motel void

Alec André is the solo project of Mexican-American singer/songwriter and artist Alec André Ruvalcaba. Hailing from the vibrant bordertown of Nogales, Arizona, André embodies the unique fusion of Latin and American cultures. Alec André is an artist who seamlessly blends diverse musical influences into a bilingual project that reflects the crossover between two traditions.

MOTEL VOID: How does your upbringing in the border town of Nogales influence the fusion of Latin and American cultures in your music?

ALEC ANDRÉ: Growing up in a border town is truly such a unique experience. I didn’t fully grasp and appreciate it until I left. Having the ability and privilege to constantly cross between two countries with ease was amazing, cultures, traditions, and languages merged into one, they transcended the border wall separating these two places. I think the most obvious impact it had on my music has to do with how I write songs in English and in Spanish, sometimes even having both languages in the same song. This really reflects how normalized, and how much a part of daily life it is, in Nogales, to constantly switch between languages and combine the both into its own language, Spanglish.

When it comes to genre and style, I really wanted the music to reflect both my Latin and American influences. I grew up listening to Mariachi, Boleros, Rock en Espanol, and Cumbia at family gatherings, connecting through music while cooking and singing together was a big part of growing up. I would find my dads CD’s and cassettes in the garage and spend hours listening to the beautiful combination of INXS and Marco Antonio Solis in the heat. Once I started public school I started discovering classic 60’s pop groups like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Kinks, and The Beach Boys and became obsessed.

Here’s a moment that really captures what I am trying to embody with my songs. I remember when I was 10 or 11 years old I would spend afternoons after school at my grandparents house. I was deep in a mid afternoon nap when I was woken up by a song coming from the kitchen, while my grandma prepared dinner. I woke up because I immediately recognized the guitar riff, it was ‘And I Love Her’ by The Beatles, except it wasn’t! Once the vocals came in they were in Spanish and the lyrics were different, it was the song ‘Y la Quiero’ by borderland supergroup Los Apson. That was the first time I had heard pop music I recognized in the language my family spoke.

MOTEL VOID: What genres and musical traditions are blended in your upcoming debut EP Holy Dream?

ALEC ANDRÉ: Definitely the music I mentioned before. However, I got really into Bossa Nova, Samba, And music from South America. I became obsessed with the rhythms and delicate vocals you find in these Songwriters. I’ve got a bilingual Samba/Bolero song with ‘Casualidad’, a Folk-Rock tune with ‘Holy Dream’, reminiscent of the 60’s troubadours. I’ve got two minimal acoustic songs with ‘Brillo’ and ‘Tanto’ that reflect those intimate and subtle melodies commonly found with the psych songwriters from Brazil. I wanted Congas, Cabasa, Nylon guitars, Shekere, twangy electric guitars, Pedal Steel, Hammond B3, Synthesizers and wurlies. I wanted to make an EP that felt dynamic, multi-faceted, and that felt like a kaleidoscope of sounds, genres, and languages.

I made a playlist that serves as a mood board and has a lot of the songs I was listening to and felt inspired by at the time of recording and writing the EP.

MOTEL VOID: Can you describe the creative process behind Holy Dream and how the residency at Rancho Linda Vista shaped its sound?

ALEC ANDRÉ: Having a whole month to just focus on making music was a novel and life changing experience for me. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity, I am so thankful for Alex, Austin, Francis, the Rancho Linda Vista Community, and Music Sounds Records, for making this month happen. I wrote all of these songs on my Nylon string guitar and had very little idea of which direction I should go with them, I just knew that they felt good and finished when I played them alone. I came into the studio with just my acoustic, in the studio we would get together with drums, bass, and sometimes a wurly, and start building on the songs that way. I wanted them to feel organic and like there were just a bunch of musicians in a room playing together, which is what we did. Oracle Recording Studio is all analog, recording straight to tape really made every decision feel intentional and gives the EP this raw, imperfect, and classic feel. The Owner/Producer Austin Owen really has his sound down and really knows his way around his space, he really facilitated bringing these songs to life, along with the rest of the musicians who all left a little part of themselves in these songs. It was a truly collaborative effort that resonated with how I wanted this record to feel and sound. The process is very reminiscent of how records were being made in the 60’s and 70’s.

MOTEL VOID: Who or what is your biggest inspiration at the moment?

ALEC ANDRÉ: At the moment I have been finding a lot of inspiration in human connection, change, and in how inconsistent and ever changing daily life is. It feels like all I’ve been doing since I recorded the EP in March is transitioning, like I’m in a never ending state of transition! There’s a certain fear and excitement that comes from all of the uncertainty I’ve been facing, which certainly makes great fuel for creativity. I have been finding a lot of inspiration in the city of Tucson itself. I go on these long walks and run into gorgeous churches, beautiful flowers, I see friends and we have the best interactions, I talk to strangers who I’ll probably never see again, it’s so great and inspiring to see other humans just living. I’ve also been painting, writing and reading a lot of poetry by Mary Oliver and Miguel Hernandez.

Songs that have been inspiring me lately and have been the soundtrack to my life are ‘Where Do You Go to (My Lovely)’ by Peter Sarstedt, ‘I Want You’ by Bob Dylan, ‘My Love’ by Sam Burton, ‘Amour toujours, tendresse caresse’ by Jacques Dutronc, and ‘Carolina’ by Caetano Veloso.

MOTEL VOID: Do you have any shows planned for the rest of the year?

ALEC ANDRÉ: Yes! I am currently working on booking a southwest tour of the US so be on the lookout!