Believe the hype: Eljuri is one of the world’s best guitarists. Born in Ecuador, raised in New York City, she is also a powerful voice calling out violence, injustice, and prejudice in the US, at a time when such voices are desperately needed. An award-winning songwriter and frequent protest singer, Eljuri “bounces confidently between fiery Santana-esque rock, reggae, Motown pop, and Cuban dance rhythms,” (Village Voice) weaving in a hearty dose of rhythms from around the world in the process.

Now, after years of regular touring in the Americas, she is bringing her signature take planet-spanning rock to the UK, to celebrate her new global partnership with UK-based Anara Publishing and her ongoing ties to the Gibson guitar family. On June 28, 2018, Eljuri will give an intimate performance at the storied Gibson showroom in central London. The venue, which has witnessed landmark shows by everyone from Slash to Amy Winehouse, will bring a select audience to hear a rare solo performance of Eljuri’s songs from her recent album, La Lucha.

The energy that fires the current mood of resistance and yearning for a different future in America has fired Eljuri since her days in the New York post-punk scene. “I use my own perspective to speak to bigger issues and movements I see around me, in the US and Latin America,” explains Eljuri. “Music can motivate and unite, and I want to give people reason to push forward.”

Eljuri speaks out against gun violence (“Bang Bang”) and made her anthems of pride and rebellion (“La Lucha”) integral parts of the Women’s Marches in her hometown. Her collaboration with Anara marks the next stage on this journey, as the publishers will advocate to bring her unique voice into more places.

Along with the message is a strong dose of craft and musicianship, playing that can run the gamut from shredding to delicate acoustic reflection. Gibson has been at the heart of this side of Eljuri’s career for a decade, as she has been a member of the Gibson family and a huge fan of the company’s electric and acoustic guitars. “The attraction to Gibson started a long time ago. A Les Paul in your hands feels like butter. It’s heavy and has sustain for days. It oozes melody, and my solos tend to emphasize melody over speed,” says Eljuri. “It’s also a beautiful shape that makes sense.”

Cecilia Villar Eljuri is a triple threat: She’s an accomplished songwriter, a great vocalist, and one hell of a guitar player. --NPR’s Alt.Latino

About Anara Publishing:

Anara Publishing is an independent music publisher headquartered in the UK and with offices in India. Representing an eclectic roster of artists and composers from around the globe, they ensure that their catalogue collects the publishing royalties it is entitled to. They also offer sync licensing opportunities for their roster, providing cutting edge music to media projects such as film, television and advertising.

Anara Publishing began working with Eljuri after meeting with her label and management team at WOMEX in 2017. When first hearing her music, they were impressed with the power of her voice and uplifting guitar rhythms and immediately knew that she would add a uniqueness to their roster. With their connections within the sync side of the music industry, they are able to bring Eljuri's music across the pond and promote her sound to music supervisors based in the UK, Europe and beyond.

About Gibson:

Gibson Brands was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Next to the #1 guitar brand, Gibson, the company’s family of brands includes Epiphone and KRK Systems. Gibson’s London Entertainment Relations showroom is responsible for all brand building activities. This includes artist relations, product visibility in film/tv/commercials, strategic marketing partnerships, lifestyle PR, and content creation.

“Eljuri plays ferocious, brilliantly guitar-driven, fearlessly populist rock en Español." –NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY

“No doubt, the activist Eljuri raises awareness about the themes that she weaves through her songs . . .  she motivates us to defend our rights and speak up in the face of injustice.” –REVISTA GM5

Eljuri has been invited by Futuro Libre and Lula Lounge to perform in their showcase, ‘Spanglish Canada’ on Wednesday May 9th during Canadian Music Week 2018 in Toronto. Canada has welcomed and celebrated Eljuri and her music since her debut live performance at the Luminato Festival in 2015.

The Eljuri power-trio (Cecilia Villar Eljuri, lead vocals, guitar; Alex Alexander, drums; Winston Roye, bass) will share many favorite songs from all three of her albums including her latest single, 'Sálvame’ which showcases all that Eljuri’s music is and represents. The song blends her two spoken tongues English and Spanish and fuses her musical styles from Anglo rock funk to Latino son cubano rhythms. Eljuri describes that, "Life and our love for one another will save us and can lift us out of the mire we currently find ourselves in.” She shares that the electric guitar solo she plays on ‘Sálvame’ is among her very favorites from her album, ‘La Lucha’.

Female artists of different origins and musical styles are represented at ‘Spanglish Canada’ and throughout Canadian Music Week. Along with 45 of the world’s largest and most influential music festivals and conferences, CMW has partnered with PRS Keychange and committed to achieving gender parity including in live line-ups, conferences and commissions by 2022. “At Canadian Music Week, we have always strived to create diverse programming that is reflective of both audience interest and the current landscape of the industry.” – Neill Dixon, Canadian Music Week

Futuro Libre & Lula Lounge present

Spanglish Canada

May 9, 2018

Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON M6K 1T9

Doors 6pm / Show 7pm / Eljuri 9pm

featuring Canadian artists: Okan, New Tradition Music, Los Poetas, The Mariachi Ghost,
International guest artist: Eljuri

$10 or free with CMW Badge

cmw.net/music/artists/eljuri/ 

www.facebook.com/events/319558888574729/

Manovill Records and Anara Publishing present the European Debut of Eljuri and her Songs

“Cecilia Villar Eljuri is a triple threat: She's an accomplished songwriter, a great vocalist and one hell of a guitar player.” – NPR MUSIC, Alt-Latino

Manovill Records presents a private event at the iconic Gibson Showroom in London, England focusing on the artist, Cecilia Villar Eljuri, her songs, socially conscious message and guitar prowess in order to introduce her to British/European World Music media. Anara Publishing, Eljuri’s new worldwide publishing partner will give industry partners this chance to get to know the celebrated musician and her songs in an intimate setting.

