We have been following Letón Pé's steps pretty closely lately, as the rising Dominican pop phenom, has been causing a sensation with her one-of-a-kind songs, blending Afro-Caribbean and pop melodies. In June she performed at the PAMM as part of the Backroom Sessions series, and tomorrow she will bring her energetic performance back to Miami as part of the La Escala Sonora showcase at the Miami Beach Bandshell. She will be performing alongside a fantastic lineup of up-and-coming and breakthrough performers from the Caribbean, including Villano Antillano, Rafa Pabón, YEИDRY, and more.
Letón Pé, who was named by Rolling Stone earlier this year as “one of the 10 Latin Acts Set To Make It Big In 2023”, recently released a new EP, titled Rojo Rubí. We had the chance to catch up with her to talk about her new songs, her creative process, and the current state of independent music in the Dominican Republic.
Experimentation is an important part of your musical journey. But what do you think are the key elements of a Letón Pé song? Curiosity and open-mindedness. Not being afraid to cringe myself out but also having the time and the disposition to research for a much better context in terms of sound design and storytelling.
Your lyrics explore themes of love, loss, and the overall soul-searching experience. What’s the importance of lyrics in your music? Songwriting is something that as days go by I enjoy more and more, practice has made me feel more comfortable and for that reason, I'm always searching for more depth, but for me, depth sometimes means better choices in terms of picking even the right word to make the ideal sound. For me, the sound is what tells the story so music in conjunction with the lyrics is what says it all. I try to keep things very uncomplicated and straightforward, how can I express that I love you but my peace is much more important than a short-term pleasure so I'd rather stay home with my dog'' in 3 words? or sometimes in a whole verse because I want to give the song even more percussion/rhythm with my words? so yes, that's that :D
You recently released a new EP, Rojo Rubí. Tell me about the creative process behind it. How was the process of writing those songs? It was fun, it was fast. The EP was done in less than a year, it had actually 6 songs but we could only release 5 for reasons we could not control. It has been the time I've felt more connected with my art and my whole speech, not to mention my roots too. It was within me to speak these songs, I think that's one of the main reasons why it happened so efficiently, the honesty but also the practice as a singer-songwriter, I think I'm finally at that place where I've got my GPS, just gotta be patient and enjoy the pit stops.
You have been representing the new sounds of Caribbean music. And the Escala Sonora concert will actually feature a stellar lineup of up-and-coming artists from the region. What are your thoughts on the current state of the Caribbean independent music scene? It's fire, it's solid, but it's small, which is something to be expected in a small island so there is in fact a ceiling we need to break, the industry here is null so that makes it a bit harder, but on the good side things are slowly starting to rise specially in a world where independent projects can stand on there own (if they overwork) lol, I can't lie, it's hard.
What else can people expect from your upcoming Miami show? Heaaaaaat. Connection, sabor.
Join us tomorrow at La Escala Sonora. Get your tickets now by clicking HERE. Use the code TML25 to get 25% off.
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