Melodrama, this familiar object, has been manipulated as if its contours were obvious, yet it continues to be ill defined. While critics in Latin America have often stated spurious value judgments of the cinematic genre and its literary counterpart—portrayed as cheap, commercial and lapsing into simplicity or complacency to develop a heightened emotional tension and create a grand spectacle—it’s astonishing to see a young and talented composer availing himself of the melodramatic popular song culture in México.

At age 28, the prolific and self-taught Sergio Castelló has already released under the name PARDO two solo albums made of intricate melancholic piano pieces, 'Árboles en Silencio' and 'Instantes Eternos', he had been keeping to himself for sometime. Should also mention he’s been part of two screamo bands -The Astronaut Sounds and Hidioma- and has been working, with his brother Arturo Castelló (aka PONYTEA) on another musical project called Castelló.
PARDO reveals that melodrama must be thought of in terms of inheritance and adaptation. With his smooth and silky voice that echoes Juan Gabriel’s and drifting electronics, the regiomontano skillfully draws a particular aesthetic universe, filled with emotion and extremely evocative melancholy images. The tormented multi-instrumentalist cautiously lays out stories of wretched love. The result is beautifully painful. PARDO’s rich and dense work hovering between shaded sky and storms can all be found on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/33z55p6 Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.