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Jorge Drexler

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In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisDrexlerand the second or maternal family name isPrada.
Jorge Drexler
Drexler at the32nd Goya Awardsin 2018
Born
Jorge Abner Drexler Prada

(1964-09-21)September 21, 1964(age 59)
Montevideo,Uruguay
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • composer
  • actor
  • doctor
Years active1996-present
PartnerLeonor Watling
Websitewww.jorgedrexlerEdit this at Wikidata

Jorge Abner Drexler Prada(born September 21, 1964) is a Uruguayan musician, actor and doctor specializing inotolaryngology.

In 2004, Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan to win anAcademy Award,which he won forcomposingthe song "Al Otro Lado del Río"fromThe Motorcycle Diaries.

Early life

[edit]

Drexler was born inMontevideo.[1]In 1939 his father, aGerman JewfromBerlin,fled to Bolivia with his family at the age of four to escapeNazi persecution.[2][3]His mother is a Christian of mixed Spanish, French, andPortuguesedescent.[2]Drexler was raised Jewish,[2]but does not follow any organized religion.[4]

Like many of his family, he studied medicine and became anotorhinolaryngologist—an ear, nose and throat specialist.[5]Drexler began playingpianoat age five, before attending guitar and composition classes.[6]Although he had an interest in music, he became a doctor like both of his parents.[7]He attended medical school in Montevideo.[2]During his time in medical school, Drexler took a break tohitchhikethroughBrazil.[2]He also studied music and recorded two albums, which were only released in Uruguay.

Career

[edit]
Jorge Drexler performing with Tiê at the 2011Rock in RioFestival inRio de Janeiro,Brazil.

In 1995 he was invited toMadridby well-known Spanish songwriterJoaquín Sabina,who introduced him to other important Spanish singers. Drexler went to Spain to record the albumVaivénin 1996 with Spanish musicians.Vaivénincluded some old songs from his previous releases mixed with new compositions. He moved to Spain and recorded another four albums:Llueve(1997),Frontera(1999),Sea(2001) andEco(2004). In 2001, Drexler co-wrote two songs for Spanish singerRosario Flores( "Agua y Sal" and "Rosa y Miel" ) for her albumMuchas Flores.[8]

Drexler's song "Al Otro Lado del Río"appeared in the internationally acclaimed filmThe Motorcycle Diaries.Though Drexler himself sang the song on the movie soundtrack, he was not allowed to perform the song at the2005 Academy Awards,since "he was not popular enough," according to Spanish newspaperEl País;Spanish actorAntonio Banderasand Mexican-American musicianCarlos Santanasang the track instead.[9]Upon winning, Drexler recited two verses of the song at the podium.[10][11]Drexler became the first Uruguayan to win an Academy Award.[10]

After that, he released12 Segundos de Oscuridad(2006); this album contained ten original songs and two covers: "High and Dry"from British bandRadioheadand "Disneylandia" from BrazilianTitãs.Although he lives most of the year in Spain, his albums were partially recorded in Uruguay with Uruguayan musicians.Juan CampodónicoandCarlos Casacuberta,former members of rock bandEl Peyote Asesino,had produced Drexler's albums fromFronterato12 Segundos De Oscuridad.In 2008, he released a double live album, recorded in different concerts in Spain:Cara B(2008), mainly filled with songs previously unreleased. During 2009, Drexler worked with Colombian performerShakiraon the Spanish-language versions of her singles "She Wolf","Did it Again"and"Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).

Drexler recordedAmar la Trama(2010) on November 1–4, 2009 in Madrid, Spain in just four days, with musicians playing live on studio.[12]Drexler described the album as playful, without "the melancholy and anguish" of12 Segundos.[13]Amar la Tramawas recorded in a television studio in front of a small audience who were selected in an online contest.[12]He chose this format to avoid the "coldness" of therecording studio.[14]

His albumBailar en la Cueva,released in 2014, shows a new facet of the artist leaning towards rhythm and dance, a contrast to his previous albums which he describes as more introspective and nostalgic. In particular, he has pointed out that it is a very different album to the last one, describing it as the opposite pole to "Amar la Trama".[15]

In 2017, he releasedSalvavidas de Hielo,an album of increased musical, if not lyrical, complexity. In this album, Drexler set out to explore the limits of the guitar, using that instrument alone (or the human voice) for every sound on the album (including percussion).

Tinta y Tiempowas released in 2022. In many ways, this was Drexler's most challenging album, as the pandemic made it difficult for him to compose. In particular, he struggled to complete songs without being able to play them for others. At times, he questioned whether or not he would be able to finish the album without these crucial interactions. As the pandemic eased, however, and society slowly reopened, he was able to reconnect with the public and finish the album. One of the themes of this album is experiencing life, love, and the world in general with fresh eyes, a message that resonates most strongly in his hit songCinturón Blanco.

His music is a combination of Uruguayan traditional music (candombe,murga,milonga,tango),Boss a nova,pop,jazzandelectronic music,which results in very personal compositions with original arrangements. The words also play an important role in his songs. Apart from love, reflections about identity, race and religions are a constant in his work.

