Mariana de Miguel, better known as Girl Ultra, has helped shape Mexican R&B and is looking to expand her sound.
Born in Mexico City, Mariana was always surrounded by the music the city absorbed and the musical influences of her parents. Her mother played 1980s pop artists like Gloria Estefan, and her father loved classic rock bands like REO Speedwagon.
“ My dad took the task of just giving me some CDs every weekend after the divorce, like every two weeks,” she said. “He was like, O.K., so you gotta listen to this … and he was very excited about giving me great musical taste.”
She was active during the ”indie sleaze” music era, defined by popular early 2000s indie-rock bands like Interpol, The Strokes, Bloc Party and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Mariana saved money to see these bands perform, including the electronic duo Chromeo, which produced her latest single Tomás.
Mariana said it’s been a dream come true to work with the Canadian duo. She’s been a fan of them for years and still can’t believe she gets to work with them on not only a song, but a whole album.
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Chromeo’s sleek electronic funk is a stark contrast from the current direction Girl Ultra’s music is taking, but she enjoys merging sounds and ideas.
“ I'm just trying to make a little homage to what Mariana from 2012 loved, you know?” she said. “And trying to make it have a little conducting line into my more recent work, which is a little bit more grungy and a little more grimy.”
Tomás also features Honduran-American singer and musician Empress Of. She and Girl Ultra became close friends while working together.
Mariana said her new single is essentially a diss track, where the character of Tomás represents a person you want to move on from but you’re still attached to. Tomás is also a play on words, with tomar meaning “to take” and tomas means “you take”.
After wrapping up a tour last fall with Chromeo, she’s headed to the U.S. for her “Blushing” tour, with a first-time stop in Miami. South Florida tends to be hard for artists to route tours because of its distance from other major U.S. cities.
“ I'm excited to just go and see a room full of Spanish-speaking people,” she said. "It's always very refreshing to be away from home and just being able to do that."
IF YOU GO
What: Girl Ultra's "Blushing Tour"
When: Wednesday, Aug. 13
Where: Gramps, Wynwood
Cost: $20 online, $25 at the door
Information can be found here
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