Thursday June 28, 2018
The Gibson Brands Studio
61 – 62 Eastcastle Street, London, W1W 8NQ
Doors 7:00pm
Eljuri solo showcase 7:30pm

RSVP: Ron Kadish, Rock Paper Scissors, ron@rockpaperscissors.biz

eljuri.rockpaperscissors.biz/

www.eljurimusic.com

CONTACT

Management and US / Canada / European booking:

Alexandra Gatje, Manovill Records

tel: 917.744.9464  |  alex@eljurimusic.com

US / Canada / Europe World Music media:

Ron Kadish, Rock Paper Scissors,  ron@rockpaperscissors.biz

US / Canada Latin media:

Elena Rodrigo, The Music Joint, tel: 818.509.7782, erodrigo@themusicjointgroup.com

Mexico booking and media:

Monica Frias Gil, Verbigracia, tel: 011 5255.4752.7796, monica@verbigracia.com.mx

South America booking and media:

Natalia Huertas, The Music Joint, tel: +57 319.693.99.92, natalia@themusicjointgroup.com

Singer-songwriter, guitarist and ‘artivist’ Cecilia Villar Eljuri releases her powerful new music video, BangBang. Witnessing the chaos and brutality inflicted on citizens across the globe motivated Eljuri to write this anti-gun violence song.

“The production is artful: lingering reverb-toned ambience behind the scratchy rhythm guitar… an upbeat reggae groove for the brassy anti-violence anthem ‘BangBang,’ – Delarue, New York Music Daily

From the riots in Ferguson to the mass shootings in Paris and countless cases of police brutality, Eljuri bears witness and asks how many more souls must be offered up to this indignity. She raises her voice in protest while wielding her strongest weapon, the guitar. The lilting rhythm of reggae in ‘BangBang’ merges with bursts of ska showing off Eljuri’s guitar prowess, accompanied by classic Jamaican bass and percussive styling by Tracy Wormworth and Alex Alexander.

“No matter what you listen to, it’s hard not to get taken in by one of the signature tracks on ‘La Lucha’ ‘Bang Bang,’ which ends with a stark recitation of the cities recently affected by gun violence. ‘When I was writing that song, it kept haunting me and, frankly, since I recorded it, there have been more (cities), which is insane,’ she said. ‘It’s a modern day crisis that we’re going through and I just want to bring that to light.’ Then again, that’s always been the point of Eljuri’s music — not just to entertain, but inform.” – Thomas Gerbasi, K063 Music

The creative video team of Kristian Austin and Olga Mazurkiewicz (Queen City Films / ZCollective) were tapped to direct, film and produce the performance video ‘BangBang’ under the executive production of Alexandra Gatje from Manovill Records. The video stars Cecilia Villar Eljuri on vocals and guitar, Alex Alexander on drums and Johnny Pisano on bass.

Hot News: Eljuri’s song BangBang, was just selected as a winner of the John Lennon International Songwriting Contest (World), September 2017. BangBang is the third single from Eljuri’s critically acclaimed album ‘La Lucha’ released by Manovill Records. Born in Ecuador, raised in NYC, Eljuri is touted as one of the top Latina guitarists in the world and has been a member of the Gibson family of guitarists since 2008. Eljuri navigates through musical landscapes ranging from rock, funk, bolero, reggae, and Afro-Cuban rhythms, all presented with an elegant and empowered female voice. She tours internationally as a power trio, performing her infectious grooves, spreading her uplifting message, and affecting positive social change.

ELJURI LIVE Concert to Benefit NYCLU at DROM NYC - September 20, 2017

As an ‘artivist’ deeply connected to her immigrant experience, Eljuri performs this timely benefit concert in support of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) whose work includes providing support and legal advice to immigrants. In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage month, the benefit concert will be held on Wednesday September 20, 2017 at Drom, 85 Avenue A in New York City’s East Village. Doors: 6:00pm  /  Ani Cordero: 6:30pm  /  Eljuri: 7:15pm

Tickets: www.ticketfly.com/event/1550061-eljuri-new-york/

Eljuri is honored to donate 100% of her proceeds from this concert to the NYCLU.

ELJURI LIVE at The Atlantic Antic, Brooklyn, NY - September 24, 2017
The Brooklyn Commons welcomes Eljuri and her percussionist, Alex Alexander to perform at the 43rd Annual Atlantic Antic. They will perform two sets from 3:30 to 5:30pm, Sunday September 24, 2017 at 388 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. The Atlantic Antic™ is a living tribute to the myriad of heritages that coexist in Brooklyn. Brooklyn’s largest festival transforms Atlantic Avenue into a sea of free entertainment offering something for everyone. 

BangBang: Stop and Listen. Spread the Word! #GunsDown #LaLucha

Eljuri: BangBang (Official Music Video) https://youtu.be/OjNbxwObAcs

www.eljurimusic.com

Video Credits:

BangBang

Eljuri

Lyrics and Music: Cecilia Villar Eljuri (BMI)

Direction and Cinematography

Kristian Austin / Olga Mazurkiewicz

Produced by

Queen City Films / ZCollective

Executive Producer

Alexandra Gatje / Manovill Records

Featuring

in the video:

Cecilia Villar Eljuri: Vocals, Guitar

Alex Alexander: Drums

Johnny Pisano: Bass

in the recording:

Cecilia Villar Eljuri: Vocals, harmonies, electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizer, midi-horns

Alex Alexander: Drums and percussion

Tracy Wormworth: Bass

©2017 Manovill Records

###

CONTACT

Management and US and Canada booking:

Alexandra Gatje, Manovill Records

tel: 917.744.9464  |  alex@eljurimusic.com

US and Canada media:

(Latin) Elena Rodrigo, The Music Joint, tel: 818.509.7782, erodrigo@themusicjointgroup.com

(World) Ron Kadish, Rock Paper Scissors, tel: 812.339.1195, ron@rockpaperscissors.biz

Mexico booking and media:

Monica Frias Gil, Verbigracia, tel: 011 5255.4752.7796, monica@verbigracia.com.mx

South America booking and media:

Natalia Huertas, The Music Joint, tel: +57 319.693.99.92, natalia@themusicjointgroup.com

Singer-songwriter, guitarist and ‘artivist’ Cecilia Villar Eljuri releases her powerful new music video, BangBang. Witnessing the chaos and brutality inflicted on citizens across the globe motivated Eljuri to write this anti-gun violence song.