Personal life

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Drexler was previously married to singer-songwriterAna Laan.His girlfriend is Spanish actress/singerLeonor Watling,with whom he has two children. Watling is in the bandMarlango.[16]His cousin is the scientistAlejandra Melfo.[17]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Main article:List of awards and nominations received by Jorge Drexler

Aside from hisAcademy Award for Best Original Song,Drexler has been nominated five times at theGrammy Awards,for the albumsEco(2004),12 Segundos de Oscuridad(2006),Cara B(2008),Bailar en la Cueva(2014), andSalvavidas de Hielo(2017); and received thirteenLatin Grammy Awards,twice forBest Singer-Songwriter AlbumandRecord of the Yearand one forSong of the Year.For his work writing Spanish-language versions of singles by Colombian singer-songwriterShakira,he has received fiveASCAP Latin Awards.[18][19][20]Drexler also received aGoya Awardin 2010 with the song "Que El Soneto Nos Tome Por Sorpresa", written for the Spanish filmLope;the same year he was named Commander of theOrder of Isabella the Catholicfor his musical contributions.[21]Overall, Drexler has received 13 awards from 46 nominations. In November 2018, Drexler took home record of the year and the song of the year for "Telefonía" and the best singer-songwriter album forSalvavidas de Hieloat the Latin Grammys 2018.

Discography

[edit]
  • La Luz Que Sabe Robar(Ayui, 1992)
  • Radar(Ayui, 1994)
  • Vaivén(Virgin, 1996)
  • Llueve(Virgin, 1997)
  • Frontera(Virgin, 1999)
  • Sea(Virgin, 2001)
  • Eco(Warner, 2004)
  • 12 Segundos de Oscuridad(Warner, 2006)
  • La Edad del Cielo(Warner, 2007)
  • Cara B(Warner, 2008)
  • Amar la Trama(Warner, 2010)
  • Bailar en la Cueva(Warner, 2014)[3][22]
  • Salvavidas de Hielo(Warner, 2017)
  • 30 Años(Warner, 2021)
  • Tinta y tiempo(Warner, 2022)

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Jorge Drexler talks about his album '12 segundos de oscuridad'".Archived fromthe originalon 25 October 2007.Retrieved22 June2008.
  2. ^abcdeGurza, Agustin (27 February 2005)."A songwriter's dream has disappointing end".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved7 February2012.
  3. ^ab"From Alt.Latino, Five Conversations With Latin Music's Finest".NPR.org(Alt.Latino).1 August 2014.Retrieved7 January2015.
  4. ^"Ecos de Drexler"(in Spanish). Montevideo COMM.Desde hace mucho tiempo he perdido mi fé en todas las religiones organizadas. No creo en Dios.Al menos no de la manera en que se lo describe habitualmente.
  5. ^Rohter, Larry (12 July 2005)."Latin American Singer's Rainbow Coalition of Identities".The New York Times.Retrieved22 June2008.
  6. ^Bonacich, Drago."Jorge Drexler - Biography".Allmusic.Rovi Corporation.Retrieved7 February2012.
  7. ^Gurza, Agustin (2 March 2005)."Opening Doors".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved7 February2012.
  8. ^"Muchas Flores– Rosario Flores ".AllMusic.All Media Network.Retrieved7 February2011.
  9. ^Hernández-Santos, Elsa (1 March 2005)."Justicia poética para Jorge Drexler".El País(in Spanish). Prisa.Retrieved16 April2015.
  10. ^ab"Drexler gana primer Oscar uruguayo".BBC Mundo(in Spanish).BBC.28 February 2005.Retrieved16 April2015.
  11. ^"Drexler critica a la organización de los Oscar por prescindir de él para interpretar su canción candidata".El Mundo(in Spanish). Mundinteractivos.Retrieved16 April2015.
  12. ^abBirchmeier, Jason."Amar la Trama — Jorge Drexler — Overview".Allmusic.Rovi Corporation.Retrieved2 July2010.
  13. ^Ayala, Ben-Yehuda (16 September 2010)."Shakira: The 'She Wolf' Billboard Cover Story".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on 2 February 2013.Retrieved20 September2010.
  14. ^"Jorge Drexler lanza su disco Amar la trama este martes".RPP(in Spanish). Grupo RPP S.A. 16 March 2010.Retrieved20 September2010.
  15. ^Drexler, Jorge (19 March 2014)."Making of Bailar en la Cueva".Youtube.Jorge Drexler.Archivedfrom the original on 12 December 2021.Retrieved16 April2017.
  16. ^ "Leonor Watling y Jorge Drexler, padres por segunda vez".Europa Press.6 August 2011.Retrieved9 February2018.
  17. ^"Prima de Jorge Drexler expone su clara visión sobre lo que sucede en Venezuela".Todo el Campo(in Spanish). Archived fromthe originalon 1 April 2019.Retrieved1 April2019.
  18. ^"18th Annual El Premio ASCAP 2010 – Pop/Ballad".ASCAP Latin Awards.American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.23 March 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 27 September 2013.Retrieved22 April2015.
  19. ^"19th Annual El Premio ASCAP 2011 – Pop/Ballad".ASCAP Latin Awards.American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. 24 March 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved22 April2015.
  20. ^"19th Annual El Premio ASCAP 2011 – Television".ASCAP Latin Awards.American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. 24 March 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 23 September 2015.Retrieved22 April2015.
  21. ^"Jorge Drexler, nominado a los Grammy y premiado por la corona española".Ciudad(in Spanish). Argentina. 11 September 2010.Retrieved16 April2015.
  22. ^"The Latin Grammys: Mexican Romance, Uruguayan Mellow And More".NPR.org(Alt.Latino).13 November 2014.Retrieved15 December2014.
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