ROUND UP: Pao Pestana of Intaya Talks 5 Favorite Venezuelan Artists

Cross-cultural duo Intaya transports listeners to the Caribbean via London with a sound that’s refreshing—and perhaps a little unexpected—but totally exciting.

Uniting two talented musicians/producers, Venezuelan-born Pao Pestana and London’s Dom Martin, Intaya finds its true spark in its members’ common love for hip-hop and jazz, employing an experimental form to blend progressive beats and sophisticated harmonies with elements of electrifying electronic music and a sprinkle of Latin soul.

The duo just released its debut single “Guaguancó,” a nostalgic track inspired by Pestana’s memories of her native Venezuela, conjuring scenes from the country’s incomparable coastline while drawing its sonic influence, as the song’s title suggests, from the Cuban style that both artists adore.

Today Pao talks five of her favorite Venezuelan artists with Musical Notes Global. Discover them all below!

There is incredible talent in Venezuela and I feel quite unfair if I only mention 5, therefore I will just mention the first 5 ones that came to my head instantly XD.

1. Simon Diaz, a traditional music composer (Musica llanera). any Venezuelan knows who he was, he was and is for us what Caetano is for Brazilians, my favourite song is “Tonada de Luna llena” and I always sing it when is time for me to do my soundcheck. I love how he sang to nature, how he was so connected to the earth, I think we need more of that in pop music.

2. Devendra Banhart, a Venezuelan/ North American singer and songwriter, I was listening to Cibelle, a really cool Brazilian singer, and I found a video of a song called “London, London”, Devendra was covering the song with her and it captured me, that is how I got into Devendra’s music, I love the emotion you can hear in his voice and the soundscapes of his music.

3. Simon Bolivar big band, I clearly remember the first and only time I saw this band performing probably like 10 years ago, it really was life changing, this was at the Teresa Carreño Theatre, it was a completely improvised visit with my dad and we were lucky enough to see them playing. I remember feeling very emotional, I’ve never really pay attention to jazz till that day, the band combines traditional Venezuelan music with jazz, I remember I was like; how is this possible? I’ve never heard something like this before, tambores (Venezuelan traditional percussion) and jazz? boom! my ears definitely opened to something new that day, a lot of things kind of clicked about my roots and music.

4. Arca, (Record producer and performer) Arca’s production is dopeeeeee, he is difficult to classify which I love, his sound is like an electronic slap. I think you have to check him out to understand that you don’t need to understand.

5. Alirio Díaz, classical guitarist and composer, if you like me are not a big fan of guitar the incredible Alirio Díaz will change your mind and make you fall in love with the instrument.

“Guaguancó” will be included on Intaya’s upcoming debut EP Not Your Typical Tropical Dream, which is set for release later this year. Listen to “Guaguancó” below.