Video: "Mundo Verde/Green World" - Mister G (World Premiere and Interview!)

One of the kids musicians who most successfully employs a bilingual approach in his music is the Massachusetts-based (most of the time) Ben Gundersheimer, or as lots of kids know him, Mister G. Over the course of seven albums, his music's become more complex, taking on the flavor of Latin American sounds and rhythms. Lyrically, he easily moves between English and Spanish (and back... and back again).

On his forthcoming eighth album for kids, Mundo Verde / Green World, Mister G takes those multicultural rhythms and lyrics in service of environmental concerns. All of which could be dull, but watch this new video for the album's title track, filled with a bunch of skilled instrumentalists who happen to be animals and slick kinetic typography, and I'm pretty sure your mood will lift as you bop along. (The illustrator in charge? Marcos Almada Rivero.)

After you watch the video, make sure you scroll down further for a quick, bonus interview with Mister G about the motivation for the album, memories from recording it, and more about his upcoming book series with Penguin Random House!

Mundo Verde / Green World (the album) is out September 15, 2017.

Mister G - "Mundo Verde/Green World" [YouTube]

Zooglobble: What motivated you to make a “green”-themed album now?

Mister G: Mundo Verde/Green World is my eighth album for children and families, but I've been writing about nature and eco-activism from the beginning. My first CD actually had several songs with explicit environmental themes ("Don't Waste Stuff" "Mister Chubby Pants" "Squirrels"). To me, there is no issue more important than working together to protect this one and only planet we share. Now more than ever, I think it's important that we inspire kids and families to enjoy the beauty of nature, but also to do all we can to insure a healthy green world for future generations.

Any favorite memories from the recording process?

That's a tough one! I was incredibly fortunate to record with so many phenomenal Latin musicians all over the world on this project. If I had to pick one experience, it would be recording the song "Gozar/Enjoy" in the Dominican Republic with the great merengue band, 440. It was an unforgettable experience to work with these great artists (and wonderful people) in their studio in Santo Domingo.

How do you pick animators for your videos?

We love working with our talented friends from different parts of the world. Many of our videos ("The Bossy E", "Cocodrilo", "Siete Elefantes") have been done by a great husband/wife team of Argentinians who are based in Barcelona. The "Mundo Verde/Green World" video was made by our friends in Oaxaca, Mexico. The illustrator, Marcos Almada Rivero, created the beautiful art for our last two albums, "Los Animales" and "Mundo Verde/Green World."

What can we expect from the books you’re creating?

The books we have coming out through Penguin Random House are based on my songs. In each case, I adapted the original song and created more of a narrative. The first book, "Señorita Mariposa," is about a monarch butterfly who is flying from the US to her winter home in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. Happy to announce that Marcos Almada Rivero is illustrating the book!

Itty-Bitty Review: Put Our Heads Together - Hot Peas 'N Butter

Hot Peas 'N Butter - Put Our Heads Together album cover

For about a decade now, the New York-based group Hot Peas 'N Butter have turned out a half-dozen albums of original music most distinctively characterized by a blend of sounds that I'd describe as global in nature.

Their latest album, Put Our Heads Together -- their seventh -- continues in that vein, lending a sound to kids music that is still somewhat unique. While many other artists tackle a range of styles on a single album, and a handful like Dan Zanes or Mista Cookie Jar or Secret Agent 23 Skidoo will sometimes mix disparate styles on a single song, Danny Lapidus and his band really do blend Latin rhythm, bilingual lyrics, and modern global pop sounds together to create a bright sound.

This new album features uplifting, feel-good lyrics to go along with those bright sounds. Tracks like album opener "Amistad," a duet with Dan Zanes, feature lyrics in Spanish and English that neatly illustrate the theme of friendship (which is what "Amistad" means in Spanish). "Magic Elevator" weaves in an elevator "door-opening" sound into its story of a globe-trotting elevator. "Colores" is another winning pop song. And it's one of the better kids' albums at incorporating a kids' chorus with out getting too Kidz Bop-py. I didn't think the album worked as well, though, when the lyrics were too on the nose -- "No Bullies" is too didactic for my tastes, and "Fresh Spokes" jams bike safety tips into a perfectly good song about the diversity of experience.

The 41-minute album will be most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 10. Lapidus and crew write an effective pop song with a distinctive sound that's still somewhat rare in the kindie scene. Put Our Heads Together isn't perfect, but there are enough tracks with a fresh, positive sound -- the majority of them, really -- to merit a spin. Recommended.

Note: I received a copy of this album for possible review.

Interview: Andrés Salguero

Andrés Salguero isn't the only musician making music for families in both English and Spanish, but his route to that calling might be more unusual than most. The South American-born musician made his way to the United States playing clarinet, and while he couldn't have anticipated making music for families as a career, he had recorded a kids' album long before he even moved to America.

I chatted with Salguero about his childhood, his entry into making kids music Dino O'Dell in Kansas City, how kids' musicians can have a long-term impact, and the dual nature of his audiences.

Zooglobble: What are your first musical memories?

Andrés Salguero: Singing and dancing… seeing my dad play guitar around the house. When I was six, I joined a folkloric group, a dancing and singing group. I made lots of friends in that. When I was 8, it was led by a famous writer, and she teamed up with a song writer and recorded an album. It was fun, but as a child, everything was new.

