Latin Grammy Nominees: Rawayana, Mon Laferte, FABIAN
Being nominated for a Latin Grammy is an honor; answering questions from HITS? Not so much. But these gracious hopefuls were kind enough to provide insight into their nominated work.
- Brocoli/Rimas
Rawayana
What inspired ¿Dónde es el After?
A lot of this album came from contrast. We were living some of the biggest and happiest moments of our career while, at the same time, watching the world—especially Venezuela—go through very complicated moments. I think ¿Dónde es el After? became our way of processing all of that without losing joy. Rawayana has always believed that celebration can also be meaningful. The “after” is obviously a party, but for us it also became a place where people meet, escape for a second, connect and imagine something different. Musically, we wanted that same freedom: Caribbean music, electronic, reggae, pop, Venezuelan sounds—whatever felt honest, without worrying too much about where it belonged.
— Lead singer Beto Montenegro
- Sony Latin
Mon Laferte
What is your favorite moment on Femme Fatale and why?
My absolute favorite moment on the album is definitely “1:30.” It’s a free-jazz piece with a very long poem, and I feel like that’s where I took a real risk. Part of the poem talks about one of the hardest personal experiences I’ve been through—sexual abuse—and it ends by saying: “The next day I went to school/ I loosened the hem of my uniform/ I had bread with jam for breakfast/ In history class, they talked about the conquest”
I’m deeply moved by the idea that after something devastating happens, the world keeps going. The next day, you have to get up, have breakfast, go to school, sit in a classroom… And that normality is devastating—everything around you continues as if nothing happened.
- Art House/Universal Music Latino
FABIAN
What inspired NIÑO BUENO?
Much of the inspiration came from simply growing up. I started writing these songs in my early 20s, so the record kind of became a time capsule of who I was at different moments. I was listening to a lot of The 1975, John Mayer, Dijon and artists who made me feel like pop music could still be really personal and imperfect. More than anything, I wanted the project to sound like a real person figuring himself out in real time.
