Hanson: ¡Viva la independencia!
In México the U.S. group promotes their album Underneath, a self-production with hopes to begin a new stage in their career.

Nancy Rodríguez Garnica

Clarke Isaac Hanson (24), Jordan Taylor Hanson (21) and Zachary Walker Hanson (19) aren't the same now as the boys who rose to fame with their track "MmmBop". Now, these three young men from Tusla, Oklahoma, are returning strong, independent, "making the music they want to make", and promoting their most recent disc Underneath, produced by 3CG Records, their own record label.

In this production, the three brothers collaborated with producers like Greg Wells, Bob Marlette, John Shanks and Danny Kortchmar.

Appearing calm, relaxed, kind, sincere, and above all more mature, the members of the group Hanson confessed during a press conference that after a five-year absence they are very excited to return with this album and be making music because of and for their fans.
"We became artists because of a true love for music, and we feel very fortunate that we've been able to do what we've done in the past 8 years. The truth is that we feel very proud of where we are at this moment. After being gone from the music world for five years we are very excited to return," affirmed Taylor.

He added that at that time they were stuck in a complicated industry system, it "thus it caused us to lose time and while we were making this album the next big thing to happen was that we left our record company and created our own label. We ended up doing things differently from how it normally would have been done. First we toured the world doing acoustic shows, first to the United States and then the rest of the world, and finally we are here. After the tour we released this disc and we are very excited."

Furthermore, he added that they make music because they believe that their work has value and "because of our fans' enthusiasm and our own desire. I believe that this time has not only made us stronger, but also more interesting as artists. It has increased our passion. We are excited to see the experiences of our fans that have remained active during these five years. Lastly, it has given us the opportunity to be independent; to search each day for the profoundness in each of us. Independence gives you the freedom to make the music that you have always wanted. What has happened is we have come back independent, strong and we are making the music we want," assured Taylor.

That independence, assured Isaac, hasn't handed them obstacles. According to him, the media has a poor conception of the recording industry. It isn't what it once was, and being independent also isn't what it was even within the past few years.

"This independence has been more beneficial; for example we were at no. 7 on British charts. That is something that has never happened there before. Our second single has exploded in Australia and things are going very well in the rest of the world."

This independent disc debuted at a higher place on American charts (it came in at no. 25 on Billboards "Top 200"), thus being independent has been both an awakening and a liberation, as emotional as it is work. Plus I like to think that after all of these things, it will become apparent that returning independent has been more of an opportunity than an obstacle. Plus it will be a great opportunity for our fans; they aren't going to have to wait five more years for us to release another disc," he explained.

In respect to their label, Isaac and Taylor commented that they intend to enter into the record industry and help bands have longer and better careers. They also want to expand their fan group so that artists can have a path for their music to evolve.

Additionally, they hope that the industry can have a positive change, one in which groups don't have to give up all of their rights in order to be a part of the music world. They want to contribute to a movement where music and fans come first.

Another motive for creating their own label is that they consider the pop scene very large and don't believe that a lot of the good music is being heard at the current time, Zac commented.
Isaac assured they would prefer that the quality of groups improve and that they work to say they are pop bands. He said, "We are at a point where marketing comes before art, before music and before making good music."

They remind us that their career thus far has lasted 13 years. Before they signed with a big record label, they were performing 500 concerts a year and had three independent albums. They explain that what has changed now is not how they make their songs, but is the way they released the album and the people who work with them, thus developing their work with more passion.

Their itinerary in México includes an autograph signing, which the U.S. group carried out yesterday at a shopping center of Satélite; on Sunday they will sing their national anthem at the Nascar Busch Series, and on Tuesday they will perform at Salón 21.

On Wednesday they will leave for Sao Paulo where they will continue their tour the Underneath World Tour 2005, which will take them to South America and Europe. Plus, it is possible that this summer they will return to perform in Acapulco, although the date has not yet been confirmed.