Simplemente Gracias

Throughout their almost decade-long career, the norteño four-piece have built a name for themselves with their experimentation: They add touches from other genres and are constantly regenerating their sound. The group’s frontman Edén Muñoz views these additions to their blueprint as fundamental to keeping their style fresh. In this track-by-track guide, let Muñoz guide you through the genre-expanding arrangements on their 11th studio album.

“La Caja de Pan”
“People like corridos that are very explicit—the more explicit the better, and it creates a deeper effect. I have composed corridos for a lot of people I don’t necessarily know, so why not make a corrido about myself? Something that talks about my own story—for a while I was selling bread and washing cars until I realized music was my thing. This is a success story, and a lot of people will be able to see themselves in it.”

“Un Imposible a Tu Medida”
“It’s like when you’re with someone and you start thinking, ‘Oh, maybe I was wrong and I was better with that other person,’ but it’s too late because nothing is going to be exactly the way you want it anymore. That is going to be impossible.”

“Kani”
“This is a song I wrote for my cousin. He committed suicide. The song tells this story in a very emotional way, touching that topic that is not usually discussed in popular music. People need to talk about their problems and put them out there and find a solution.”

“El Espejo”
“This is a song we did with banda, and it has very sexually oriented and explicit lyrics, because it talks about someone who might be your ex. When that person says they don’t remember you, they will eventually look in the mirror and remember all of the sexual things you did with them.”

“Más Ganas le Meto”
“This is a song that talks about that situation where you want to get close to someone but you keep getting rejected and it feeds your need for being with that person. This is a classic Calibre 50 song that has that aggressive-progressive sound. This is the original sound that we have established since the beginning back in 2010.”

“¿Quién te Crees?”
“This is a rap song. Out of the 14 songs included in this album, 12 are mine. This song in particular was very influenced by the Venezuelan rapper Canserbero, and I am a big fan of his work. This was supposed to be a regular ballad, but in this constant search for new sounds, I decided it was going to be a rap. Corridos and Mexican folk music have a lot in common with rappers. We wanted to show that relationship.”

“Chalito”
“This is a song that narrates a real-life story. We tried to make a fusion of banda-style music—the classic arrangements of that genre—and our very own sound. It talks about a character who liked the criminal life. Like most of our songs, it includes moral advice at the end of it: Maybe you like that ‘wrong side of the law’ life, but there is nothing like your roots and the peace that your family can give you.”

“Simplemente Gracias”
“This is a song that was made for my wedding and was supposed to be performed just once and then put away with my suit and the rest of my wedding gear. When the rest of the band listened to it, they convinced me to put it out there. I thought it would be better for other couples to have it for their weddings, and we decided this one would be our first single. I ended up making another song for my wedding, which is ‘Siempre Te Voy A Querer,’ which became one of our signature songs.”

“La Gordibuena”
“This song breaks the etiquette of the album using a very Mexican word in the title. Also, a cumbia is a cumbia, and it does not matter where you are, you will like it and dance to it.”

“Salió a la Perfección”
“Another classic Calibre 50-sounding song. We have always mentioned that overall, goodness will win—in movies, soap operas, good will prevail. The song talks about the people who say that love is not for them and will not play the game anymore, and at the least expected moment someone will knock on your door and will change the way you were thinking.”

“Qué me Andan Tirando”
“Mexico is so diverse within its different regions—people from the north are different from the people of the Pacific Coast. We in Sinaloa are different as well, and we can give the impression of being too laidback. As Mexicans, when we go out there on tour, we realize we are different—we see life from a different angle. We tend to be like, ‘This is my life and I’m going to do whatever I want to do.’ The song talks about hardworking people who took that road instead of taking shortcuts.”

“Solo tú”
“When we were looking at the whole album, we agreed that we needed another song that expanded the boundaries of the genre, something that would get people’s attention. Having that in mind, we wanted to compose a song that would sound like mariachi without a mariachi. We went into the studio and analyzed the way that the mariachi instruments are played. We tried to imitate that sound with our own style, and the song came up in a very interesting way. It doesn’t sound like mariachi, but it has that essence.”

Para Qué Pensarla Tanto”
“This song has our own style—it talks about love in a very innocent way, but that innocence is put together with the sound of Calibre, which is a very party-oriented sound, and the combination makes a good balance.”

“Si Te Pudiera Mentir”
“Several years ago, I had a girlfriend who used to sing this song to me because at some point it says, ‘Walk in the opposite direction of Edén.’ This is actually an original composition by [Mexican singer] Marco Antonio Solís, and I have always liked it. The original version has very sophisticated arrangements, and we made it in our own style.”