On a bit of a lark, we asked Juana Molina, the 51-year-old Buenos Aires singer-songwriter and actress, to make us a FADER mix, and lo and behold, she came through. Like her most recent album, Wed 21, it's gorgeous, dance-y in a freeform way, with little concern for genre or boundaries or country borders as it floats from Uruguayan rock to a pygmy lullaby to Broadcast and Sam Amidon (the folk singer whose music was featured recently in our slept on tracks of 2013). A beautiful mix, which is in no way a surprise.
Download: Juana Molina's FADER Mix
There's something really masterful about the breadth of these song choices—Is there a certain shared quality in the music that you're drawn to? What do you look for, as a fan? There is probably a shared quality, it's hard to tell which one. As a fan, what I look for—or should I say, I am attracted to—is music that has some truth, something that comes from a very and unique individual emotion, from the person the the world and mostly never the opposite. I don't care about genres, you can find true things among all of them.
How is the experience of making a mix similar or dissimilar to making your own music? In both, I chose carefully. In making a mix of songs, I think a lot of the possible listener, I want them to enjoy the set as much as I do. When I make a record, I am that possible listener, and I want to enjoy the songs as much as I can so eventually someone else could enjoy them too.
Do you feel like technology has caught up with your process? Especially looking back at your older albums, they seem very forward-thinking. Or have you changed the way you've worked to use new tools? When I recorded Segundo, in 1998, I just had bought my first computer and slowly, very slowly, while making that record, learned how to use the software. Since then, I kept learning very slowly, and that's the reason why I didn't add anything else to the recording system. Only upgrades, of course. From all those windows that the software menu offers you, I think I use four or five. I prefer to manage little amount of tools than making a mess with all of them.
What food do you like to cook and how do you make it? My preferred dish: A whole squat, Japanese ribbed pumpkin, in the oven for about 1 hour. I burn red peppers on the stove to peel them later (you take all the burnt skin, the seeds and never rinse them with water). Avocado, at least one per person. I hate having to share an avocado. I lightly fry midium tofu, cut in slices. A drop of oil, just to make it have a golden surface. Not too long because it gets hard. Then you add soy sauce generously and wait until it evaporates. Then I serve everything on the plates with (arugula) rocket salad and add salt, olive oil and lemon.
Tracklist:
1. El Kinto, "Suena Blanca Espuma" (1969)
2. Marvin Pontiac (aka John Lurie), "No Kids" (1999)
3. The Sound of Lucrecia, "Extraña Colección" (2009)
4. Philippe Katrine, "Excuse Moi" (2007)
5. Aka Girls, "Sweet Lullaby"
6. Broadcast, "Echo's Answer" (2000)
7. Sam Amidon, "Fall on my Knees (2008)
8. Matías Aguayo "Ritmo Juarez" (2009)
9. Os Ritmistas, "Samba de Pacto" (2010)
10. Foehn, "To the Forgotten Forest Deep in Space" (2000)
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FADER Mix Archives