MONTERREY

Synth-pop melodies and chill electronic beats are on the menu for tonight. Local music blog Moonset Records is organizing a free night of live music and DJs at 1306, featuring performances by local act Monterrey and X3SR and DJ sets by Juliette Helen — founder of Moonset Records — and Triangles.

Showtime is 10 p.m., and patrons can enjoy 1306's creative cocktail menu while taking in the locally sourced melodies. The party will also be the kickoff to Moonset's monthly event that will feature up-and-coming live acts from Miami.

Monterrey is Roger del Pino’s chillwave musical outlet, who recently released an '80s-inspired video for his single "Neon" and had a chat with New Times. His music combines retro synths with soft vocals and has a house aftertaste. X3SR is a duo formed by the Seralena brothers, Brandon and Eric, who have been playing their mix of ambient, indie, and electronic compositions around Miami since 2012. - Miami New Times

In his school days at Florida International University, Roger del Pino fancied himself a video artist. So it was only a matter of time before his electro-musical alter ego, Monterrey, released a video for one of his songs. The result, the video for the track "Neon," is a kaleidoscopic trip with the color palette of a lost episode of Miami Vice in which Don Johnson ingests some weird drugs.
"I'd been talking with the director Caro about doing it since September," del Pino tells New Times on a Friday night after work. "I wanted it to be a throwback because of the name 'Neon' to 1980s Miami. Caro then threw a sci-fi element into it."

The video was filmed at the Miami Princess Hotel in one day. "We shot it in four or five hours. It's a motel that you can rent hourly, and we chose the disco-themed room." After months of postproduction with all of the video's special effects, Monterrey, who got the name after del Pino saw a photograph of the beautiful Mexican city by that name, was able to drop the video shortly after the new year. "I rented out a gallery space in the Little River Arts District and had a video-release party. We were able to re-create the motel room in the space. I thought it was all received well."

As for the rest of 2017, del Pino wants to get more comfortable being in the spotlight. "I started writing music and tried to have girls sing for me, but that didn't work out the way I wanted." So instead, del Pino takes the stage armed with a couple of synthesizers. His friend Oscar Sardinia plays guitar. You'll have a chance to see how his brand of chillwave translates in a live setting January 27 at the Bar at 1306.
"After that show, I think I'm really going to try to hunker down and create another EP," he says. After enjoying the process and the result of making the video for "Neon," he says he'll add a new element to his future songwriting. "I've always had images in my mind, but, yeah, I think I'll have videos in mind when I write these next songs." - Miami New Times

Producers often rely on collaboration. Some of the biggest dance hits of the past millennium feature guest vocalists. But sometimes, waiting around for others to help you achieve your dreams no longer makes sense.

For Monterrey, a Miami-based producer with a lengthy resumé in the city's music scene, that time came when plans to create a new sound featuring a female lead vocalist fell through.
"I was looking around for vocalists, and I'd rewrite songs — there were just lots of delays," Monterrey, whose real name is Roger Del Pino, says.

He was left with a choice — scrap the project or take center stage.
After more than a decade navigating the obstacle course that is the Miami music scene, Monterrey had grown accustomed to playing his part behind the scenes. Whether we like to admit it or not, a tentative sense of comfort comes with having someone else to blame when ideas aren't perfectly executed. A producer can step back with less fear of reproach from an angry audience or faceless commenters on YouTube. But to throw one's likeness into the spotlight as producer and performer is something rarely done at all and especially hard to nail gracefully.

But without a lead vocalist who made sense, Del Pino had to take matters into his own hands. Some months later, he now finds himself gearing up for the release of a two-song solo EP titled Neon.
The title track, "Neon," plays like an ode to hazy streetlights and kinetic energy. It's the kind of song best served blaring out of a car's speakers on a late-night drive to nowhere in particular, when the air is a bit crisper than normal and thoughts seem a bit clearer.
"When I finished the song, I took a ride in my car so I could feel what it was like — the movement in it — all of the spinning," Del Pino remembers.

"Neon" is lo-fi and contemporary by design, with faint traces of the childhood soundtrack that served as a backdrop to many Miami childhoods just like his.
"I grew up in Miami, and that electronic influence was always there in our music — from freestyle to the booty bass I'd hear at the skate rink. But now I'm incorporating parts of those sounds and giving them a modern twist."

Track 2, "Round and Round," is a dance-floor-ready track, but underneath the synth-heavy surface lies a deep undercurrent of longing. It's a glimpse into the vulnerability that either stops artists dead in their tracks or inspires their greatest work.
" 'Round and Round' is actually older than 'Neon,' " Del Pino says, pausing to gather his thoughts. "I've been making music since I was 16, but it's always been as producer, coproducer. I kind of liked to be behind the scenes." The transition has been an adjustment, but Del Pino has worked through it creatively. "['Round and Round'] was my way of dealing with the shortcomings that came with trying to find my voice musically, at a time when I felt I was falling short."
The two-track EP is slated to drop Sunday, September 25, and will be accompanied by a music video for its title track as well as a to-be-announced release party. After years in bands, behind the boards, and battling to find the right soundscape, Del Pino is ready to take his act to the main stage.

"I'm in the rehearsal phase for these songs, and since the songs are so heavy on production, I'm learning how to translate them into a great live show." He takes a second, as if reminiscing about a bygone era. "I love dance music, but my background is in rock, and I feel like there's always something missing at a lot of electronic shows — that live element — so I'm looking to find that middle ground for my own shows." - Miami New Times

Miami artist Monterrey is getting ready to release his debut 2 track EP entitled Neon today (9/25) and it is smoking! Some amazing synthwave sounds which I can easily picture being played on a show like Stranger Things or the movie Drive, particularly the tilte track "Neon". All you retrowave lovers like myself are gonna love it!

Check out "Neon" and "Round and Round" below. You can also check out his tunes on spotify or purchase them on iTunes or bandcamp. - Off The Radar | blog