Like most musicians, Yasser Tejeda had it tough last year, but
the New York-based Dominican singer/songwriter/guitarist still made
the most of it. He played online shows, limited capacity outdoor
concerts and of course, kept writing and arranging. Today he’s
sharing some of the fruits of that labor with a video premiere from
his new acoustic EP Interiors.
Recorded
live at the Glasshouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, here’s Tejeda’s
“Nuestra Raices”
"Nuestras
Raíces means ‘Our Roots’ and it talks about embracing the
African roots in the Caribbean, specifically in Dominican Republic,”
Tejeda said in an email. “It celebrates the cultural heritage that
exists on the island, inspiring people to explore their roots, follow
their dreams and bless others.”
The song, with a
full-band arrangement, appeared on Tejeda’s last album Kijombo,
and it now appears on Interiors
with another Kijombo
rearrangement and a new tune. Interiors
was released last Friday.
“The process of
creating this arrangement was beautiful, because I had to adapt it to
just acoustic guitar instead of the whole band like it is on the
album,” Tejeda explained. “I kept it simple and elegant; leaving
a lot of space so you can pay attention to the message of the song.
For example, I passed some of the Dominican drum rhythms that are
usually played by percussion to each string of the guitar.”
He calls it “simple”
and compared to the guitar heroics that Tejeda and the band can get
up to, I guess it is. But intimate as it might be, it’s still a
showcase for Tejeda’s winding sense of melody, and a voice that
often gets overlooked in all of the six-string magic.
As Tejeda and the
band get back up to speed to record together this summer, they’ve
got a few dates around the northeast and in Chicago.
July 4 - Racebrook Lodge - Sheffield, MA
July 17 - Little Island Festival - New York, NY
Aug. 7 - LatiNxt 2021 Festival - Navy Pier - Chicago, IL
Aug. 13 - Hudson River Park Festival - New York, NY
Aug. 17 - Live at the Gantries - Queens, NY
Aug. 28 - Lincoln Center - Restart Stages - New York, NY
As 2020 ground
along, Tejeda began offering guitar lessons via Patreon, so I asked him
if there were any tips he had for Afropoppers.
“The most important thing is to have fun with the guitar,” he said, “so if you don't have that much discipline to practice every day, just pick up the guitar, learn songs and play the songs that you really love and that move you—doing that often will make you improve your skills and make you a better player.”
The acoustic version of “Nuestra Raices” seems like a candidate, doesn’t it? Strummers, have at it!
