BALUN

BALÚN JOINS LAKE GEORGE MUSIC FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA FOR SPECIAL CONCERT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 8/15/17

New York, New York - August 15, 2017 - Brooklyn based indie electronic band Balún will join the Lake George Music Festival Orchestra for a special concert entitled ‘Sounds of Our Time’ August 22nd, at the Lake George Festival Commons in Lake George New York. This concert highlights the connections between current popular music and contemporary and traditional classical music. On its face, Balún’s shoegaze-tinted proto-reggaeton may not seem an obvious fit in an orchestral setting, but a closer look at the band’s line up reveals a diverse musicality that is the foundation of Balún’s unique sound. Balún’s front woman and acclaimed classical composer Angélica Negrón supplies lush string arrangements while PHD ethnomusicologist and Puerto Rican folk music expert Nora Ruiz layers Tiple and Cuatro on top of José Olivares’ programmed beats and Raul Reymundi’s shoegaze guitars.

Exploring the rhythmic connections between pop and classical, the Lake George Symphony Orchestra will open the concert with a performance of Paul Dooley’s groundbreaking Percussion Concerto featuring solo percussionist Lisa Pegher. Following the concerto, Balún and the LGFSO will perform Balún’s original material with full orchestral arrangement. Sourced from Balún’s forthcoming LP Prisma Tropical (produced by Lawson White), many of the songs on the program already benefit from Angélica’s trademark “quirky approach to scoring” (The New York Times). The record’s expansive, cinematic scale can be heard on Balún’s latest single Teletransporte with its Björk-inspired combination of electronics and cascading strings. Teletransporte is the follow up to Balún’s La Nueva Ciudad, which entered Spotify’s Viral 50 chart globally and in 8 countries, and was one of Remezcla’s 10 Best Songs of 2016.

The ‘Sounds of Our Time’ concert at the 2017 Lake George Music Festival starts at 8pm, August 22nd in Lake George New York. Balún will perform a warm-up show aboard the Minne Ha-Ha Moonlight Cruise on Lake George August 19th, sailing at 9pm. More information about Balún, Angélica Negrón, Good Child Music, Lake George Music Festival, and the Moonlight Cruise can be found at balunonline.com, angelicanegron.com, goodchildmusic.com, lakegeorgemusicfestival.com, and lakegeorgesteamboat.com

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93 Kent St. 4L - Brooklyn, NY 11211 - (718) 383-4487

russell@goodchildmusic.com

BALÚN EXPLORES PARALLEL DIMENSION WITH ROBOT-ASSISTED TELETRANSPORTE

HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL 3/10/17

New York, New York - February 13, 2017 - Teletransporte is the second single off of Brooklyn-based indie electronic band Balún’s long-anticipated sophomore record Prisma Tropical. Releasing March 10th, Teletransporte further pushes the boundaries of the band’s genre and influences, transporting their signature indie tropical “dreambow” into darker, dystopian territory with heavy measures of grime, IDM, and the help of percussion-playing robots supporting trans-dimensional lyrics.

A trans-national band inhabiting both San Juan, Puerto Rico and Brooklyn, New York, Balún has been making music for a decade. All Music awarded the band’s early efforts 4/5 stars, expounding that Balún would “sound right at home…on a mix next to Aphex Twin [and] Modest Mouse.” La Nueva Ciudad, the first single from the forthcoming Prisma Tropical affirmed Balún’s promise, entering Spotify’s Viral 50 chart globally and in 8 countries. The song was one of Remezcla’s 10 Best of 2016 and the band was named a Latin Artist to Watch in 2017 by Pandora.

Following the proto-reggaeton ecstasy of La Nueva Ciudad, Teletransporte reveals a darker, more serious Balún, diving into the cold waters of UK jungle and grime and featuring a Bjork-inspired combination of strings and electronica. Arranged by Balún front woman and acclaimed classical composer Angélica Negrón, the Twin Peaks-reminiscent string section in Teletransporte manifests the diverse musicality Balún’s individual members bring to the band. Puerto Rican folk music expert and bassist Nora Ruiz’s homemade Tiple is as integral to the track as the robotic percussion programmed by beat maker José Olivares or the noise and shoegaze-influenced guitars of Raul Reymundi. It is this ever-evolving exploration of acoustic, electronic, folk, pop, tropical, and industrial that gives Balún its unique voice.

Balún will follow the release of Teletransporte with two showcases at SXSW March 15th and 16th. Teletransporte was produced by Lawson White (My Brightest Diamond, Bryce Dessner, Gil-Scott Heron / Jamie XX) and will be released digitally March 10th 2017 by Brooklyn label Good Child Music. The track features Bayoán Rios (‘17 Grammy Winner iLé, Tepeu) on zampoña (Andean pan flute), Nick Yulman’s Bricolo mechanical music system (robots), and Mary Jo Stilp, Andie Springer, and Evelyn Wadkins (strings). More information about Balún, Good Child Music, Lawson White, Bayoán and Bricolo can be found at balunonline.com, goodchildmusic.com, lawsonwhite.com, facebook.com/bayoanrios bricolomusic.com.

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93 Kent St. 4L - Brooklyn, NY 11211 - (718) 383-4487 - russell@goodchildmusic.com

BALÚN ANNOUNCES NEW RECORD, UNVEILS NEW SOUND WITH LA NUEVA CIUDAD

HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL 9/9/16

BALÚN ANNOUNCES NEW RECORD, UNVEILS NEW SOUND WITH LA NUEVA CIUDAD

New York, New York - August 10, 2016 - Brooklyn-based indie electronic band Balún’s long-anticipated sophomore record Prisma Tropical will be released by Good Child Music in early 2017.  Coming out September 9th, the first single La Nueva Ciudad opens the door into a new world of sound for the quartet.

Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Balún’s early efforts received 4/5 stars from both Club Fonograma and All Music, the former calling Memoria Textil “gorgeously crafted,” while the latter enthused that Balún would “sound right at home… on a mix next to Aphex Twin [and] Modest Mouse.” Coverage in Remezcla, Time Out Chicago and Pitchfork helped to cement Balún’s best-of-both-worlds reputation. With the release of La Nueva Ciudad, Balún has added another dimension to that dynamic, incorporating elements of Puerto Rican folk and contrasting their dream-pop with a massive dembow riddim, resulting in a sound the band has dubbed “dreambow.”

La Nueva Ciudad was produced by Lawson White (So Percussion, Bryce Dessner, Gil-Scott Heron) and will be released digitally September 9th 2016 by Brooklyn label Good Child Music. More information about Balún, Good Child Music, and Lawson White can be found at balunonline.com, goodchildmusic.com, and lawsonwhite.com.

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93 Kent St. 4L - Brooklyn, NY 11211 - (718) 383-4487 - russell@goodchildmusic.com