“We started hanging out before we were even making music together,” says 19-year-old percussionist Diamela Spina—of herself, vocalist Julia Percowicz, and guitarist Aylen Reynoso. “Then we began finding ourselves as TRÍADA,” she says. According to Julia, the band “happened naturally, almost accidentally. We were just having fun playing together, and then we uploaded a video just…to see.”
With their unique take on classics both old and new, they recently released De Versiones y Alma, a debut EP as powerful and inebriating as a gateway drug—and one that will make your mind travel beyond any frontiers of time, language, or culture.
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Formed in Buenos Aires at a performing arts school, TRÍADA would record videos after class, relying on sublime vocal harmonies and stripped-down instrumentation to reinvent bossa nova tunes. Their version of João Gilberto’s “O Pato” eventually became their first official release after gathering 2 million views on Instagram.
Shortly after that came the “call” that changed everything. “When we first got a message from the label we didn’t believe it was legit,” Diamela says. “A few weeks went by before we realized that it was true, that Universal really wanted to connect with us. Because they were trying to contact us through other channels, getting in touch with our managers and all. We already had an idea of recording an album, an EP comprised of covers. So we talked to the label about it.”
After the success of “O Pato,” they shared “Sale La Luna,” a gorgeous Spanish version of Liana Flores’s “rises the moon” from the British-Brazilian’s 2019 EP recently. With TRÍADA also covering Uruguayan musician Sofia Álvez’s “Rompí,” one can’t help but notice that both these singers drink profusely from the bossa nova well—a mere coincidence, according to the band. “We like bossa nova very much, and have played a lot of bossa nova together because it goes really well with our style, with our approach, but we also play a lot of other stuff,” Diamela says. “Personally, I feel very represented by all Latin American culture. We love all Latin American music, not just Argentinian or Brazilian,” Julia states, while Diamela points out that ever since forming TRÍADA they all started listening to a lot more Argentinian folklore. Other influences include Feli Colina, Charly Garcia, and Jorge Drexler.
This is not to say they didn’t dip their big toe in more rock-oriented styles before. “I play the drums, so I was experimenting with stuff I was familiar with the most,” Diamela recalls, while Julia notes they were “still very young then, about 15, 16. We were playing at being in a band. It wasn’t serious.” When they finally found the sound they were looking for with TRÍADA, all pieces started to fit together both stylistically and logistically. According to Julia: “We changed to the cajón, for example, which is also much easier to transport everywhere. If we are at the beach, or on someone’s patio, and we have a guitar…we can play our songs right then and there.” Taking a page from the original bossa nova habitat of friends playing together in a relaxed setting, they reveal this is exactly the kind of vibe they’re going for, “That warm feeling you get when you’re in a cosy room and you listen to someone play… What we want to achieve with our music is that same degree of intimacy,” Julia says.
Such an atmosphere of familiarity ended up functioning as a foundational element of the EP, with them selecting the material (“Besame Mucho,” “Canción para Bañar la Luna,” and “La Negra Atilia” complete the lot) based on what they were enjoying playing the most at that time. “There wasn’t a super strict criteria. We just chose the songs we thought worked best,” Julia says. “We chose those we were more comfortable with, too,” Diamela adds, explaining that despite this having been their first time in a professional studio they all found the experience fun and enriching.
In order to completely dedicate themselves to the recording process, TRÍADA put a temporary halt to live performances. “We had gone through a period when we were still growing up and maturing as artists, so we played quite a lot here in Argentina. But then we got signed and the idea was to focus only on recording, then release the EP, and only then start playing again,” Diamela says, hoping that having their music out first helps the public become more acquainted with the band before getting the chance of seeing them live.
Though they are now beginning to dream bigger, TRÍADA have yet to publicly disclose what their next steps will be. Releasing another EP, maybe a longer album? Doing a major tour? Composing their own songs? “All of the above,” they reply, laughing. “But one thing at a time.” Diamela does hint at them starting to record “something else,” but then smiles a knowing smile and doesn’t reveal much more. “We still don’t have any fixed plans regarding an international tour, though we have an idea of which countries are listening to us the most, like the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and of course, Argentina.”
“And we do have original material—in fact, we are working on it at the moment,” Julia shares, admitting they aim at slowly detaching themselves from playing covers only. But she also informs that their own songs maintain the same TRÍADA spirit: “The biggest difference is they’re much more personal. Because all lyrics mean something to us, and we can sing them with a different type of emotion. I will know what I was thinking about when I wrote them. And that, to me, is the most important thing.”
‘De Versiones y Alma’ was released on March 21st on Verve Records and Mercury Records.
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