genre sound that felt dated to me. I began to experiment sonically from that moment on.
Songwriting became a more concerted effort to apply everything that I did with my poetic writing career and combine it with my musical one. The songs that I played ad nauseam during my high school and college years were a foundation for the direction I wanted to go in. Country Americana mixed with the Regional Mexican sounds I’d been formed by in my professional career were the focus of my work — a splash of rock, jazz, and alternative for good measure too. MexiAmericana became the name that best exemplified what you hear within this album.
The Recording Process
“Working with Mariano Herrera and El Dusty was like a boot camp of sorts. I was challenged at every recording session to meet the songs with a critical ear.”
This bilingual Country Americana record honors the sounds of my youth and young adulthood that was colored by the songwriting of Spanish-language songwriters and artists as well as the American ones. From Shakira to Carrie Underwood to Vicky Carr, Johnny Cash and Freddy Fender — these are only some of the names you will see grace this Radio playlist that mixes my music alongside those I’ve enjoyed, to best represent the duality of sound.
While you can listen to the Album on its own in full, I also wanted to provide a more expansive experience for those who love the MexiAmericana record and want to hear the songs that for the last ten years have gone into making this work exist. I hope you continue to enjoy the album and the radio supplement, as much as I enjoyed working with every producer, artist and songwriter who lent their talents to this body of work.
Written By
Veronique Medrano
Singer-songwriter, writer, and archivist out of Brownsville, Texas.