“It's the continuation, a new type of era for us after El Comienzo,” Grupo Frontera’s Juan Javier Cantú tells Apple Music about the band’s first album since their 2023 breakthrough. “It's a different style,” adds percussionist Julian Peña Jr., “a different side of Frontera that hasn't come out yet that we knew we had it in us.” The tremendous success of 2023 hits like “un x100to” with Bad Bunny and “EL AMOR DE SU VIDA” with Grupo Firme left this Texan músicana mexicana act in a great position to grow. The resulting JUGANDO A QUE NO PASA NADA reflects how far they’ve come in rapidly growing their fanbase without sacrificing the sound they’ve developed with established hitmaker Edgar Barrera. “There's people in the younger generation that don't go to Mexico, they don't speak Spanish, but they have that cultural tie,” says vocalist and bajo quinto player Adelaido “Payo” Solís III. “What we decided to do is put all these different genres that the younger generation could find their style, and their genre, and what they want to listen to in Spanish without having to go out and find it somewhere else.” In the interim between projects, Grupo Frontera gained valuable real-world experience collaborating with a multigenerational range of Latin music talents, from Shakira to Peso Pluma. Over the course of these 12 tracks, they strategically limited the guests to just four, each one helping to broaden their genre scope and tighten their proverbial chops. “We were really extra picky with this one,” Peña says. “We wanted to make sure what we put in the album was going to be good enough that we all liked it and that we knew that people were going to like it.” Read on to learn more about some of the songs on JUGANDO A QUE NO PASA NADA—in Grupo Frontera’s own words. “POR QUÉ SERÁ?” (feat. Maluma) Adelaido "Payo" Solís III: “We have a lot of experiences working with other artists, but working with Maluma was definitely one of the best experiences. His vibe is just so different, so genuine, so energetic. We were in Miami. Edgar, our songwriter and producer, told us Maluma was in town. He was like, ‘I'm on my way. Just send me the address. I'm already leaving the house.’ I remember Maluma brought some of his tequila or mezcal to the studio and he let us try it. We were just hanging out.” “DESQUITE” (feat. NICKI NICOLE) Solís: “In Mexico, there was this certain sound of music going around for a little bit called trival. When Edgar showed us this song, we heard it and we were like, ‘This is the type of music that people can dance to. It is going to go crazy in certain areas, in the clubs or just to dance to.’ We were at an awards show, and the day before the awards, NICKI NICOLE was doing an interview and they had asked her, ‘What artists would you like to meet during these awards?’ She said Grupo Frontera. After our presentation, we saw her again and we started talking about the song.” “ME HIZO UN FAVOR” Julian Peña Jr.: “Honestly, we're fans of all types of music. I think Frontera works out great because not a single one of us listens to the same thing; we all have our different tastes. We just wanted to come together and do one big collaboration of what we all liked and loved. That's where that one came from. Payo was the most excited to release that one because that one was one of the ones he liked the most out of the album.” “LOS DOS” (feat. Morat) Solís: “It was a full-circle moment. We started our career with ‘No Se Va,’ which is a cover of their song. They invited us to a concert they had in San Antonio last year so that we could sing the song together, because we're really strong in Texas. Honestly, we became really good friends with them. We went to Bogotá, Colombia, we hung out with them. They wrote the song for us. They're such great artists and such great musicians that they put their certain touches in certain areas of the song where we just knew it belonged. It was just an amazing experience, being able to connect with them in that way.” “ECHÁNDOTE DE MENOS” Solís: “We act like nothing's going on, but in reality we're thinking inside. Basically, we put on a face on the outside and that's where the happy music comes from. But if you listen, all the lyrics is either 'I miss you' or 'you broke my heart.' That's how we want people to identify everything.” “NO SÉ QUÉ PASÓ” Solís: “Going to our country side, we wanted to do something on that end that’s still talking about a broken heart. The meaning [is] that ‘I don't know what changed between you and me, but something is definitely wrong. I can tell that you're not the same with me. I know that this is about to end.’ Since we started out, we realized that people started to like us and like our music because of everything that was being related. So we have to keep that relatability.”