My song for the Latin American Bitcoin Conference‘s 10th edition has been published on all major streaming and download platforms.
As you may know from this article, the Latin American Bitcoin Conference has asked me to write a song for them. Labitconf is the longest running Bitcoin conference and my absolute favourite. I was a speaker at all nine editions and I am honoured that my song will help to promote and celebrate its tenth anniversary.
From now on, you can listen to it on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and many other digital music services. Please follow this link!
Labitconf will use my song for their website and social media, and of course I will perform it at the conference, which will take place in Buenos Aires in November 2022.
It was is the first time that I wrote music on commission, because my friend Rodolfo Andragnes, the co-founder and director of Labitconf, asked me to do so. What he had in mind was a mix of a football sing-along and an anthem for freedom – quite a challenge!
Originally he wanted the song to be in Spanish, but I convinced him to use mostly English with some Spanish sprinkles, as Labitconf is an international conference of global significance. We added one verse in Portuguese and one in Spanish to emphasise its Latin American roots.
We went through several iterations with valuable contributions by Rodolfo and by Gabriel Kurman, a team member of Labitconf who is also a musician. It was a bit unusual for me to work with “clients” on the style and lyrics of a song, but in the end I am very happy with the result.
Here are the lyrics:
Every year we travel to Latin America
To meet Bitcoin lovers with two coloured shoes
Every year we jump into La Bitcoineta
To dance samba and salsa but never the blues
Lalala Lalalala Lalala LABITCONF
Every year we see La Familia Naranja
Cheering for the team that fights for our goals
Every year karaokeamos en La Cancha
To get rid of the dinosaurs at the controls
Lalala Lalalala Lalala LABITCONF
Pro jogo bonito, pra liberdade
Pro presente que o Satoshinho
Deu pra gente, pra humanidade
Todos juntos celebramos
El dinero sin fronteras
El dinero que cambia el juego
De Tijuana a la Tierra del Fuego
Every year the governments print more money
That loses value faster than Messi can run
But now we have the tools to opt out
It’s a battle for freedom that has just begun
Lalala Lalalala Lalala LABITCONF
Two Coloured Shoes?
In case you wonder what the “two coloured shoes” in the first verse and on the cover mean: that’s a dress code Rodolfo Andragnes invented a while ago. He wears trainers of two different colours every day and encourages people to follow his example during Labitconf. When you are at the conference, you will see many people adopting this weird style.
The Production Process
I wrote the song on an acoustic guitar, recorded a demo version in Mexico and sent it to my friend Julio Kladniew in Buenos Aires. Julio is a genius of a musician and the composer of most soundtracks for the promo videos we create at Bitfilm.com. He turned my simple song into a Latin American feast for the ears – with a driving bass line, lots of Latin percussion and a groovy brass section. He also sang the Spanish part.
I recorded the final vocals at Steph Ferrera’s Jungle Studio in Tulum, Mexico. Her voice can be heard singing “Satoshinho” in the Brazilian part. Anton Orlov from Israel then mixed and mastered the track. We hope you like it as much as we do! If so, please listen to it on your favourite music service, like and spread it!
By Aaron Koenig