Francisca Valenzuela: Artist You Should Know

From KCRW Music Blog contributor José Galvan:

Francisca Valenzuela released her long-awaited sophomore album, impressed audiences at SXSW, and rocked the crowd at the Chilean edition of Lollapalooza. She also graced the cover of Rolling Stone and performed a duet with Bono at U2’s show in Santiago.

At age 23, this rising musician, has two releases, each distinct in musical exploration.

On 2007’s, “Muerdete la lengua,” Francisca delivers a type of jangle pop-rock, produced by Mauricio & Francisco Duran of Los Bunkers, that merits the title given to her by critics: “La Princesa del Rock.”

With her second release, “Buen Soldado,” she’s disposed of the pervasive pop-rock formula and creates playful arrangements with piano-driven ballads. Her voice has also evolved to highlight a contralto timbre that would make some wonder if they might be listening to Fiona Apple sing in Spanish.

Buen Soldado by franciscavalenzuelamusic

There’s currently a growing movement of female singer/songwriters producing music in Spanish. With her ability to entertain audiences with a full band or a lone keyboard on stage, Francisca will soon be catapulted to the head of this group with leading ladies the likes of Julieta, Natalia, and Ximena.

— José Galvan