Juana Molina in Pasadena

Juana Molina is an Argentine singer-songwriter and musician, born in Buenos Aires in 1961, whose music draws on folk, ambient pop and electronic repetition. After becoming known as a television comedian through Juana y sus hermanas, she left acting to concentrate on music. Albums including Segundo, Tres cosas, Son and Un día established her loop-based songwriting. In 2003, Molina opened for David Byrne on a US tour, bringing her songs to a wider circuit of theatres and clubs. She later documented her live method in a 2014 Tiny Desk Concert, building arrangements from voice, guitar, keyboards and repeated fragments. Her concerts center on real-time looping: Molina layers sung phrases and instrumental patterns, then alters or removes them as each piece develops. Argentina is the home base for her live work; she has also toured the United States and returned repeatedly to Japan.