The Latino member of the Los Angeles-based psychedelic rock band Chicano Batman has signed a management deal with Cosmica Artists.
The indie record label and company represents Latin talent from alternative genres across Los Angeles, Miami, Austin and Mexico City.
“Reaching our 20 year anniversary at Cosmica Artists is such a proud moment for me as I started this as a one person company, stuffing manilla envelopes with burned promo CDs, xeroxed bios and EPK’s,” Gil Gastelum, founder of Cosmica, tells Variety. “Our new signings usher in a new chapter for Cosmica Artists, as we begin to navigate the future with confidence and pride. Looking at distribution, marketing, publishing, sync, and touring partners future and present has us all ready for the next 20 years.”
Martinez will be represented by Cosmica as he focuses on a solo career — a new LP, Stones Throw Records, slated for release in 2025 — outside of his role as the lead songwriter and vocalist for Chicano Batman.
The rock band formed in 2008 with a fresh take on tropicália and indie-rock that led to five studio albums.
In recent weeks, the group announced they were going on an “indefinite hiatus.”
Other signings include American-Colombian rock band Divino Niño and Mexican singer-songwriter Arath Herce,
Lila Downs has new out-of-this-world representation…
The 56-year-old Mexican Grammy– and Latin Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has signed a management deal with Cosmica Artists.
The indie record label and company represents Latin talent from alternative genres across Los Angeles, Miami, Austin and Mexico City.
“Reaching our 20 year anniversary at Cosmica Artists is such a proud moment for me as I started this as a one person company, stuffing manilla envelopes with burned promo CDs, xeroxed bios and EPK’s,” Gil Gastelum, founder of Cosmica, tells Variety. “Our new signings usher in a new chapter for Cosmica Artists, as we begin to navigate the future with confidence and pride. Looking at distribution, marketing, publishing, sync, and touring partners future and present has us all ready for the next 20 years.”
Downs incorporates indigenous Mexican influences and has recorded songs in many indigenous languages such as Mixtec, Zapotec, Mayan, Nahuatl and Purépecha.
Downs recently won best folk album at this year’s Latin GrammyAwards for her latest record, Balas y Chocolate.
The Cosmica team spearheaded the return of Mexican singer/songwriter Carla Morrison and her sold out show at the Hollywood Bowl. Most recently, Guatemalan artist Gaby Moreno won a Grammy for best Latin pop album, and claimed multiple Latin Grammy wins.
Cosmica also supported Mexican-American producer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, David Garza on his pair of Grammy wins for co-producing Fiona Apple’s “Fetch the Bolt Cutters”(best alternative album and song).
“It’s been an amazing journey filled with ups and downs, exhilarating highs and thrown under the bus lows,” said Gastelum “We’ve taken it all in and we keep going. I take great pride in working with an amazing staff and roster of talent as we work hard to create a safe and creative space for all of us.”
Other signings include up-and-coming artists Victor Internet and Loyal Lobos.
Oscar Isaac is paying homage to his Guatemalan roots through song…
The 44-year-old Cuban-Guatemalan actor has joined voices with Gaby Moreno to release a stripped-down rendition of the classic waltz anthem, “Luna de Xelajú.”
The lead single off Moreno’s upcoming album was released on Friday alongside a music video directed by Diego Contreras, which sees the two guitarists and singers performing the track in one take at the Palace Theater in Los Angeles.
“‘Luna de Xelajú’ is considered the 2nd anthem of my country, Guatemala. Written by Paco Pérez in the 1940s,” explains Moreno. “I’ve been singing it since I was a teenager and more recently have been performing this song live in my concerts, usually as an encore. I invited my dear friend and incredible artist, Oscar Isaac, to sing it with me for this very special acoustic version…Just two voices with two guitars, singing together this timeless, sweet, and nostalgic song from our motherland.”
Isaac is no stranger to displaying his musical prowess on screen.
The Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated actor played a struggling folk musician in the Coen Brothers-directed Inside Llewyn Davis, and also co-wrote an original song for the 2011 film 10 Years. However, “Luna de Xelajú” is particularly notable because it sees Isaac singing in Spanish.
“My grandmother Graciela Argentina Nicolle de Estrada would perform ‘Luna De Xelajú’ in the concert halls of Guatemala. Growing up it was always hummed or sung as a lullaby by my mother Eugenia, and was a favorite of my uncle Guillermo’s,” Isaac says. “I’m grateful to Gaby for asking me to share this song as a way of honoring my family and all of Guate.”
Since moving to the U.S. from her native Guatemala, Moreno has put out seven albums with her 2022 record Alegoría earning a Grammy nomination for best Latin rock or alternative album. She was previously nominated in 2017 in the best Latin pop album category for her Spanish-folk album, Ilusión.
In addition to her music, Moreno has a long list of credits in TV and film. She co-wrote the theme song for Parks and Recreation, and most recently collaborated on Guillermo del Toro’s Netflix show Cabinet of Curiosities.
Moreno also received a 2023 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards nomination for her song “A Song In My Heart” in the Eugenio Derbez-starring film, The Valet.
“Luna de Xelajú” is the first single from Moreno’s “X Mí (Vol. 1)” EP (pronounced “Por Mi”), slated for release on May 5 via Cosmica Artists.
The new record — a blend of songs in both English and Spanish — “will house a collection of rich and soulful acoustic songs that have remained dear to Gaby’s heart,” per the press release.
The indie record label and company represents Latin talent from alternative genres across Los Angeles, Miami, Austin and Mexico City.
