Twenty-Five Time GRAMMY/LATIN GRAMMY winner JUANES, and Universal Music Latin Entertainment, are announcing a May 28th release date for the multi-platinum Colombian rock star’s tenth album ‘ORIGEN,’ and its accompanying Amazon Exclusive documentary on Amazon Prime Video. Fans can get a first look at the official documentary trailer and begin album pre-sale/pre-saves. Leading up to the album and the documentary, a Juanes-focused episode of the Mi Historia biopic series will launch May 19th on the Amazon Music app, with Juanes offering an intimate look at the beginning of his career.
As Latin Rock’s leading global ambassador for two decades, Juanes has won over fans around the world with his distinctive style built upon a foundation of smartly crafted songwriting, a deep passion for rock music and equal reverence for the traditional folk and indigenous rhythms of his native Colombia and Latin America. Now, utilizing the career honed skills of a master musician, he passionately returns to his earliest roots in order to share a scintillating collection that reimagines some of the most important songs and artists that shaped his own early musical vision.
“Our Origin is where the direction of our life and place in the universe begins and takes shape, For me, it is built upon a love of music instilled by my family, appreciation of my culture, and the discovery of the songs and artists that first completely stirred my soul. ‘ORIGEN’ is my personal tribute to several of those artists and songs that most influenced me prior to my solo career. These are the songs that continue to be a map to which I constantly return to remember who I am, where I come from, and where I am going. It’s the music deep in my heart, never to be forgotten.” – Juanes
Co-produced by Juanes and multiple GRAMMY-winning producer Sebastian Krys (who has also helmed recent award-winning albums for Elvis Costello), the high energy album boasts razor-sharp instrumentation and production across a tracklist spanning original styles as diverse as tango, merengue, heavy metal, folk, reggae, vallenato, pop and of course rock – with Juanes often completely reimagining the sound and style as fusions across multiple genres. The two recently released advance singles from the album have given a first taste that has already caused excitement from fans and critics alike, as Juanes’ rock and gospel adrenalized version of Fito Paez’ “El Amor Después del Amor’ has already been praised as “One of Spring’s best new songs” by NPR, with other’s chiming in that “This is Juanes like you’ve never seen him or heard him before… The Colombian rock great sounds like a reborn artist… and turns it up to 11, giving an uplifting, soulful performance… as a symbol of hope and rebirth.” That standout reaction continued as Juanes switched gears by releasing a personally introspective and deeply emotional take on Bruce Springsteen’s global classic “Dancing In The Dark”- which Springsteen scholar and E-Street Radio host Dave Marsh quickly praised as “One of the best Bruce covers I have ever heard… I can’t remember the last time I heard a Bruce cover that was half as good… he took a very familiar song and made it his own… which is how you make Rock & Roll truly universal. …and like Springsteen, he cares greatly about the people he is singing to & about.” (See the complete “ORIGEN” track listing below.)
‘Origen’ will be released in tandem with an Amazon Exclusive Documentary, showcasing performances of the new songs in time-capsule settings in the style of classic TV programs from three different eras. Helmed by Emmy & multiple LATIN GRAMMY-winning executive producer Jose Tillán, co-executive producer Jesús López, Chairman of Universal Music LATAM & Iberia, and multiple LATIN GRAMMY-winning director Kacho López, the special will also feature Juanes discussing the making of the album and interacting with fellow composers – Juan Luis Guerra, Joaquín Sabina Fito Páez, and Ziggy Marley – who share their very first reactions to his new interpretations of their work. Viewers will also find Juanes opening up to the audience in a very personal way, explaining how these songs influenced him, while also sharing never-before-released images of him and his family in his early years.
