Have you ever felt like you were strapped to a rocket, moving so fast that you actually get transported into another dimension? That’s how it felt listening to the first track, “seismic blast: transtemporal,” on Ximena’s EP, lucuma. The introduction starts methodically, but increases its pace as the rhythms and melodies cycle faster and faster until everything distorts, collides, and then transitions into a vast ambient outro. I felt transported to a new world—Ximena’s world: a galaxy full of glitches and wandering nostalgia.
That’s not too far off Ximena’s own description of the feelings she wanted to evoke with this opening track; fortunately, I was able to speak with her after hearing the EP live from the Charles Hayden Planetarium at New England Synth Fest!
Ximena shared her early experiences of pursuing a career in music, “I was really into all sorts of music as a kid and played percussion in band, but I took an interest in studying music composition because I wanted to learn more about every instrument—school could open more doors for me and allow me to learn more about those instruments.” Ximena then attended New World School of the Arts, where she took her first electronic music class and was introduced to Reason, a digital audio workstation. She realized she enjoyed producing music on her computer more, as the freedom of using electronic instruments opened a new world of possibilities. She later went on to study at Florida Atlantic University and finally Berklee College of Music, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s in Electronic Production and Design.
While college helped Ximena develop skills for producing music, it wasn’t until working as an audio intern for a local artist, Dephrase, that she started making deeper connections within the community, integrating herself into the Boston beat scene. Through these friendships with other artists—e.g, Cleo Reed and, later, Ian Bouslough (aka floridomi)—Ximena gained mixing and production skills to push boundaries further. Ximena mentioned, “In school it was just mixing basics, but I didn’t realize how far I could push it. Cleo Reed was actually the first person to really show me. She came over one day and showed me one of her songs and I asked her how she mixed her bass. She showed me her EQ and I was surprised by how boosted it was. It felt unconventional, but it opened my mind, as long as it sounds good it doesn’t matter. Then watching floridomi mix my EP taught me so much about mixing in general. It was super helpful for me to see someone else do it rather than just read about mixing or talk about mixing basics. In school they most definitely did emphasize, “as long as it sounds good, it’s fine.” I just was hesitant to push the boundary.” Last year, Ximena performed at the Beats on the Beach Block Party alongside other music producers she looked up to, e.g., Rilla Force, LDER, Dephrase, and Lightfoot. That performance became her self-described right of passage into the Boston Beat Scene, “I remember performing at a show and being approached by Dephrase, who congratulated me and told me my show was amazing. I felt so great, like I finally belonged to this group of artists that I look up to.”
Many songs on lucuma were informed by nostalgic feelings and memories of Ximena’s family, particularly “pi de limón.” The song has a bouncy and rhythmic intro that beckons head bobbing and reminiscent smiles. The music later incorporates transformed vocalizations, which glide over the rhythms and convey a sense of weightlessness to the track. Ximena recalls, “pi de limón is a track celebrating the catharsis of letting go, at least to me it is. The ending with samba rhythms represents celebration and life and feeling light.” The memories infused into this record make the listening experience feel personal despite the glitchy contortions and soundcraft, which bring the record feelings of warmth and levity.
During our conversation, Ximena recalls, “The song ‘NERD’ was informed by memories of an ex-boyfriend that used to lovingly call me a nerd; in fact, I sampled one of his guitar ideas that he was sitting with for a while to make NERD. I later thought that NERD could then represent my awkward high school me in the EP.”
The penultimate track, “intercepted connection,” incorporates a dial tone sample that sounds like the record’s final pulse, grounding the record after the cataclysmic wails cease and the sounds dissipate: swirling and winding into oblivion. There are vocalizations, too, which sound like more lost memories. Ximena elaborated, “What it symbolizes is staggered communication, bits and pieces of voices in and out. My family living in Peru and me living here, we don’t have the opportunity to talk or see each other as much as we would like. It’s supposed to represent a poor signal or when you say “I can’t hear you; you’re breaking up”
Cranking the nostalgia up to eleven on the record’s closer, Ximena includes herself singing, “gracias papi, te quiero mucho,” which was recorded long ago by her father. “Every time my dad brought out his guitar he would set up a microphone so that I could sing. I was five years old, so I was singing gibberish at times (laughs out loud) but those were very fond memories for me as a child.”
Ximena’s goals are manyfold, including: touring the east coast and making a hardcore EP. “I also want to refine the sonic palette and techniques I established when making my songs for lucuma. Once I do, I plan on releasing a debut album.” she said, as we closed the interview.
We’ll keep an eye out for whatever Ximena does next. Her style and dedication to crafting music is inspiring, with its focus towards capturing remote sounds that exist in the universe. If you enjoyed reading this blog, definitely go support Ximena by listening to and purchasing her music – and don’t forget to follow her socials!
– Evan
Edited by: Seán Pierce