Good news for Uruguayan music lovers from abroad

Until the end of the year, the Uruguayan music streaming platform MUS will offer users around the world, free of charge, access to the wide range of Uruguayan music, which offers a diversity of styles that are valued internationally for their uniqueness and creativity, as well as for the outstanding quality of their productions.

The country has a wide range of cultural options and is strongly marked by musical fusion and by being home to hundreds of internationally renowned musicians. Its traditional expressions range from candombe, the popular drum-based rhythm that has been recognized as Intangible Heritage of Humanity, murga, the main expression of Uruguayan carnival, which with an extension of 45 days is the longest in the world, or the tango of great roots in the Rio de la Plata.

Uruguayan popular music has produced unmistakable voices and authors such as Alfredo Zitarrosa, José Carvajal, Daniel Viglietti, Jaime Roos and Ruben Rada, but it has not been unconnected with regional and global trends, which have led to the creation of countless rock and pop bands, which have also successfully fused these rhythms with more indigenous ones, generating a distinctive and extensive musical collection.

Some of the outstanding cases of the Uruguayan musical heritage are the tango "La Cumparsita", with lyrics and music by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, who has reached a privileged place within this music genre, being the most widespread and recognized tango worldwide. This piece of music has more than 2,500 recorded versions and was declared the Uruguayan Popular and Cultural Anthem in 1998.

Meanwhile, contemporary singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler was the first artist in history to win an Oscar for music in Spanish. The Uruguayan received the award for his composition and performance of the song "Al otro lado del río" (2005), which was part of the soundtrack of the film "Diarios de Motocicleta" (The Motorcycle Diaries).

In terms of rock, bands such as No te va a gustar, La Vela Puerca and El Cuarteto de Nos have positioned themselves in the international market with notorious successes in Argentina that were later extended to other countries in the region and finally reached Europe. From 2015 pop began to grab the attention with the new musical trend of cumbia-pop, which, along with the musical platforms and bands like Rombai and Márama, became a great regional phenomenon, mainly among young people.

The MUS platform allows you to listen to the Uruguayan discography of all times, with the highest quality standards as well as having playlists by genres and themes, direct access to the country's radio stations and current information on Uruguayan music.

Download MUS here.

Also know the bilingual catalogue SOUNDS FROM URUGUAY, with the biannual selection of bands and artists made by the Association of Producers and Managers of Uruguay, with the support of the National Direction of Culture. This catalogue seeks to promote a careful selection of bands to international festival programmers and event producers, in order to support their internationalization.