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Wandering Rebel

by Juan Wauters

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1.
Eloping 02:33
Thought of eloping But you can only elope in Vegas Since I don’t like Vegas I stopped thinking of eloping Got a marriage license I’m waiting for the day to get married There’ll be a celebration (Actually not) (Ahhhhh) Come on, come on! Your family and your friends wanna go to the wedding We’re recording a song which will most likely be a part of an album Si, este es un nuevo disco! El día es 10 de agosto, la ciudad es Montevideo, Les habla Juan solamente para decirles: Gracias por acompañarnos, gracias por acompañarnos Es este nuevo viaje Al cerebro y corazón, al cuerpo y a la mente De esa Jota, esa Jota cantando “Dale Juan Pablo!!!” El año es 2022 Al cuerpo y a la mente Gracias por acompañarnos A disfrutar Otra canción El año es 2022 Never cease to believe at your talent making music
2.
Hace un tiempo ella vino a visitarme Yo he estado encerrado aquí todo este tiempo Mañana ella viene en un camión desde lejos Y vamos a compartir un momento Estoy yendo hacia el Él me está esperando a mi Vamos a salir a caminar Andar por la playa y mirar el mar Ir hasta el faro a ver que pasa por ahí Mirar a los lobos Y si nos da hambre algo de comer Una milanesa al pan! Hace un tiempo se volvió Estuvo visitando y se volvió Ahora estoy pensando en ella Me tocará a mí ir a visitarla y voy Está viniendo el Viniendo hacia mi Vamos a salir a caminar Andar por la playa y mirar el mar Ir hasta el faro a ver que pasa por ahí Mirar a los lobos Y si nos da hambre algo de comer Una torta frita!
3.
Tuve el presentimiento que todo sería mejor en otro lado Pensé en vivir en otro pueblo, Cambiar los amigos y el trabajo, No me daba cuenta tenía que cambiarme a mi Ahora yo me doy cuenta Que aunque yo me vaya a otro lado Empiece a vivir en otro pueblo Cambie a los amigos y el trabajo Esa nube negra seguirá encima de mi Esa nube negra que heredamos De traumas no resueltos cosas que nunca se hablaron Seguirá encima de ti Autocriticarse, barajar y dar de nuevo Mirarse al espejo Y no mentirse más Después de parar un poco E irme de vacaciones pensé de nuevo Que no era el trabajo, No eran los amigos, ni mi pueblo, Ni esa nube negra Seguir viviendo Descifrando esta confusión Sabiendo que hay un mañana Hay tiempo para cambiar Barajar y dar de nuevo Convertirse en uno nuevo Una nueva versión de esa Jota Descifrando esta confusión
4.
Amor, Amor 02:38
(Amor, Amor) Estoy contigo un paso adelante al ritmo De algún punto en la velocidad entre la tuya y la mía Uno lo sabe, es ese calor Del amor del pájaro en el aire encendido Comprensión, libertad, lealtad en el amor Y andar de a ratos mucho de a dos (Amor, Amor) Mientras yo cambio ella me va a esperar Y mientras ella cambia yo la espero también Se hizo muy diferente a lo que conocí Seguimos cambiando y desafiando al amor (Amor, Amor) Mientras yo cambio ella me va a esperar Y mientras ella cambia yo la espero también Se hizo muy diferente a lo que conocí Seguimos cambiando y desafiando al amor (Amor, Amor) Maestro! Con ustedes, Mariano Sebastián Manente Gracias Mariano! (Amor, Amor)
5.
I was walking down 14th street Couldn’t help to wonder Where’s everybody gone? The streets are empty out here Everywhere I go I hear It’s the end of the season for the NYC See, it might be just my opinion But it’s happened time and time again That when it gets rough out here People that have options go back to their suburbs To them it was just like some kind of Disney World Some kind of commodity Dust them off a little bit And see their real M.O. Their modus operandi Modus operandi See, it might be just my opinion But it’s happened time and time again That when it gets rough out here People that have options go back to their suburbs To them it was just like some kind of Disney World Some kind of commodity Dust them off a little bit And see their real M.O. Their modus operandi Modus operandi
6.
Live with me in a house out there by deep bluest sea And you know that we will be pain free Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever It’s surreal like René Magritte I rub her feet See her every week, petite She has more bounce to the ounce Have me pounce like a panther What we do at night has me singing like Tiny Dancer It’s so good that it must cause cancer Nothing ever happens when I don’t take chances Heterochromia helps us see both sides Need alone time but I know we have tomorrow right Would you Live with me in a house out there by deep bluest sea And you know that we will be pain free Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever Live with me in a house out there by deep bluest sea And you know that we will be pain free Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever There’s not enough sand in the hourglass Our conflict breath like warheads sour last Wish you heard her laugh fill a room And you know what I mean When I say I want us together by deep blue seas Or in that octopus’ garden Healing like Marvin She’s venus carved from marble Meets Captain Marvel and I’m Super Willy K You can see the cape And I can see our future is forever and a day Live with me in a house out there by deep bluest sea And you know that we will be pain free Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever Live with me in a house out there by deep bluest sea And you know that we will be pain free Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever
