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Aleks Syntek worked hard to overcome stereotypes when he was starting his career. You see, although he is proud to be associated with the vast musical landscape that is contemporary pop, he is truly a serious musician. But his talents are many: he’s a prolific composer whose melodies quickly find their way to your brain. Latin America and Mexico’s young generation of pop prodigies is full of expert instrumentalists and impressive vocalists, but as a creator of great alterna-pop music, Aleks has earned a special status.
As a child TV star, Aleks grew up in the public eye, but despite the changes in his style (and voice), he’s always felt that music was such a deep, natural part of him that sharing it with others is simply second nature. It’s a necessity, as important as breathing. It’s his life, period.
Looking back, it would seem that destiny rolled the dice of his fate: Aleks (real name: Alejandro Escajadillo) was born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. It’s the city whose vibrant culture nourished the legendary singer/songwriters Ricardo Palmerín and Augusto ‘Guty’ Cárdenas, the rock pioneer Alfonso Ontiveros (better known by his artistic name Guadalupe Trigo), and the pop-bolero master Armando Manzanero.
Alejandro Escajadillo was still a boy when TV made him a professional on the electronic stage. The possessive and dominant Cyclops that is the family TV set crossed paths with his artistic vocation. He grew up before the eyes of Mexican TV viewers, but he had to prioritize his goals and wonder whether his seemingly overnight stardom would jeopardize his dream of enjoying a career marked by excellence and longevity.
The list of creative influences that nourished the young Aleks is as long as it is illustrious. It’s rooted in the maestros of pop standards like George Gershwin and Cole Porter, and continues with the great songsmiths of the early rock era like Paul Anka and Neil Sedaka. Aleks also loved the Beatles – especially Paul McCartney – he dug Neil Diamond and was influenced by piano rockers Elton John and Billy Joel and post-punkers Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello. Great singer/songwriters all, they comprise a musical pedigree that Aleks takes pride in.
All these musicians have expansive musical visions that go beyond the acoustic – their arrangements and melodies are exuberant, orchestral, rich, diverse. They’ve provided the compass for Aleks, whose first songs were influenced by the aforementioned artists and influential 1980s techno-poppers like John Foxx, Gary Numan, Thomas Dolby and the one-man orchestra Howard Jones.
At 16, Aleks set out to explore the possibilities foreshadowed by these pioneers of electronica music. He’d already been a TV star since he was 13, and he combined his entertainment savvy with his musical fascinations and formed a group with two other talented youngsters who shared his eclectic sensibilities: guitarist León Chiprut and drummer Michel Rojkind, who along with Aleks on keyboards christened their group La Gente Normal.
With their instrumental dexterity and musical chemistry, La Gente Normal would carve out a niche as cerebral, alternative, but catchy artists in the embryonic Latin and Mexican rock boom of the early 1990s. Officially forming in 1989, they debuted the following year with their funk-influenced Hey, Tú, whose hits were Hey Tu and Una Pequeña Parte de Ti. The album also featured guest vocalist Sasha on Te Quiero Así and the brash lyrical confidence and ambition of Unos Quieren Subir.
Aleks’ work on the documentary soundtrack Leyendas del México Antigüo was noticed by an unexpected artist, Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek. And so it was – the lanky psychedelic-rock veteran collaborating with the young Mexican on Nuestras Costumbres, from La Gente Normal’s 1993 sophomore (and most successful) album, Más Fuerte de lo Que Pensaba. Its title track was a hit, along with subsequent singles Mis Impulsos Sobre Ti and El Camino. With its impeccable quality and its critical and commercial success, it was a sign of great things to come for Aleks Syntek.
During the mid-1990s, the birth of his niece Andrea would inspire him artistically, resulting in a profound concept album, Bienvenido a la Vida (Welcome to Life). It was a landmark album in the Latin pop oeuvre, with a stylistic exuberance characterized by the inclusion of a diverse group of guest artists. León Chiprut had departed the group, but former Scritti Polittl guitarist Nick Morroch turned in an excellent performance, jelling with veteran ‘Syntékticos’ like drummer Rojkind and frequent collaborator Sabo Romo on bass. The album also featured the ethereal voice of María Urtusuástegui – she gave a magical touch to such alterna-pop gems as the Bienvenido a la Vida title track, La fe de Antes and Evolución.
