Chilean dance pop phenom combines giddy abandon with sobering social themes in songs that sound of “Latin American sentimentality passed through an electronica filter.”
Alex Anwandter’s songs combine a feeling of almost giddy abandon with sobering social themes.
His 2011 track “Cómo Puedes Vivir Contigo Mismo” became a party anthem for gay youth battling discrimination in his native Chile. His new song, “Siempre Es Viernes En Mi Corazón,” premiering today on Billboard, has the same dual spirit.
“'Siempre es viernes en mi corazón' is inspired by alienation -- the product of non-stop work and living in what is sometimes an oppressive society,” Anwandter, who’s often been called Chile’s “prince of pop,” tells Billboard. “It doesn’t immediately sound like subject matter for a dance pop song. However the song both ignores and embraces those feelings.”