Video: youtu.be/OjNbxwObAcs

“The production is artful: lingering reverb-toned ambience behind the scratchy rhythm guitar… an upbeat reggae groove for the brassy anti-violence anthem ‘BangBang,’ – Delarue, New York Music Daily

From the riots in Ferguson to the mass shootings in Paris and countless cases of police brutality, Eljuri bears witness and asks how many more souls must be offered up to this indignity. She raises her voice in protest while wielding her strongest weapon, the guitar. The lilting rhythm of reggae in ‘BangBang’ merges with bursts of ska showing off Eljuri’s guitar prowess, accompanied by classic Jamaican bass and percussive styling by Tracy Wormworth and Alex Alexander.

“No matter what you listen to, it’s hard not to get taken in by one of the signature tracks on ‘La Lucha’ ‘Bang Bang,’ which ends with a stark recitation of the cities recently affected by gun violence. ‘When I was writing that song, it kept haunting me and, frankly, since I recorded it, there have been more (cities), which is insane,’ she said. ‘It’s a modern day crisis that we’re going through and I just want to bring that to light.’ Then again, that’s always been the point of Eljuri’s music — not just to entertain, but inform.” – Thomas Gerbasi, K063 Music

The creative video team of Kristian Austin and Olga Mazurkiewicz (Queen City Films / ZCollective) were tapped to direct, film and produce the performance video ‘BangBang’ under the executive production of Alexandra Gatje from Manovill Records. The video stars Cecilia Villar Eljuri on vocals and guitar, Alex Alexander on drums and Johnny Pisano on bass.

Hot News: Eljuri’s song BangBang, was just selected as a winner of the John Lennon International Songwriting Contest (World), September 2017. BangBang is the third single from Eljuri’s critically acclaimed album ‘La Lucha’ released by Manovill Records. Born in Ecuador, raised in NYC, Eljuri is touted as one of the top Latina guitarists in the world and has been a member of the Gibson family of guitarists since 2008. Eljuri navigates through musical landscapes ranging from rock, funk, bolero, reggae, and Afro-Cuban rhythms, all presented with an elegant and empowered female voice. She tours internationally as a power trio, performing her infectious grooves, spreading her uplifting message, and affecting positive social change.

ELJURI LIVE Concert to Benefit NYCLU at DROM NYC - September 20, 2017

As an ‘artivist’ deeply connected to her immigrant experience, Eljuri performs this timely benefit concert in support of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) whose work includes providing support and legal advice to immigrants. In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage month, the benefit concert will be held on Wednesday September 20, 2017 at Drom, 85 Avenue A in New York City’s East Village. Doors: 6:00pm  /  Ani Cordero: 6:30pm  /  Eljuri: 7:15pm

Tickets: www.ticketfly.com/event/1550061-eljuri-new-york/

Eljuri is honored to donate 100% of her proceeds from this concert to the NYCLU.

ELJURI LIVE at The Atlantic Antic, Brooklyn, NY - September 24, 2017
The Brooklyn Commons welcomes Eljuri and her percussionist, Alex Alexander to perform at the 43rd Annual Atlantic Antic. They will perform two sets from 3:30 to 5:30pm, Sunday September 24, 2017 at 388 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. The Atlantic Antic™ is a living tribute to the myriad of heritages that coexist in Brooklyn. Brooklyn’s largest festival transforms Atlantic Avenue into a sea of free entertainment offering something for everyone. 

BangBang: Stop and Listen. Spread the Word! #GunsDown #LaLucha

Eljuri: BangBang (Official Music Video) https://youtu.be/OjNbxwObAcs

www.eljurimusic.com

Video Credits: BangBang Eljuri

Lyrics and Music: Cecilia Villar Eljuri (BMI)

Direction and Cinematography

Kristian Austin / Olga Mazurkiewicz

Produced by Queen City Films / ZCollective

Executive Producer

Alexandra Gatje / Manovill Records

Featuring in the video:

Cecilia Villar Eljuri: Vocals, Guitar

Alex Alexander: Drums

Johnny Pisano: Bass in the recording:

Cecilia Villar Eljuri: Vocals, harmonies, electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizer, midi-horns

Alex Alexander: Drums and percussion

Tracy Wormworth: Bass

©2017 Manovill Records

CONTACT

Management and US and Canada booking:

Alexandra Gatje, Manovill Records

tel: 917.744.9464  |  alex@eljurimusic.com

US and Canada media:

(Latin) Elena Rodrigo, The Music Joint, tel: 818.509.7782, erodrigo@themusicjointgroup.com

(World) Ron Kadish, Rock Paper Scissors, tel: 812.339.1195, ron@rockpaperscissors.biz

Mexico booking and media:

Monica Frias Gil, Verbigracia, tel: 011 5255.4752.7796, monica@verbigracia.com.mx

South America booking and media:

Natalia Huertas, The Music Joint, tel: +57 319.693.99.92, natalia@themusicjointgroup.com

A compulsive genre fuser, Eljuri would disappear for days at a time, ducking into her home studio and losing herself in arrangements. “No one could find me,” she laughs. “I would spend hours adding horns or strings. I was trying to push myself, to add texture and to make my sound bigger and more cinematic.”

For an electric guitarist in love with the Cuban tres, for a Latina raised in Manhattan in a tight-knit family of artists, it was a logical next move. From raw-edged rock through alt-Latin exploration, Eljuri has found ever tighter songs, with an increasingly expansive feel and perspective that burst through on La Lucha (release: October 14, 2016).

“Musically, it was incredible, the different influences, from my parents, who brought us to New York City from Ecuador, and from my friends on the street,” reflects Eljuri. “I always liked the rawness of styles like punk, but I also wanted that musicality that respected the artform.”

