Trelew formed in 2005 when vocalist
Karen Ann and guitarist Jorge Galemire met in Uruguay. The band is notable for featuring Galemire, understood to be one of the most important guitarists in Uruguay's
Candombe Beat movement. He has featured on albums by
Fernando Cabrera,
Jaime Roos and
Jorge Drexler, as well as multiple seminal Uruguayan albums from the late-1970s. Their mixture of lead singer Karen Ann's stories of her Welsh heritage with a
rioplatense (the all-encompassing name for music originating either side of the
Río de la Plata) sound have led to recognition both in Uruguay and abroad.
Background After performing a number of shows in Uruguay, and then Argentina, Trelew released their debut album,
Trelew in 2009. By this point the group had grown to include
Nicolas Mora on
bandoleon and
Ana de Leon on
percussion. De Leon was already well known in Uruguay at this point after featuring in the band
La Dulce and in the
candombe drumming group
La Melaza. Release of the record led to being featured in Uruguay newspapers such as
Brecha,
La Diaria and
El Observador, as well as on BBC Radio Wales. In May 2009 they performed in Montevideo's historic
Teatro Solís. He died in 2015, aged 64.
Recordings •
Trelew (Central Records, 2009) == Other recordings ==