7.
Es un canto Un viento de mi pulmón Mensaje codificado Es un canto Un viento de mi pulmón Mensaje codificado Manso como un caballo bien domado soy Pidame patrón Voy al paso, galope, trote, cargo y se nadar Carga! Pidame patrón Soy fiel y no reclamo Muy fiel a mi patrón He sido bien domado No me voy a revelar Pero igual que mi patrón Salvaje soy Es un canto Un viento de mi pulmón Mensaje codificado Es un canto Un viento de mi pulmón Mensaje codificado “Y de que podemos cantar ahora che?” “A ver aquel quiere cantar por ahí, a ver” A cada asado que voy Me piden la guitarra No para que toque Para que leña haiga Como un vino Es un canto Un viento de mi pulmón Mensaje codificado Es un canto Un viento de mi pulmón Mensaje codificado
8.
Millionaire 02:52
And you could be a millionaire and also You could end up on the street Rolling up the dice we go “Always try to keep up and don’t hold back” they say It’s been almost a week since I made it here Slowly but surely I start liking L.A. A guy like me in my situation It’s hard to get around Los Angeles If you don’t have a car I’m staying in a privilege part of town It’s suspicious for me to be walking I know it well from living in New York There is so many cities within one Out here around the city of L.A. I wonder if you know how bad your life could be going It’s been almost a week since I made it here Slowly but surely I start liking L.A. A guy like me in my situation It’s hard to get around Los Angeles If you don’t have a car I’m staying in a privilege part of town It’s suspicious for me to be walking
9.
During COVID I discovered That I like stability But the world still sees me As a wandering rebel Yes it does influence my day to day What they got to say But not so much I wondered about getting side gigs, Picking up college and Catching up on my math I wondered... What about being a person in a town, Working in the same town, The money’s still the same Just let us go and get it I once did have a dream But in our family is not our nature To go after and catch (Those dreams) So I stayed a little longer in my bed I feel ashamed of my personal hygiene Aware of my condition Dramatize it as a movie I’m looking to make money on this album And the one that follows after An expression of my feeling Strong and raw Singing right through Right through the nation Yeah, Yeah I’m looking to have a family So if this music thing not pick up We’ll have to make some changes up in here Me who I wanted to become a music critic Ended up being a musician (Hahahaha) Open up the bag Let’s see how much gets in there Count the money and go on We’ll bet big then cash out
10.
Carriage 01:58
I heard what makes a good friend (what is it?) It’s every so often checking in on your bad habits What if they don’t know? A friend will sense it (Please call) Anytime you want it (And when my emotions run wild) My brain becomes a carriage being pulled by wild horses. In my heart, in my brain I never mean no harm My brain becomes a carriage being pulled by wild horses.
11.
Let Loose 02:31
Let loose Standing at the edge of some world It feels good to let go and let loose from the world’s pressures To think of what to sing freely Keep on going deeper trying to find thoughts that i could sing in a song Let it go, let it go now Keep on going deeper trying to find thoughts that i could sing in a song Let it go, let it go now And now that I have the chance to sing to you directly I’d like to say It took a long, long, long, long, long time For me to sing to you this freely I’d like to say This thing of doing music Being a traveling musician Could take a toll on someone like me I’d like to stay at home Let loose It feels good to let go Let loose It feels good to let go
12.
En un barrio de Montevideo En un barrio En un barrio En un barrio Si... Hola ¿cómo estás? Si, es que... te llamábamos de acá de Radio Rocha Te queríamos preguntar si... Hola Juan! Si, si te gustaría que te entrevistáramos para acá Para un programa que tenemos en la radio Es una radio que hacemos con las chiquilinas del liceo Radio Rocha Y nos gustan mucho tus canciones Y pensábamos si te podríamos hacer una entrevista Para que salga en la radio de acá de Radio Rocha En un barrio En un barrio En un barrio En un barrio de Montevideo Vivía una persona Ah si... Hola Juan Acá, te contacto porque Lucía Dice que tiene un apartamento en el centro Por unos plastificados de piso Yo soy amigo de Manuel Zapata Y bueno, la verdad que me enteré Que entre ustedes se conocían Me gustan mucho tus canciones Las disfruto mucho Vamo arriba, che!