That respect blossoms into songs that are both hooky and nuanced, including a reimagined version of a tango her mother released on 78 (“Indiferencia”) and a collaboration with reggae icons Sly & Robbie (“Quiero Saber”). Eljuri’s guitar work, so strong critics have dubbed her “Carlita” with a hat tip to Santana, stretches out, finding a balance of melodic and rhythmic moments, for a sound that’s potent yet reflective.

“I wanted to get more into my Lebanese roots,” inherited from her mother, “and to let the Latin side rip more,” Eljuri says.

{full story below}

As a girl, Eljuri studied piano and got into the mandolin. Then she discovered electric guitar. She fell in love, began writing her own songs, started rock bands, and was playing CBGBs by her teens.

Yet her roots kept speaking to her, in ways filtered through her own experience. Her mother was a musician with a recording career in Ecuador. Her family was close and creative. Outside their home was New York City, a scene burgeoning with defiant sounds, from hip hop to punk. The energy blended with her parents’ total commitment to their craft. “My mom would work on a song, and you’d see her at it,” Eljuri recalls. “My actor father would work hard to prepare for an upcoming speech or performance. They really cultivated their skills as artists.”

Eljuri followed in their footsteps, honing her songwriting, vocal, and guitar skills over the years. Inspired by everything from Nancy Wilson and Jimmy Page to BB King and Bonnie Raitt, from the scratchy drop of the guitar on a Marley song to the ripple of the Cuban tres, she refined her guitar sound. “I’m not a shredder,” she says. “I loved all the muted, licky stuff you get in reggae. There’s a whole different sound coming out of the guitar that’s less squealy. When I listened to music as a kid, my ear would gravitate to hooky guitar lines, to soaring harmonic solos, or to the heavy rhythmic strums you’d hear from a flamenco player.”

These inspirations run through all of Eljuri’s solo work, though she has explored them more deeply over the years. Eljuri’s Latin and family roots resonate through “Indiferencia,” a traditional-style tango with a haunting melody penned by her mother, but completely reframed by Eljuri. “I was melting as I sang and learned it,” she laughs. “I didn’t make it a tango, because I heard it heading in more of a hip-hop meets bolero with castanets direction.”

La Lucha also features her third collaboration with reggae greats Sly & Robbie, whose laidback studio presence lent a distinctively blissful vibe to “Quiero Saber”: “They are so deep and rich in their sound,” she says.”They’ve done a ton of upbeat tracks, but I love working with them in a mellower way. The song has these present Latin elements, that they like to pair a very loose, , is front and center on songs like “El Viento,” which chronicles the complexities of a lover who traditional reggae approach with.”

Eljuri’s signature musical approach, her feel for layering piano montunos with guitar riffsblows in and out of your life like the breeze. “Musically, I was trying to fuse the Latin instruments and rhythms but not in a straight-up traditional way,” explains Eljuri. “I have an electric tres that I dreamed up and convinced my guitar tech to build for me. I’m not a tresero, I just enjoy discovering new sounds and some of that exploration became the solo.”  

Experimentation runs throughout La Lucha. “‘Luz Roja’ is a very different song and arrangement for me,” muses Eljuri. “I wanted it to have a different pulse than other songs I’ve written in the past, more four on the floor, with with pulsating keyboards and caja vallenata. Yet the guitar is very exploratory and loose, more free flowing.” In the adventuresome “Nunca Volveré” (which Eljuri calls ‘an immigrant’s tale’), she digs deeper into her Lebanese roots with driving dumbek, finger cymbals, and Arabic infused chants, entwined with Zeppelin-style electric guitar and rock drums.

There’s been a shift in Eljuri’s point of view, as well, an inward look at how the world shapes and challenges us. The rocker’s hard-edged rebellion has been tempered, though she still tells it like it is on the stirring call to address gun violence, “BangBang.” Much of the fight on La Lucha is internal: Many songs urge listeners to start inside first, then move outward and shake up the world.

“Injusticia,” for example, imagines a conversation between friends that catches fire and takes them outside, to the streets, flowing into a movement. “It’s very introspective. It’s simmering at the beginning, a circle of friends, in an intimate surrounding,” Eljuri notes. “Then it breaks out with the solo, a dark, rich, fat solo, then you feel the chants, the movement at the end. That’s the way I feel: That’s what we have to do.” On the title track, with the funky, latin groove of “La Lucha”, Eljuri appeals to the listener to raise their voice to fight for a better world.

Sometimes defiance starts inside, in affirming your will to live life to its fullest, when others try to knock you down with violence and hatred. “‘Sed’ captures a very introspective moment. It’s saying you cannot take my love of life away from me. You can try fear, but I’m on to you,” states Eljuri. “You’re not going to stop me from having the thirst to live. It comes from an angry place, but goes somewhere beautiful.”

A compulsive genre fuser, Eljuri would disappear for days at a time, ducking into her home studio and losing herself in arrangements. “No one could find me,” she laughs. “I would spend hours adding horns or strings. I was trying to push myself, to add texture and to make my sound bigger and more cinematic.”

For an electric guitarist in love with the Cuban tres, for a Latina raised in Manhattan in a tight-knit family of artists, it was a logical next move. From raw-edged rock through alt-Latin exploration, Eljuri has found ever tighter songs, with an increasingly expansive feel and perspective that burst through on La Lucha (release: October 14, 2016).

“Musically, it was incredible, the different influences, from my parents, who brought us to New York City from Ecuador, and from my friends on the street,” reflects Eljuri. “I always liked the rawness of styles like punk, but I also wanted that musicality that respected the artform.”

That respect blossoms into songs that are both hooky and nuanced, including a reimagined version of a tango her mother released on 78 (“Indiferencia”) and a collaboration with reggae icons Sly & Robbie (“Quiero Saber”). Eljuri’s guitar work, so strong critics have dubbed her “Carlita” with a hat tip to Santana, stretches out, finding a balance of melodic and rhythmic moments, for a sound that’s potent yet reflective.