Two years later, Lugar Secreto (Secret Place) marked Aleks Syntek’s return to the recording studios with only Rojkind remaining with him as the public face of Gente Normal. However, their brilliant team of behind-the-scenes musicians remained the same. The album featured an even broader electro-acoustic concept than its predecessors. As personal and intimate as its title implies, it featured the first single Sin Ti, (interestingly the last song written for the album). It was followed by the retro-80s sounding single Lindas Criaturitas, which displays a strong influence of Thomas Dolby, David Byrne and XTC. Aleks’ growth as a composer is evident on Volando Bajo and Otra Parte de Mi, the sequel to Mis Impulsos Sobre Ti. Unlike its predecessor, Otra Parte de Mi was a relaxed musical jaunt whose sole purpose was to satisfy its composer and delight listeners.
Rojkind’s departure and Aleks’ subsequent establishment as a bona fide solo artist coincided with a diversification of Aleks’ projects, such as his participation in tribute albums for Queen (he performed Somebody to Love) and José José (Preso). The tracks showed the creative depth that was becoming more and more apparent in Aleks’ own songs. Aleks also began, without publicity, to pen jingles for major ad campaigns, an experience that unexpectedly led to him scoring the smash-hit Mexican movie Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas (1998). The synergy was amazing, as the movie’s title song became Aleks’ biggest hit up to that point. Aleks modestly allowed that its success came from “...the meeting of a good movie with a good song.”
A true breakthrough in his rising career, Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas was followed by a celebration of his first decade in pop music. He released the retrospective Aleks Syntek 1989-99, which featured his hits (some with new versions), and two previously unreleased tracks (Sintonización, a chestnut from the vaults; and Tú Necesitas, a new song that became a discotheque smash).
In 2000, Aleks provided the voice of Miguel for the Mexican release of the DreamWorks animated feature Road to El Dorado.
He took another major step in his life on the 3rd week of the new millennium, when he married Karen Coronado, an interior designer. A big step towards growing up, it couldn’t help but influence his music, and indeed his next album De Noche en la Ciudad (2002) was the most mature album of his career, combining nostalgia of Mexico’s Golden Age (1940s-1950s) with an ambitious sonic palette and up-to-the-minute dance rhythms. In a surprising move, the album’s first single was a cover – Aleks’ uptempo version of the 1980s Dyango hit Por volverte a ver.
Proving that his love wasn’t ephemeral, he was inspired again by the lovely Señora Syntek on Te Soñé, the first single of his new 2004 album Mundo Lite. Its McCartney and Elton John influences are as organic and natural as its album title is synthetic. It’s a natural response by Aleks, a naturally sweet melodicist, to a pop scene that’s always becoming more saccharine. Mundo Lite showcases the mature work of a songwriter who’s already enjoyed plenty of success, and is confidently moving ahead, always grounded in his trademark commitment to creativity and quality.
Though he’s obviously evolved on this album, it contains his familiar positive energy and his always-engaging lyricism. Mundo Lite features three exciting duets: Ana Torroja (of Spanish pop trio Mecano) adds delicate harmonies to the catchy Duele el Amor; Colombian-American singer-songwriter Soraya contributes haunting, soulful melismas to Salva mi Corazón; and Benny gives vocal power to Viviendo por ti. As a salve to turbulent times in the world, Aleks finds Tiempos de Paz (Times of Peace) in the languid love that’s also the theme of the rhythmic Arriesgando el Corazón.
The album also features the sinuous, agile tropical rhythm of Alguno de Estos Días; the contagious optimism of Hombre de Fe, the get-up-and-dance vibe of Lo Que tú me Das – and even the contrite confession of A Veces Fui. A multifaceted work, Mundo Lite, far from being “lite,” is ironically an oasis of natural sweetness in a desert of superficiality. It’s a mundo (world) that could only have been conceived of by an authentic musician and composer.
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