about

There's freedom to be found in consistency. Until recently, Juan Wauters may not have agreed with this statement. As a touring musician and multinational citizen, transience had always come naturally to him. Circumstance, however, recently prompted him to reconsider the benefits of staying in one place: “During COVID I discovered / that I like stability,” he muses on the title track of his new album, “but the world still sees me / as a wandering rebel.” His most introspective work to date, Wauters’ sixth solo album Wandering Rebel finds the artist taking stock of how he’s changed, how the world sees him, and what he wants out of life.

From his early days as a founding member of Queens-based garage act The Beets to his impressive solo career, Wauters has spent the better part of the last decade on the road. When he wasn’t touring or recording, he was gathering material, traversing Latin America to write his 2019 Spanish-language opus La Onda de Juan Pablo, then heading North to collaborate with friends like Mac DeMarco, Homeshake, Nick Hakim and more for 2021’s boisterous Real Life Situations. Apart from intermissions in his home base of Jackson Heights, Queens, Wauters has been notoriously hard to pin down.

The lack of touring in the years following the 2020 pandemic lockdown, however, brought Wauters’ wayfaring lifestyle to a screeching halt. After spending the majority of the year at home in New York, he relocated to Montevideo, Uruguay at the end of 2020, prior to the release of Real Life Situations. It would be another year before he’d be able to tour again, and over the course of that year, he embarked on voyages to LA and New York, with the aim of recording full albums in each city. Though many of the songs from these sessions did make it onto Wandering Rebel, the final product is, like Wauters himself, impossible to attribute to just one place. And each time he returned to Montevideo from these sojourns, he realized the unexpected had happened–he’d put down roots. His short-term stay had become a long-term relocation, and a casual romance had turned into a serious partnership. “If touring never came back,” Wauters reflects now, “I would have been at peace [with it]. New York was the place I always came back to, but I never really had a ‘home.’ My parents left Uruguay, their home, when I was young. Now, [in Montevideo], I have a place to come home to, and people that are waiting for me.”

Written mostly during this extended break from touring, the songs on Wandering Rebel are candid reflections on subjects like career (“Wandering Rebel”), romantic commitment (“Amor Amor”), mental health (“Nube Negra”) and the personal toll of touring (“Let Loose”). Wauters’ lyrics have always had a refreshing sincerity, but he seems to be at his most open on this record. “I’m looking to have a family,” he states on “Wandering Rebel,” “so if this music thing not pick up / we’ll have to make some changes up in here.”

He extends that same bemused frankness to the world around him as well: on “Modus Operandi,” he voices his frustration with New York’s fairweather residents, who fled the city at the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown. “It’s happened time and time again,” he laments, “when it gets rough out here / People that have options go back to their suburbs.” Vocal contributions from fellow New Yorker Greta Kline (Frankie Cosmos) add to the chorus of playful disapproval. On the singalong-worthy “Millionaire,” he turns his eye to the west coast: “It’s hard to get around Los Angeles / If you don’t have a car / I’m staying in a privileged part of town / It’s suspicious for me to be walking.”

The clarity with which Wauters approaches these subjects lyrically is reflected in the music as well. His trademark eclecticism is still present (fans of Real Life Situations’ spirited hip-hop should look to track 6, “Bolero”), but it’s more refined this time, anchored in his signature Latin-influenced indie folk. Wandering Rebel is peppered with delicate additions that add depth throughout: rain sounds and hand drums on “Nube Negra,” a strings section on “Modus Operandi,” a gentle vibraphone on “Amor, Amor.” Some of these are classic Wauters touches, but others are owed to outside influences, like production from Brooklyn-based Carlos Hernandez (Ava Luna, Carlos Truly) and Brazilian indie artist Sessa, as well as vocal contributions from Kline, Luz Elena Mendoza (Y La Bamba), Zoe Gotusso, and Super Willy K.

Throughout Wandering Rebel, Wauters attempts to reconcile the stability he’s come to enjoy with the nomadic restlessness that’s characterized his life thus far. In the end, though, it’s the interplay of both of these elements that makes the album so strong. Though it’s marked by introspectivity, it was recorded in classic Wauters fashion, with numerous collaborators on trips to New York, LA, Brazil and Argentina. At the same time, its cohesion is owed to a period of reflection that’s only possible in repose. Wauters’ moments of honest self-reflection lend depth to his penchant for playful musical experimentation, while his ever-growing network of collaborators across the globe add nuance and fluidity to his songwriting.

For a brief period during the writing process, Wauters spent a month alone in a remote Uruguayan beach town, armed with only an iPad (which he charged using a solar panel) and his thoughts. In the end, only one song from this stint made it onto Wandering Rebel (“Mensaje Codificado”), but somehow the entire album feels as if it’s written from this vantage point: an artist, back in his home country, looking out at the world and considering the life that’s led him there.

credits

released June 2, 2023

Special thanks to Anyi, Charlie and Eva Lawitts
Mixed and Mastered by Nicolás Demczylo at Los Aliados Studios, Montevideo, Uruguay (Oct 2022).
Except Eloping, Nube Negra, Modus Operandi and Carriage, mixed by Carlos Hernandez and Nicolás Demczylo.
Art, photographs and design by Francisco Cunha, Montevideo, Uruguay (Oct 2022).
Lettering by Juan Wauters.
JPW Management: Gustavo “Peluca” Miguez.

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Juan Wauters: Singer songwriter NYC
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