“I wanted to get more into my Lebanese roots,” inherited from her mother, “and to let the Latin side rip more,” Eljuri says.

{full story below}

As a girl, Eljuri studied piano and got into the mandolin. Then she discovered electric guitar. She fell in love, began writing her own songs, started rock bands, and was playing CBGBs by her teens.

Yet her roots kept speaking to her, in ways filtered through her own experience. Her mother was a musician with a recording career in Ecuador. Her family was close and creative. Outside their home was New York City, a scene burgeoning with defiant sounds, from hip hop to punk. The energy blended with her parents’ total commitment to their craft. “My mom would work on a song, and you’d see her at it,” Eljuri recalls. “My actor father would work hard to prepare for an upcoming speech or performance. They really cultivated their skills as artists.”

Eljuri followed in their footsteps, honing her songwriting, vocal, and guitar skills over the years. Inspired by everything from Nancy Wilson and Jimmy Page to BB King and Bonnie Raitt, from the scratchy drop of the guitar on a Marley song to the ripple of the Cuban tres, she refined her guitar sound. “I’m not a shredder,” she says. “I loved all the muted, licky stuff you get in reggae. There’s a whole different sound coming out of the guitar that’s less squealy. When I listened to music as a kid, my ear would gravitate to hooky guitar lines, to soaring harmonic solos, or to the heavy rhythmic strums you’d hear from a flamenco player.”

These inspirations run through all of Eljuri’s solo work, though she has explored them more deeply over the years. Eljuri’s Latin and family roots resonate through “Indiferencia,” a traditional-style tango with a haunting melody penned by her mother, but completely reframed by Eljuri. “I was melting as I sang and learned it,” she laughs. “I didn’t make it a tango, because I heard it heading in more of a hip-hop meets bolero with castanets direction.”

La Lucha also features her third collaboration with reggae greats Sly & Robbie, whose laidback studio presence lent a distinctively blissful vibe to “Quiero Saber”: “They are so deep and rich in their sound,” she says.”They’ve done a ton of upbeat tracks, but I love working with them in a mellower way. The song has these present Latin elements, that they like to pair a very loose, , is front and center on songs like “El Viento,” which chronicles the complexities of a lover who traditional reggae approach with.”

Eljuri’s signature musical approach, her feel for layering piano montunos with guitar riffsblows in and out of your life like the breeze. “Musically, I was trying to fuse the Latin instruments and rhythms but not in a straight-up traditional way,” explains Eljuri. “I have an electric tres that I dreamed up and convinced my guitar tech to build for me. I’m not a tresero, I just enjoy discovering new sounds and some of that exploration became the solo.”  

Experimentation runs throughout La Lucha. “‘Luz Roja’ is a very different song and arrangement for me,” muses Eljuri. “I wanted it to have a different pulse than other songs I’ve written in the past, more four on the floor, with with pulsating keyboards and caja vallenata. Yet the guitar is very exploratory and loose, more free flowing.” In the adventuresome “Nunca Volveré” (which Eljuri calls ‘an immigrant’s tale’), she digs deeper into her Lebanese roots with driving dumbek, finger cymbals, and Arabic infused chants, entwined with Zeppelin-style electric guitar and rock drums.

There’s been a shift in Eljuri’s point of view, as well, an inward look at how the world shapes and challenges us. The rocker’s hard-edged rebellion has been tempered, though she still tells it like it is on the stirring call to address gun violence, “BangBang.” Much of the fight on La Lucha is internal: Many songs urge listeners to start inside first, then move outward and shake up the world.

“Injusticia,” for example, imagines a conversation between friends that catches fire and takes them outside, to the streets, flowing into a movement. “It’s very introspective. It’s simmering at the beginning, a circle of friends, in an intimate surrounding,” Eljuri notes. “Then it breaks out with the solo, a dark, rich, fat solo, then you feel the chants, the movement at the end. That’s the way I feel: That’s what we have to do.” On the title track, with the funky, latin groove of “La Lucha”, Eljuri appeals to the listener to raise their voice to fight for a better world.

Sometimes defiance starts inside, in affirming your will to live life to its fullest, when others try to knock you down with violence and hatred. “‘Sed’ captures a very introspective moment. It’s saying you cannot take my love of life away from me. You can try fear, but I’m on to you,” states Eljuri. “You’re not going to stop me from having the thirst to live. It comes from an angry place, but goes somewhere beautiful.”

A compulsive genre fuser, Eljuri would disappear for days at a time, ducking into her home studio and losing herself in arrangements. “No one could find me,” she laughs. “I would spend hours adding horns or strings. I was trying to push myself, to add texture and to make my sound bigger and more cinematic.”

For an electric guitarist in love with the Cuban tres, for a Latina raised in Manhattan in a tight-knit family of artists, it was a logical next move. From raw-edged rock through alt-Latin exploration, Eljuri has found ever tighter songs, with an increasingly expansive feel and perspective that burst through on La Lucha (release: October 14, 2016).

“Musically, it was incredible, the different influences, from my parents, who brought us to New York City from Ecuador, and from my friends on the street,” reflects Eljuri. “I always liked the rawness of styles like punk, but I also wanted that musicality that respected the artform.”

That respect blossoms into songs that are both hooky and nuanced, including a reimagined version of a tango her mother released on 78 (“Indiferencia”) and a collaboration with reggae icons Sly & Robbie (“Quiero Saber”). Eljuri’s guitar work, so strong critics have dubbed her “Carlita” with a hat tip to Santana, stretches out, finding a balance of melodic and rhythmic moments, for a sound that’s potent yet reflective.

“I wanted to get more into my Lebanese roots,” inherited from her mother, “and to let the Latin side rip more,” Eljuri says.

{full story below}

As a girl, Eljuri studied piano and got into the mandolin. Then she discovered electric guitar. She fell in love, began writing her own songs, started rock bands, and was playing CBGBs by her teens.

