Aleks Syntek could be considered one of the greatest pop artists of this century. His work is consistently changing, evolving while staying true to the one principle of music. Aleks Syntek is synonymous with pop music. Trasatlántico is a journey through Spain, time, and history of classic pop en Español.
With Aleks Syntek Trasatlántico, the classic hits that music fans love are collected together with many of the songs recorded as duets. The album contains sixteen tracks that maintain a level of perfection that Aleks embraces. He never half-asses anything when it comes to his music. Trasatlántico is perfection for the pop music lover. It borderlines on his best album to date.
To understand that love for this album, one must dig into the past to see how these tracks changed history. Aleks breathes life into them as no one else could do. It may sound like I am a die-hard Aleks Syntek fan and that is far from the truth. While I believe he is an important part of Latin pop music, he is one of the only artists that has not to succumb to the pressures of mass popularity. He never sells out, which allows me to respect him as a musician and performer.
Aleks begins his transatlantic journey with the song “A Cara O Cruz” by Spanish rock band Radio Futura. A duet with David Summers from Hombres G brings up the second song. It is followed by a classic song by Veni Vidi Vici which he performs with frontman Javier Lozada. The next duet is with Javier Ojeda of Radio Futura with the song, “Sin Aliento.” It’s a track that many won’t know by name but as soon as it plays, everyone sings.
Teo Cardalda of the band Complices helps Aleks perform their hit, “Es Por Ti.” While I thought I knew most of the tracks, Aleks surprised me with a song from Nacha Pop entitled “Vistete.” Not one of the most popular songs from the band, but with the help of member Nacho García Vega, they create a fun little number.
The voice of the Mecano, Ana Torroja helps with a duet of “El Cine.” Pablo Carbonell of Los Toreros Muertos performs with Aleks the song, “Yo No Me Llamo Javier.” “Sildavia” of La Union features Rafa Sánchez from the band. Up next is a fun little duet with Ana Belen with the song “La puerta de Alcalá.”
Aleks presents the song, “Si yo fuera mujer” made famous by La 5a Estacion but the song was original recorded in 1986 by Patxi Andion. He comes on board to rerecord his hit song. This is the final song of duets on the album. Next Aleks records alone for the following tracks: “Santa Lucia” by Miguel Rios, “Como Pudieste Hacerme Esto A Mi” by Alaska Y Dinarama, and “A Cada Paso Que Doy” by Luz Casal but was made famous by the pop group, Flans. The final tracks are “Viaje Con Nosotros” and the classic anthem “Lucha De Gigantes” by Nacha Pop again.
The idea of recording an album as a road trip mix across Spain is an excellent salute to their musical history and it is worth every minute of the journey.
Since that day, I have been study Latin pop and rock music and have become a Latin pop music historian through the publishing of articles, fanzine, and websites. My goal is to teach people about Latin pop music and the history behind it with my website, Siempre En Domingo.
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