Martín Better Longo of Fruta Brutal

Interview with Martín Better Longo of Denver’s Fruta Brutal

Recently I was introduced to another Denver musician who I can’t wait to see live when life gets back to normal (whatever the new normal will be). Martín Better Longo and I got on the phone and chatted about his music project, Fruta Brutal, his international history and his musical influences. I look forward to checking out his live show asap.

Martín Better Longo of Fruta Brutal

Photo: Andrés Better. Header photo: Taylor Tuke


Martín Better Longo of Fruta Brutal Interview


Aimee:
It’s nice to meet you. If you can, just tell me a little bit about you and about your band. That would be great.

Martín:
Sure. I was born in Ecuador, and I moved to the States when I was six with my family, so pretty early on. And then Fruta Brutal, my musical project, has just been basically my search for a musical identity, kind of having these two worlds collide in the Latin American realm of music, and then also going to college in New Orleans, and being exposed to a lot of jazz and indie rock that I love, which is mostly prominent from the US.

So, it’s kind of attempting to bridge these two worlds, at least from the music that has inspired me. Artists that I’ve been exposed to like Caetano Veloso from Brazil, who was involved with Tropicália movement in the eighties and went on after that to become one of the most prominent pop stars in Brazil. He’s still alive and touring now, I think at 80 years old or so, and then…

Aimee:
Oh, wow. I’d love to hear what that sound is like, because, frankly, I honestly have not heard that word before. I feel kind of guilty that I haven’t.

Martín:
Yeah, I’ll do a quick dive into Tropicália real fast. During the military dictatorship in Brazil of the late sixties, early seventies, the military dictatorship went on to the eighties. But the artistic response to that dictatorship was most prominent during when the hardliners took power in the late sixties, and the Tropicalista movement was one that came out in response to this dictatorship. I wouldn’t really call it protest music, but it’s still subversive.

They merged American psychedelia, like the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, especially, and synthesized it with Brazilian samba and other kind of characteristics rhythms and styles of Brazil. And in doing so, they created a new genre that was still Brazilian and just used these international pop rock arrangements with Brazilian rhythms. But what Tropicalistas did at the time has highly inspired Fruta Brutal now.

Aimee:
That’s fascinating.

Martín:
Yeah. And they were part of the leftist movement against the conservative dictatorship, but even in the left, other musicians had issues with what they were doing. They were like, “No, you’re supporting the dictatorship because you’re absorbing these international influences that are from the U.S.,” since the dictatorship was U.S. backed.

Aimee:
Right, of course.

Martín:
But the Tropicalistas, what they were trying to say was, “No, we can still be Brazilian. We can still resist the dictatorship by kind of absorbing these influences and making them Brazilian, and kind of evolving further and progressing with our music.”

Aimee:
That’s really interesting. And so, you feel kind of what you’re doing is along those lines, in terms of merging all of your influences from the places that you’ve lived and the music that you loved?

Martín:
Yeah. The Tropicalistas, their synthesis of music, I think, is masterful for that time. So, I’m just aiming a but towards that idea.

Aimee:
And when did you guys get together? I mean, is it just you or you have a band?

Martín:
I do have a band. I started the band when I was living in New Orleans, right after college, and after traveling through South America pretty extensively. I think that was 2018 that I started the band. And then, upon moving to Colorado, I think I’ve really defined the sound. I have a band here that I perform with that is a quartet. Their names are Matt Cantor – Bass, Michel Stahli – Drums, and Leo Muñoz – Percussion.

But the album that I’m in the process of recording, the first full length album, is being produced by Mac Major, who is based in New Orleans. And I also hired New Orleans musicians for that, and also record in a studio here owned by AJ Salas, who’s a really badass keyboardist.

Martín Better Longo of Fruta Brutal

Photo: @andybetterbugs on Instagram

Aimee:
So again, it’s kind of a mixture of all those worlds. When you were a child, did you come to Colorado? I thought I heard you say you came back to Colorado. So did you grow up…

Martín:
Yeah, yeah. I moved first to Miami with my family when I was six, and then we came to Colorado when I was 10. So I went to Boulder High School, and then I left when I was 18 to go to college, and then came back recently around 2018-19, I think. Right after starting Fruta Brutal in New Orleans. I just up grew up and then restarted here.

Aimee:
Well, we’re glad you’re back, so. And you’re recording the album now, and do you have a sense of when it’ll be finished and released?

Martín:
I’m hoping for May or June.

Aimee:
Wow, so you’re pretty close.

Martín:
Yeah, it’s going to be a two part album. So Volume One is going to come out in May or June.

Aimee:
Okay. So, seemingly is the plan to release the album and then start getting out in front of audiences. Do you have any plans to tour or…?

Martín:
I do. I’ve never done a tour ever. So, I really think it’s about time I do. I definitely want a tour with this album. I obviously have contacts in New Orleans, so I’m thinking of doing just kind of a tour from Colorado, maybe go to New Mexico and also through Texas and hit New Orleans. Eventually, someday, if things go really, really well, then I would tour South America.

Aimee:
Sure. Yeah, of course.

Martín:
And then Sofar Sounds just invited me to perform in Miami. It’s such a cool organization, so I’m really excited about that. And Miami seems like a great fit since it’s really catered towards more Latin American stuff. Although in Denver, I’m finding that there’s a really badass scene of Latin American musicians and fellow Ecuadorians that have kind of taken off in the scene, especially Neoma.

Aimee:
I know. I love her so much.

Martín:
And then, leading up to this release of the album in the summer, hopefully early summer, I’m just going to be doing music videos and doing a lot of promo that’ll be kicking off here soon. The latest single right now is, “If We Never Touch The Ground.”

Aimee:
That’s good. And yeah. And then what’s your personal life like? Do you have any hobbies or things that you enjoy outside of music?

Martín:
Well. So to pay the bills, I do interpreting and translating. Trying to get certified through the legal system actually to be a court certified interpreter.

Aimee:
That’s impressive.

Martín:
Yeah. Hopefully someday, it’s a really hard exam. And then I teach podcasting to teens. That’s for community radio, KGNU Community Radio 88.5 FM. And we’re just trying to get younger voices on the air and elevate younger voices, stories, perspectives. So I teach weekly workshops. I’m going to be teaching four of them this semester in Boulder County, mostly.

Aimee:
Oh good. That’s great.

Martín:
And if I have any time left after that, I enjoy tennis and swimming. I am also most active on Instagram, of the social networks. Would love anyone reading this to come over and say hi.


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