Yet her roots kept speaking to her, in ways filtered through her own experience. Her mother was a musician with a recording career in Ecuador. Her family was close and creative. Outside their home was New York City, a scene burgeoning with defiant sounds, from hip hop to punk. The energy blended with her parents’ total commitment to their craft. “My mom would work on a song, and you’d see her at it,” Eljuri recalls. “My actor father would work hard to prepare for an upcoming speech or performance. They really cultivated their skills as artists.”

Eljuri followed in their footsteps, honing her songwriting, vocal, and guitar skills over the years. Inspired by everything from Nancy Wilson and Jimmy Page to BB King and Bonnie Raitt, from the scratchy drop of the guitar on a Marley song to the ripple of the Cuban tres, she refined her guitar sound. “I’m not a shredder,” she says. “I loved all the muted, licky stuff you get in reggae. There’s a whole different sound coming out of the guitar that’s less squealy. When I listened to music as a kid, my ear would gravitate to hooky guitar lines, to soaring harmonic solos, or to the heavy rhythmic strums you’d hear from a flamenco player.”

These inspirations run through all of Eljuri’s solo work, though she has explored them more deeply over the years. Eljuri’s Latin and family roots resonate through “Indiferencia,” a traditional-style tango with a haunting melody penned by her mother, but completely reframed by Eljuri. “I was melting as I sang and learned it,” she laughs. “I didn’t make it a tango, because I heard it heading in more of a hip-hop meets bolero with castanets direction.”

La Lucha also features her third collaboration with reggae greats Sly & Robbie, whose laidback studio presence lent a distinctively blissful vibe to “Quiero Saber”: “They are so deep and rich in their sound,” she says.”They’ve done a ton of upbeat tracks, but I love working with them in a mellower way. The song has these present Latin elements, that they like to pair a very loose, , is front and center on songs like “El Viento,” which chronicles the complexities of a lover who traditional reggae approach with.”

Eljuri’s signature musical approach, her feel for layering piano montunos with guitar riffsblows in and out of your life like the breeze. “Musically, I was trying to fuse the Latin instruments and rhythms but not in a straight-up traditional way,” explains Eljuri. “I have an electric tres that I dreamed up and convinced my guitar tech to build for me. I’m not a tresero, I just enjoy discovering new sounds and some of that exploration became the solo.”  

Experimentation runs throughout La Lucha. “‘Luz Roja’ is a very different song and arrangement for me,” muses Eljuri. “I wanted it to have a different pulse than other songs I’ve written in the past, more four on the floor, with with pulsating keyboards and caja vallenata. Yet the guitar is very exploratory and loose, more free flowing.” In the adventuresome “Nunca Volveré” (which Eljuri calls ‘an immigrant’s tale’), she digs deeper into her Lebanese roots with driving dumbek, finger cymbals, and Arabic infused chants, entwined with Zeppelin-style electric guitar and rock drums.

There’s been a shift in Eljuri’s point of view, as well, an inward look at how the world shapes and challenges us. The rocker’s hard-edged rebellion has been tempered, though she still tells it like it is on the stirring call to address gun violence, “BangBang.” Much of the fight on La Lucha is internal: Many songs urge listeners to start inside first, then move outward and shake up the world.

“Injusticia,” for example, imagines a conversation between friends that catches fire and takes them outside, to the streets, flowing into a movement. “It’s very introspective. It’s simmering at the beginning, a circle of friends, in an intimate surrounding,” Eljuri notes. “Then it breaks out with the solo, a dark, rich, fat solo, then you feel the chants, the movement at the end. That’s the way I feel: That’s what we have to do.” On the title track, with the funky, latin groove of “La Lucha”, Eljuri appeals to the listener to raise their voice to fight for a better world.

Sometimes defiance starts inside, in affirming your will to live life to its fullest, when others try to knock you down with violence and hatred. “‘Sed’ captures a very introspective moment. It’s saying you cannot take my love of life away from me. You can try fear, but I’m on to you,” states Eljuri. “You’re not going to stop me from having the thirst to live. It comes from an angry place, but goes somewhere beautiful.”

A compulsive genre fuser, Eljuri would disappear for days at a time, ducking into her home studio and losing herself in arrangements. “No one could find me,” she laughs. “I would spend hours adding horns or strings. I was trying to push myself, to add texture and to make my sound bigger and more cinematic.”

For an electric guitarist in love with the Cuban tres, for a Latina raised in Manhattan in a tight-knit family of artists, it was a logical next move. From raw-edged rock through alt-Latin exploration, Eljuri has found ever tighter songs, with an increasingly expansive feel and perspective that burst through on La Lucha (release: October 14, 2016).

“Musically, it was incredible, the different influences, from my parents, who brought us to New York City from Ecuador, and from my friends on the street,” reflects Eljuri. “I always liked the rawness of styles like punk, but I also wanted that musicality that respected the artform.”

That respect blossoms into songs that are both hooky and nuanced, including a reimagined version of a tango her mother released on 78 (“Indiferencia”) and a collaboration with reggae icons Sly & Robbie (“Quiero Saber”). Eljuri’s guitar work, so strong critics have dubbed her “Carlita” with a hat tip to Santana, stretches out, finding a balance of melodic and rhythmic moments, for a sound that’s potent yet reflective.

“I wanted to get more into my Lebanese roots,” inherited from her mother, “and to let the Latin side rip more,” Eljuri says.

{full story below}

As a girl, Eljuri studied piano and got into the mandolin. Then she discovered electric guitar. She fell in love, began writing her own songs, started rock bands, and was playing CBGBs by her teens.

Yet her roots kept speaking to her, in ways filtered through her own experience. Her mother was a musician with a recording career in Ecuador. Her family was close and creative. Outside their home was New York City, a scene burgeoning with defiant sounds, from hip hop to punk. The energy blended with her parents’ total commitment to their craft. “My mom would work on a song, and you’d see her at it,” Eljuri recalls. “My actor father would work hard to prepare for an upcoming speech or performance. They really cultivated their skills as artists.”

