La Coruña, Galicia, Spain

Born in La Coruña in 1977, Spanish indie auteur Xoel López is better known for his work with outfits Elephant Band and Lovely Luna, but most of all for the half dozen successful albums he recorded under the moniker Deluxe between 2001 and 2008. Exhausted by the mounting pressures caused by his multiple projects and growing fame, López moved to Argentina in 2009 and decided to start anew, traveling and performing with local musicians in small venues across Latin America, an initiative he took on tour to Spain in 2010. Many of the songs from López's first solo album credited to his own name, Atlántico, were also inspired by these voyages. The record, which to the surprise of his longtime fans saw López decidedly delving into singer/songwriter territory, appeared in 2012. ~ Mariano Prunes