You grew up in Colombia -- how did you make it to Kansas City?

I got my Bachelors' degree in Colombia, and looked at options for my Masters' degree. Lots of those in the arts in Colombia look to Europe and America for those sorts of advanced degrees. So I sent in my tapes of clarinet performance to universities and got a full ride for a Masters in Fayetteville, Arkansas. From there, I applied and got into the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and over six years got my Doctorate.

You got your start playing kids music with Dino O'Dell -- how did that happen?

In Fayetteville, it's 12% Hispanic. I played with Pablo Salveza, he played salsa, merengue, bachata. He was Chilean, the singer was from Cuba, some musicians were from Puerto Rico. It was different, because in Colombia, there were not so many different styles and backgrounds.

I was playing with Pat Conway who came in from Kansas City. He played with Dino and asked me to fill in for him [Pat] at a gig. I remember meeting Dino for the first time while Pat was playing at a salsa gig at a beautiful outdoor venue.

At that point, I'd already written some children's music, but working with [Dino] really got me into the scene. From him I understood the need for interaction and how to play with kids.

What made you want to play for kids full time?

I was always torn between playing my own music and that of others. I was always interested in creative writing -- I won a music composition award in 2000. Since then, I wanted to express myself, my own songs.

A few years ago, a relative of someone I was dating asked how I'd make a living do this. And I said "play my own music."

Did you read that piece on being a kids' musician by the member of The Que Pastas?

I did.

I liked that. You have to deal with the nicest people -- librarians, people who adore you, students. Classical music is very competitive. I play very specialized music -- contemporary avant-garde music. I'd go to festivals and see the same people. Fifty, two hundred people competing for the same spot.

This seemed like a viable way to make a career. It was also very important to me to reflect my own culture, represent my country and help others have a pleasant experience with another culture.

I understand why some people have fear of another culture, fear of the unknown. I wanted to introduce people to it in a friendly way.

Was that -- the desire to share culture -- something new?

Yes. In Colombia, I played folk music, but I also had a rock band, playing the Clash and the Sex Pistols. But moving here was a cultural shock, so I became interested in cultural identity. In Kansas City, for example, I produced a play with a playwright on the topic.

Coming here, I realized I was different. Colombia was homogenous, but here, people are different.

What were you trying to accomplish with the new CD?

I wanted to represent different aspects of Latino culture in the United States -- not just bringing folk music here, but music like mariachi. Salsa -- a big part of that came out of New York City, one of the big record labels was founded by an Italian-American. Bachata -- love songs -- came out of the Dominican Republic, but the biggest artists are born in New York, in Washington Heights, and Manhattan).

There's also a theme of multiculturalism, cross-cultural acceptance. Some songs straight-forward, like "Hola, Amigo" -- "let's all be friends." "My Friend Manuel" tells the a story from someone here experiencing a new culture, different way of viewing the world. "Nuestra Fiesta," or "our party," says there's plenty of space, everyone's welcome.

What kind of audience do you typically get at your show? Because sometimes the kindie concert scene can be… pretty Caucasian.

Very varied... you know, kids are honest, lots of kids with rich parents, lots with poor parents. Sometimes at a show kids will come up to me and say, "My parents are from Colombia!" Yesterday I was at a posh private school playing a show, and one child came up and said, "Hey, my au pair is from Colmbia!" Some kids feel validated by seeing me up there.

The rest is to bring a cultural experience -- we practice Spanish, show off this fun culture. There's a lot of interest in bilingual schools, a parent told me there's a waitlist of 800 families for one school. The fact that there's a broad interest, that's good. There's this Korean kid, he's come to 5 shows, knows some of the songs -- that's awesome!

There's still racism and prejudice -- I remember an ATM in Kansas City where somebody had scratched off the Spanish text. So some people hate it, but hate comes from fear. I can never change that person's mind, but hopefully I can do that for a kid.

Quick story: I'm trying to get some t-shirts and merchandise printed, and the person who I'm working with told me, "Hey, Barry Louis Polisar came to my elementary school, and seeing him changed my life." You don't know what kind of impact you can have.

What's coming up next for you?

I'm going to Boston to play there for the first time next week. I'm having a guest performance with Jazzy Ash, and meeting more friends in the kindie scene generally. I'm going to play La Casa Azul in New York City for the Latin Alternative Music Conference, and they're going to have a family stage for the first time. And I'm going to Tulsa for a week.

I'm also going to do a full Spanish version of my CD. I couldn't do the album in just Spanish before. Now I'm going to do this version not just as a translation, but as sort of the "negative" of the original, so "My Friend Manuel" becomes "Mi Amigo Paul," told from the point of view of the Spanish-speaking kid who moves in whose new neighbor Paul can only speak English.

Video: "Cocodrilo" - Mister G

Bilingualism for kids is so 2011, right? It's all about design literacy, amiright?

Wait. Are you telling me that bilingualism is still in for kids? But design literacy is too, I swear.

Thank goodness for Mister G, who lets both types of literacy have their day with his new video for "Cocodrilo." The fun design is courtesy of director Leo Antolini and animator Andrea Cingolani. Kinetic bilingual typography for the win!

Mister G - "Cocodrilo" [YouTube]