Eljuri followed in their footsteps, honing her songwriting, vocal, and guitar skills over the years. Inspired by everything from Nancy Wilson and Jimmy Page to BB King and Bonnie Raitt, from the scratchy drop of the guitar on a Marley song to the ripple of the Cuban tres, she refined her guitar sound. “I’m not a shredder,” she says. “I loved all the muted, licky stuff you get in reggae. There’s a whole different sound coming out of the guitar that’s less squealy. When I listened to music as a kid, my ear would gravitate to hooky guitar lines, to soaring harmonic solos, or to the heavy rhythmic strums you’d hear from a flamenco player.”

These inspirations run through all of Eljuri’s solo work, though she has explored them more deeply over the years. Eljuri’s Latin and family roots resonate through “Indiferencia,” a traditional-style tango with a haunting melody penned by her mother, but completely reframed by Eljuri. “I was melting as I sang and learned it,” she laughs. “I didn’t make it a tango, because I heard it heading in more of a hip-hop meets bolero with castanets direction.”

La Lucha also features her third collaboration with reggae greats Sly & Robbie, whose laidback studio presence lent a distinctively blissful vibe to “Quiero Saber”: “They are so deep and rich in their sound,” she says.”They’ve done a ton of upbeat tracks, but I love working with them in a mellower way. The song has these present Latin elements, that they like to pair a very loose, , is front and center on songs like “El Viento,” which chronicles the complexities of a lover who traditional reggae approach with.”

Eljuri’s signature musical approach, her feel for layering piano montunos with guitar riffsblows in and out of your life like the breeze. “Musically, I was trying to fuse the Latin instruments and rhythms but not in a straight-up traditional way,” explains Eljuri. “I have an electric tres that I dreamed up and convinced my guitar tech to build for me. I’m not a tresero, I just enjoy discovering new sounds and some of that exploration became the solo.”  

Experimentation runs throughout La Lucha. “‘Luz Roja’ is a very different song and arrangement for me,” muses Eljuri. “I wanted it to have a different pulse than other songs I’ve written in the past, more four on the floor, with with pulsating keyboards and caja vallenata. Yet the guitar is very exploratory and loose, more free flowing.” In the adventuresome “Nunca Volveré” (which Eljuri calls ‘an immigrant’s tale’), she digs deeper into her Lebanese roots with driving dumbek, finger cymbals, and Arabic infused chants, entwined with Zeppelin-style electric guitar and rock drums.

There’s been a shift in Eljuri’s point of view, as well, an inward look at how the world shapes and challenges us. The rocker’s hard-edged rebellion has been tempered, though she still tells it like it is on the stirring call to address gun violence, “BangBang.” Much of the fight on La Lucha is internal: Many songs urge listeners to start inside first, then move outward and shake up the world.

“Injusticia,” for example, imagines a conversation between friends that catches fire and takes them outside, to the streets, flowing into a movement. “It’s very introspective. It’s simmering at the beginning, a circle of friends, in an intimate surrounding,” Eljuri notes. “Then it breaks out with the solo, a dark, rich, fat solo, then you feel the chants, the movement at the end. That’s the way I feel: That’s what we have to do.” On the title track, with the funky, latin groove of “La Lucha”, Eljuri appeals to the listener to raise their voice to fight for a better world.

Sometimes defiance starts inside, in affirming your will to live life to its fullest, when others try to knock you down with violence and hatred. “‘Sed’ captures a very introspective moment. It’s saying you cannot take my love of life away from me. You can try fear, but I’m on to you,” states Eljuri. “You’re not going to stop me from having the thirst to live. It comes from an angry place, but goes somewhere beautiful.”

A compulsive genre fuser, Eljuri would disappear for days at a time, ducking into her home studio and losing herself in arrangements. “No one could find me,” she laughs. “I would spend hours adding horns or strings. I was trying to push myself, to add texture and to make my sound bigger and more cinematic.”

For an electric guitarist in love with the Cuban tres, for a Latina raised in Manhattan in a tight-knit family of artists, it was a logical next move. From raw-edged rock through alt-Latin exploration, Eljuri has found ever tighter songs, with an increasingly expansive feel and perspective that burst through on La Lucha (release: October 14, 2016).

“Musically, it was incredible, the different influences, from my parents, who brought us to New York City from Ecuador, and from my friends on the street,” reflects Eljuri. “I always liked the rawness of styles like punk, but I also wanted that musicality that respected the artform.”

That respect blossoms into songs that are both hooky and nuanced, including a reimagined version of a tango her mother released on 78 (“Indiferencia”) and a collaboration with reggae icons Sly & Robbie (“Quiero Saber”). Eljuri’s guitar work, so strong critics have dubbed her “Carlita” with a hat tip to Santana, stretches out, finding a balance of melodic and rhythmic moments, for a sound that’s potent yet reflective.

“I wanted to get more into my Lebanese roots,” inherited from her mother, “and to let the Latin side rip more,” Eljuri says.

{full story below}

As a girl, Eljuri studied piano and got into the mandolin. Then she discovered electric guitar. She fell in love, began writing her own songs, started rock bands, and was playing CBGBs by her teens.

Yet her roots kept speaking to her, in ways filtered through her own experience. Her mother was a musician with a recording career in Ecuador. Her family was close and creative. Outside their home was New York City, a scene burgeoning with defiant sounds, from hip hop to punk. The energy blended with her parents’ total commitment to their craft. “My mom would work on a song, and you’d see her at it,” Eljuri recalls. “My actor father would work hard to prepare for an upcoming speech or performance. They really cultivated their skills as artists.”

Eljuri followed in their footsteps, honing her songwriting, vocal, and guitar skills over the years. Inspired by everything from Nancy Wilson and Jimmy Page to BB King and Bonnie Raitt, from the scratchy drop of the guitar on a Marley song to the ripple of the Cuban tres, she refined her guitar sound. “I’m not a shredder,” she says. “I loved all the muted, licky stuff you get in reggae. There’s a whole different sound coming out of the guitar that’s less squealy. When I listened to music as a kid, my ear would gravitate to hooky guitar lines, to soaring harmonic solos, or to the heavy rhythmic strums you’d hear from a flamenco player.”

