Iaki Vallejo gets in touch with her Columbian heritage in latest single
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28.03.2019

Iaki Vallejo gets in touch with her Columbian heritage in latest single

Words by Marnie Vinall

Colombian born and now Melbourne-based singer-songwriter, Iaki Vallejo, is releasing the first single from her upcoming EP, ‘India soy, Negra soy’, this Friday. 

“My new single is called ‘India soy, Negra soy’ which means I am Indigenous, I am black. What I wanted to tell when I wrote it was the fusion that is in my blood.” As Vallejo notes, the album “is talking about me and my past.”

“I’ve been working a lot on producing this album for almost two years. It took me two trips to Colombia because I really wanted to feature my country and have friends of mine be involved in it. I am very proud of the result and I hope that people can enjoy it. I want to tell everyone that I am here and this is what I do.”

Having lived in many different countries, including Colombia, Spain, Italy and now Australia, Vallejo doesn’t limit herself to any particular genre or style. As the musician explains, “I think my sound is very universal. I don’t like to be classified in any kind of style because I am very free in using many of them in my music. So, my sound is a blend of jazz, French, salsa, afro-beat, and of course, fundamentally African and Colombian, from my roots. It’s a blend of many, many kinds of rhythms.”

Despite the album being in Spanish, Vallejo emphasises that all can enjoy it – including non-Spanish speakers. “I believe it’s not an issue because music doesn’t need to be understood, it just needs to be felt. That’s what I want for here in Australia and all around the world: for people to feel happy and to be feel identified with the feelings in the songs that I’m playing.”

“I want them to enjoy mainly the rhythm. Because I use a lot of rhythm in it, a fusion of African rhythms, and funk and jazz, and a combination of styles in my music, it makes it exciting.”

Vallejo’s contemporary sound comes from more than just blending styles she likes. For her, it’s an outlet to express the things she finds hard to say. “I represent myself through my art, and my art represents me,” she explains. “I use art as a way of reparation, it makes me free and feel powerful, and when I am on the stage, even my friends tell me, you are very different from normal life. When you are performing, you become another person.

“In everyday life I am more a listener, and very quiet and very shy, and so when it comes it music, I am totally different. It gives me a lot of freedom. It feels like I am in another world.”

As her music is a means of expression, it’s no surprise Vallejo has invested a significant amount of her time and energy into it – globetrotting around the world to discover different sounds. Now, having spent the last ten years in Melbourne, she’s quick to comment on the city’s multiculturalism and how that’s impacted her work.

“When I came to Melbourne I discovered a lot of new cultures, new experiences, new people and new bands – there’s a lot here,” Vallejo says. “I feel very lucky to be here in Australia and I think my music has been influenced by the multicultural diversity that we have. It is very special and I think this fusion makes my music very different. When different blends of music come together, you create something that is very special.”

Vallejo is releasing her new track at the Oratory, Abbotsford Convent, this Friday March 29. She’ll be performing with her seven-piece band along with cameo appearances by Senegal-born Lamine Sonko and Guinea-born master Kora player Mohamed Camara. It will also be a launchpad for the single’s video clip.

Iaki Vallejo launches her new single ‘India soy, Negra soy’ on Friday March 29 at The Abbotsford Convent. Head to The Boite website for tickets.