Gonzalo Yáñez: Aging as an Artist and “La Energía”

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Issue Aug 20-26 2025: Gonzalo Yáñez, the Uruguayan-born singer-songwriter, has released La Energía, an album marking a significant shift towards 80s-inspired music. Claudio Vergara from La Tercera of Santiago reported on the artistry behind the album which Yañez will soon present at the Teatro Nescafé de las Artes.

Despite initially finding the 80s “the worst era of music,” Yáñez, 42, now views this period as a “more naive, more genuine [era]… as if it were a happier moment.” The album has bloomed out of new wave, synth-pop, luminous textures, and electronic drums, intentionally created without traditional percussion. Yáñez cites influences such as Depeche Mode, The Cure, Charly García’s Clics Modernos, and Prince, focusing on “the concept of the rhythm box, the drum machine.”

He attributes this artistic reinvention to a lack of pressure to maintain success, allowing creative freedom. He stated, “I’ve lost the need to define myself… I have many more questions than answers. I have very few certainties.” He also finds it “very disturbing to take [himself] seriously,” preferring “to laugh at [himself].”

La Energía features collaborations with artists like Cristóbal Briceño, Dënver, and Floresalegría, chosen for their artistic qualities rather than close friendships. For instance, Dënver offers a “deconstructed romantic” lyric. The track “La energía” itself speaks to “listening to what you have inside, what resonates with you, even if everyone tells you it’s crazy or stupid.”

Regarding current trends, Yáñez doesn’t “want to be that ‘pendeviejo’ who is trying to be current by listening to trap.” While acknowledging trap’s dominance and expressing his own admiration for it, it is not his artistic language. He also reflects on his formative time with Los Prisioneros and Jorge González, describing it as a “heavy” experience that shaped him deeply. Yáñez reveals that he and Jorge González have been estranged for a year due to a “very unfortunate misunderstanding,” but he hopes “the waters calm down” so they can reconnect, as he still considers González an older brother.