These inspirations run through all of Eljuri’s solo work, though she has explored them more deeply over the years. Eljuri’s Latin and family roots resonate through “Indiferencia,” a traditional-style tango with a haunting melody penned by her mother, but completely reframed by Eljuri. “I was melting as I sang and learned it,” she laughs. “I didn’t make it a tango, because I heard it heading in more of a hip-hop meets bolero with castanets direction.”

La Lucha also features her third collaboration with reggae greats Sly & Robbie, whose laidback studio presence lent a distinctively blissful vibe to “Quiero Saber”: “They are so deep and rich in their sound,” she says.”They’ve done a ton of upbeat tracks, but I love working with them in a mellower way. The song has these present Latin elements, that they like to pair a very loose, , is front and center on songs like “El Viento,” which chronicles the complexities of a lover who traditional reggae approach with.”

Eljuri’s signature musical approach, her feel for layering piano montunos with guitar riffsblows in and out of your life like the breeze. “Musically, I was trying to fuse the Latin instruments and rhythms but not in a straight-up traditional way,” explains Eljuri. “I have an electric tres that I dreamed up and convinced my guitar tech to build for me. I’m not a tresero, I just enjoy discovering new sounds and some of that exploration became the solo.”  

Experimentation runs throughout La Lucha. “‘Luz Roja’ is a very different song and arrangement for me,” muses Eljuri. “I wanted it to have a different pulse than other songs I’ve written in the past, more four on the floor, with with pulsating keyboards and caja vallenata. Yet the guitar is very exploratory and loose, more free flowing.” In the adventuresome “Nunca Volveré” (which Eljuri calls ‘an immigrant’s tale’), she digs deeper into her Lebanese roots with driving dumbek, finger cymbals, and Arabic infused chants, entwined with Zeppelin-style electric guitar and rock drums.

There’s been a shift in Eljuri’s point of view, as well, an inward look at how the world shapes and challenges us. The rocker’s hard-edged rebellion has been tempered, though she still tells it like it is on the stirring call to address gun violence, “BangBang.” Much of the fight on La Lucha is internal: Many songs urge listeners to start inside first, then move outward and shake up the world.

“Injusticia,” for example, imagines a conversation between friends that catches fire and takes them outside, to the streets, flowing into a movement. “It’s very introspective. It’s simmering at the beginning, a circle of friends, in an intimate surrounding,” Eljuri notes. “Then it breaks out with the solo, a dark, rich, fat solo, then you feel the chants, the movement at the end. That’s the way I feel: That’s what we have to do.” On the title track, with the funky, latin groove of “La Lucha”, Eljuri appeals to the listener to raise their voice to fight for a better world.

Sometimes defiance starts inside, in affirming your will to live life to its fullest, when others try to knock you down with violence and hatred. “‘Sed’ captures a very introspective moment. It’s saying you cannot take my love of life away from me. You can try fear, but I’m on to you,” states Eljuri. “You’re not going to stop me from having the thirst to live. It comes from an angry place, but goes somewhere beautiful.”

https://soundcloud.com/cecilia-villar-eljuri/el-viento

Con sus canciones y guitarra, Eljuri viaja a través de paisajes musicales que van desde el rock y el pop-punk, hasta el bolero, pasando por el reggae y los ritmos afro-caribeños, todo esto presentado con elegancia y una voz femenina y empoderada.

Acercarse a “El Viento”, es establecer una conexión directa con sus autoproclamados tradiciones como una ‘Ecua-Gringa’ en su música. La melancolía latinoamericana es atinadamente valorada en este bolero romántico, primer sencillo del álbum, “La Lucha” mediante el cual es fácil remitirnos a los grandes bailes de salón y la sensualidad caribeña. Las guitarras hacen homenaje a los ritmos afro-latinos, y adornan un invento musical bastante peculiar: el laudero personal de Eljuri construyó por encargo un tres eléctrico que ella imaginó.

El sencillo 'El Viento', producido por Cecilia Villar Eljuri está disponible para su descarga en iTunes, Amazon, Google Music; streaming en Spotify, iHeartRadio, eMusic y de los principales puntos de venta digitales.

Se lanza el nuevo video músical en YouTube 19 de agosto 2016.

Cecilia Villar Eljuri: Voz principal y armonías, guitarras eléctricas, guitarras acústicas, tres eléctrica, y órgano
Alex Alexander: Batería y percusión
Tracy Wormworth: Bajo
Steve Sandberg: Piano
Letras y música: Cecilia Villar Eljuri (BMI)

©2016 Manovill Records



“El Viento” the lead single from Eljuri’s upcoming album “La Lucha” drops today.

https://soundcloud.com/cecilia-villar-eljuri/el-viento

With her songs and guitar, Eljuri travels through musical landscapes ranging from rock and pop-punk, to the bolero,  reggae and Afro-Caribbean rhythms, all presented with an empowered yet elegant female voice.

Getting to know “El Viento” (The Wind), establishes a direct connection with her self proclaimed traditions as a ‘Latin from Manhattan’. This romantic bolero filled with Latin American melancholy, is the lead single from the upcoming album, “La Lucha” (The Fight) and recalls great ballroom dancing and Caribbean sensuality. Doing homage to traditional Latin rhythms and harmonics, the lead guitar used on the solo of this song is one of Eljuri’s own invention, an electric tres, custom built for her by her personal luthier.

The single 'El Viento', produced by Cecilia Villar Eljuri is available for download on iTunes, Amazon, Google Music; streaming on Spotify, iHeartRadio, eMusic and all major digital outlets.

The accompanying music video debuts on YouTube Friday August 19, 2016.

Cecilia Villar Eljuri: Vocals, harmonies, electric and acoustic guitars, electric tres and organ
Alex Alexander: Drums and percussion
Tracy Wormworth: Bass
Steve Sandberg: Piano
Lyrics and Music: Cecilia Villar Eljuri (BMI)

©2016 Manovill Records