Bogotá-born musician Amantina is keeping his feet on the ground ahead of his biggest ever performance at Festival Estéreo Picnic 2023
“I like to make music that’s fun”, says Daniel Sorzano, the Bogotá-born, Quito-raised singer and producer better known as Amantina. Fun doesn’t mean insubstantial though, and there’s a edge as sharp as the safety pin in his earring underlying his lyrics. He’s set to light up Festival Estéreo Picnic 2023 with his playfully insightful music.
That essential “fun” element for Amantina comes from playfully blending genres: pulling from the everyday poetry of hip-hop, the layered ambience of synth-pop and the espíritu of indie rockcito. His latest track Astromelia landed recently, and it’s a darkly beautiful expression of doubt and anxiety, musing on meows.
“The first time I played an instrument was when I was a year old; it was a therapy session with my mum.” Daniel’s mother, a therapist herself, saw her son’s ability for music at this young age and encouraged him to pursue it, starting off with guitar. Music still has a therapeutic quality for Amantina, but nowadays he’s playing much bigger stages than his mother’s living room.
Four years ago at the age of 20 and having returned to Bogotá to study music, he launched his solo project and ever since he’s been on a rapid upward trajectory. Last year he released his first album Vivo, Nasty and earlier this year he was picked out as a rising star by Revista Shock. His melancholic musings strike a chord with young rolos, adrift in a cold world.
“It’s the biggest so far” he explains when asked about his upcoming Festival Esteréo Picnic performance. “I feel excited, but I feel like it’s just another stage for me, it has a lot of exposure but I think it’s good to keep your feet on the ground.” His feet may be on the ground, but his future could well be in the stars.
As well as looking forward to his own slot on the Flamin’ Hot stage, Amantina is also looking forward to attending the festival as a spectator. It’s not his first year at the festival and electrifying performances from Snoop-Dog and Gorillaz in years previous have set his expectations high. The varied music taste that influences Amantina’s work is evident in his top picks from the line-up: “Devendra Banhart, Drake, Rosalía, Wu-Tang Clan.”
But what can we expect from Amantina’s performance this year? Your guess is as good as ours: “I really don’t like spoilers, you’ll have to wait and see” he tells us with an enigmatic smile.
Check out what surprises Amantina has saved up at 15:00 on Friday 24th March on the Flamin’ Hot stage.
