Universal Music Group launched a new sub-label Void Records that’s based in Mexico City. Mexican singer-songwriter Blue Rojo is the first sign with the boutique label. In an exclusive interview, Blue Rojo and the founders of Void Records break down going what it’s like to go from indie dreams to a major label player.

Blue Rojo is a UMG artist as of last week.

“It feels very surreal and crazy,” Blue Rojo tells mitú. “Mostly because signing with a major label was my No. 1 dream when I was kid, but after some time that dream kind of got swept away. Maybe because of how hard I knew it was and how the industry had changed, so it was something I didn’t really expect at all. That also made it super exciting. I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”

Blue Rojo signed his record contract with Universal Music Mexico last week. With his deal, the Mexican side of UMG also greenlit Void Records, which was founded by Venezuelan music journalist Diego Urdaneta and Mexican entrepreneur Olympia de la Macorra. The founders reveal that this incredible partnership with Universal wasn’t something that happened overnight.

Blue Rojo was signed under the new sub-label Void Records.

“Our partnership with Universal was clearly not expected,” Urdaneta says. “It was a 12-month process where we really weren’t expecting anything. Just making a great record. We realized the level of album we had in our hands as it was coming together, so I started showing it to labels and Universal offered us to have a sub-label and signed Blue Rojo. Those things only happen in the movies, but hey, it happened.”

Void Records’ founders saw something special in Blue Rojo’s artistry.

Blue Rojo first made waves in the country as a finalist on La Voz México in 2013 on Wisin y Yandel’s team. After spending a few years away from the spotlight, he reemerged on YouTube in 2018 as a completely new artist that was pushing boundaries. In the videos available on his page, he bucked gender norms with his fierce looks while his glitch-pop sound embraced elements of rock and reggaeton.

“Blue’s universe sucks you in so deep that you never want to get out,” de la Macorra says. “When I first heard his sound, I couldn’t listen to anything else for weeks. I pictured what Diego and him could do together and got chills. I knew it would be major.”

Urdaneta, who has interviewed Latin heavyweights from Bad Bunny to J Balvin, has heard it all when it comes to what’s out there, so he used that his advantage as the executive producer of Blue Rojo’s album. As the Latin music space is becoming more receptive to pop stars like Kali Uchis, Rauw Alejandro, and Camilo, Universal heard the potential in Blue Rojo’s music and signed him.

“His voice, his universe, what he transmits with his music is something I have never felt before,” Urdaneta says. “You can connect to it on a higher level. For me, Blue Rojo is one of the most interesting artists out there. I have told him several times that he is my favorite artist.”

The Blue Rojo music that’s to come under Void Records is mind-blowing.

From the preview I heard of what’s to come from Blue Rojo, I agree with Urdaneta’s assessment. Blue Rojo’s otherworldly and opera-like voice is ready to break through the static. His sound is emotive and melodramatic like The Phantom of the Opera meets the future of pop music. Blue Rojo is at the very beginning of his career, but it’s going to be exciting to see how he shakes up the scene.

“I hope that when you listen to this album, you can enter it, be addicted to it, and then come out different,” Blue Rojo says. “Like when you listen to a great album and you feel that deep satisfaction in your core, something between impact, despair, and love. I hope you have fun.”

Void Records will be a chance for the founders and Blue Rojo to change the Latin music game.

The newly-formed Void Records will also be a chance for Urdaneta and de la Macorra to develop more out-there acts like Blue Rojo. They’re going to start locally in Mexico City with hopes of expanding the label later on.

“We want to build a community and scene,” de la Macorra says. “We want to be a staple for exploratory music in Spanish, not just in our hometown, but major cities across the globe.”

The possibilities with Void Records are going to be endless for Mexico City’s tastemaker label owners. For Blue Rojo, after nearly a decade of chasing his dream, this is going to his first big shot in the music industry.

“I hope that people like my music and that this album can become at a scale successful because that would give me the opportunity to live from doing music,” he says. “I dream of performing this album at a festival with a very extra and emotional show. That would be a dream come true.”

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