Chilean musician (born 1983)
Javiera Alejandra Mena Carrasco (born June 3, 1983) is a Chilean singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer based in Madrid, Spain. She started her musical career in the Chilean indie music scene in 2001 and achieved wider success after the release of her debut studio album "Esquemas Juveniles" (2006). Her musical style tends to be synthesized electronic sound, although in her career beginnings she made acoustic-oriented songs, accompanied solely by guitar.
Life and career.
1983–2003: Early years and career beginnings.
Javiera Mena began performing live at the age of 17. Her first concert was held in a classroom of Juan Gómez Millas Campus at the University of Chile. In 2002, she began to study musical composition and musical arrangement at the music academy ProJazz, while also performing at underground parties and clubs. In 2003 she recorded various demos which leaked to the internet shortly thereafter and spread by her friends. In 2004, she performed outside Chile for the first time, opening for Argentine electropop band Entre Ríos in Buenos Aires.
Between 2003 and 2006, she was also part of the Electropop duet Prissa (formerly "Tele Visa"), along with her friend Francisca Villela. This group released a digital EP entitled "Ni Tú Ni Yo".
2004–2009: "Esquemas Juveniles".
Javiera's first song officially published was "Sol de Invierno", a duet with her friend and singer Gepe which was included in the 2005 compilation album "Panorama Neutral". Another song, "Cámara Lenta", shortly after was included in the soundtrack of Alberto Fuguet’s movie "Se arrienda". Her debut album, "Esquemas Juveniles", was recorded between 2004 and 2005 and it was produced by Cristian Heyne. The album was first released in 2006 in Argentina by an indie label owned by Entre Ríos, and then was released in Chile and Japan through local indie labels. Her music began to achieve attention worldwide mainly because of the internet, especially through sites such as MySpace. This album was later named the second best album of the 2000s by Latin music website Club Fonograma, while its opening track "Al Siguiente Nivel" was named the best song of the decade.
In 2009, Mena performed in Europe for the first time, as being invited by Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience to be their opening act in their concerts held in Spain and Portugal.
2010–2013: "Mena".
After four years of production and mastering, Mena's second studio album, entitled "Mena", was released in October 2010. This album was again produced by Cristian Heyne and took a more dancefloor-oriented style compared to her first work, which was more of a balance between dance with mid-tempo and slow ballads. The album's first single, "Hasta la Verdad", was listed as one of the "Singles of the Week" in the American version of the iTunes Store, and iTunes Mexico named "Mena" as the breakthrough album of the year. Club Fonograma gave "Mena" its first, and to date only, perfect 100 rating, and later named it their 2010 album of the year.
In April 2011, Javiera Mena performed live for the first time at Chilean version of Lollapalooza. In May, she toured in Spain and performed live as one of the first Latin American acts of the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. She was praised for her performance and got the attention of the Spanish local press.
In 2012, Mena was featured in El Guincho's single "Novias".
In March 2013, Mena along with fellow countryman artist Gepe collaborated with Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas for a song entitled "Vuelve".
2014–2016: "Otra Era".
In October 2014, Javiera Mena released her third album, "Otra Era". This album marks the search of the artist for a heavy 1980s disco sound, with a wider use of synthesizers and more danceable beats than her previous work. Also, this stage reflects a bigger interest in the visual aspects of her career regarding music videos and live shows. The first single released was the song "Espada" ("Sword"), released in 2013, whose video (and lyrics) became widely popular due to its references to LGBT community. The video was directed by Luis Cerveró (part of the remarkable visual collective CANADA) and has more than two million views on YouTube and counting.
On the cover of the album "Otra Era", Javiera appears in a black and white picture, wearing Eskimo sunglasses by designer André Courrèges (an item which later became an icon of Javiera) and showing full breasts. The cover was censored by the media and music and streaming services like iTunes and Spotify.
In 2015, she toured in "Otra Era" tour, taking its shows to Spain, Mexico, Peru and Chile.
In 2016, Javiera was invited to participate as a jury in the most popular music festival in Chile, Viña del Mar International Song Festival. She was also invited to play a show at the festival, which was broadcast on national TV and satellite international signal on A&amp;E. Javiera arranged to make a very attractive and spectacular show for the night, including very colorful visuals, fancy garments and a set of numerous female dancers. The show was a gateway for a lot of people in the country (and in Latin America) who didn't know the work of Javiera, and the end of the show she said "I'm very happy to be here. It's very difficult to be an independent artist in Chile, and besides the numbers and sales, I make music because it comes from my soul, from my heart".
2016 marked 10 years of the career of Javiera Mena (since the release of "Esquemas juveniles"), which she celebrated with a commemoration show in Santiago on September of the same year.
2017–2020: "Espejo".
During 2017, Javiera signed a contract with Sony Music, to release a new album. Its first single "Dentro de mi" was showcased at November in Santiago.
Her fourth album called "Espejo" was released in April 2018.
In 2019, Javiera Mena performed at Coachella Music Festival in Indio, CA.
2021–present: "I. Entusiasmo" and "Nocturna".
Javiera released her first digital EP called "I. Entusiasmo" in 2021 with five songs. They all became singles.
As Javiera Mena has been living in Spain for quite a while, she was invited to participate in the inaugural edition of Benidorm Fest 2022, Spain's national selection for the widely-known Eurovision Song Contest. She performed in the second semi-final with her song "Culpa" and earned 50 points, placing 6th and failing to qualify to the final.
Her fifth album, called "Nocturna" was released during October 2022 and she toured Spain, Chile, Argentina and Mexico in an exhausting promotion work.
Artistry.
Early in her career, Spanish "canción melódica" singer Jeanette was one of her biggest influences. While her initial music was indie pop, over the years she evolved towards an electropop sound that has come to define her modern career.
Mena is openly lesbian, which has influenced the content of her music. When asked about her "lesbian influences" in music in a 2019 interview, the singer mentioned the Argentine pop duo of Sandra Mihanovich and Celeste Carballo and their songs "Puerto Pollensa", "Soy lo que soy" and "Mujer contra mujer".
Discography.
Studio albums
EPs
Awards and nominations.
Latin Grammy Awards.
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References.
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