In our Ten Minutes With Series we’ve been interviewing artists across the globe, giving them the opportunity to share their story with The Orchard’s Daily Rind audience. From artists in France, Italy, Germany, United States, and beyond, we hope their stories have been inspirational and provided insight behind who they are as artists, their stories, and reveal their creative process, what goes into their songwriting, and more.
And now we introduce our Ten Minutes With Label Edition! At The Orchard we distribute and work with a diverse array of labels across the world — literally. Each interview will feature a label team member who will dive into the label’s origin story, big accomplishments that shouldn’t go unnoticed, and artists you should add to your playlist.
With that, we would like to welcome Angely González, Artist Development and Label Manager at Azteca Records!
A little bit about Azteca Records, before we dive in. Azteca Records is a division of the Azteca Music Group. They are committed to emerging and established artists through their record label with physical and digital services. Their primary goal is to heighten the position of the Regional Mexican and Latin genre within the global music industry.
Hi Angely! Please introduce yourself and your role at Azteca Records.
Hello everybody! My name is Angely González. I’m from Mexico City, and I am the Artist Development and Label Manager at Azteca Records.
What is the mission of Azteca Records?
Our mission is with the Regional Mexican fans, to bring them good moments with our music. In these hard times, music is joy.
How did Azteca Records start? What’s your origin story? How long have you been around?
Humberto Novoa, our CEO, has been in the music industry for more than 20 years. He started by booking bands like Intocable and Tigres del Norte all around the US and he knows these businesses perfectly. Then in 2011 he decided to start his own record label company, and that’s how Azteca Records was born.
Azteca Records’ specialty is regional Mexican music. Who are some of your biggest artists and what can we expect from them in the next few months?
La Maquinaria Norteña, La Energia Norteña and La Fiera de Ojinaga are the leading bands of our company. The upcoming releases are the second part of their released EPs, but they are going to give us special themes for the holiday season.
What are some of Azteca’s biggest accomplishments to date?
Our principal accomplishment is being the leading label and representative of the norteño sax genre. Our work has been reflected in the charts and achievements such as GRAMMY nominations for our groups.
What were the earlier days like for the label?
We used to have a little office with just 3 spaces up the stairs of a Mexican restaurant. After a year we moved to a new office in downtown Dallas and now we have our own offices. We have evolved, but our goal to bring good music to the norteño fans is the same.
What’s a little-known fact about Azteca Records?
Almost all of the company directives are from Mexico City. We are located in Dallas, in this part of Mexico the norteño music is not common.
How have artists on your label stayed creative over the last few months?
The lockdown has given artists more time than they used to have because they were always on the road. They have taken advantage of this time to explore and create new music and experiment with some projects that they always wanted to try but never had the time for.
How have the artists and music released via Azteca Records evolved over time?
With the digital era it has been easier but at the same time we are walking and learning together through this evolutionary era. You know, when we think we know it all, there’s a new app being released.
What’s up next for the label?
We are experimenting with new markets and genres like Reggaeton. But our principal goal is to remain in our people’s heart with our music and bring a positive message to the new generations.
Where should we go for more updates from Azteca Records?
Visit our social media pages where you can check out upcoming releases and more about our bands: Instagram @aztecarecords and Facebook.
Is there anything else you would like to share about Azteca Records?
In this company we are not only coworkers, we are family and we believe in long-term relationships. If something happens to one of us, it happens to all. We are there either for help or to celebrate.
Want more from Azteca Records?
For their latest release, we congratulate Azteca Records group La Energía Norteña, a band made up of six young lovers of saxophone, accordion and bass music. From San Luis Potosí, Mexico, founded in the city of Dallas, Texas in 2010 by Adrián Zamarripa and Moisés Cuevas Jr, the youngest and freshest of Norteña music was born.
On October 10, 2020, La Energía Norteña will celebrate 10 years of an artistic career with their album release Diez. We’ve witnessed their career full of successes and recognitions, through effort and sacrifices, compensated by all the love and support from fans worldwide. We congratulate La Energía Norteña, as leaders in the norteño genre, on a decade of personal and professional growth and a lifetime commitment to music.
