Esquemas Juveniles

Esquemas Juveniles
Studio album by
Javiera Mena
ReleasedOctober 4, 2006 (2006-10-04)
Recorded2004—2005
StudioKanguro[1]
Genre
Length46:44
LanguageSpanish
Label
ProducerCristian Heyne
Javiera Mena chronology
Esquemas Juveniles
(2006) 		Mena
(2010)

Esquemas Juveniles (Spanish: [esˈkemas xuβeˈniles], lit. 'Youthful Frameworks' or 'Youthful Schemes') is the debut album by Chilean singer-songwriter Javiera Mena, released on October 4, 2006, by Quemasucabeza.[2]

Background and release

Javiera Mena began experimenting with music production at the age of 13, after acquiring her first computer, where she created small programmed sequences and combined them with guitar recordings.[3] Around 2000, while still in her final year of school, she began recording her first material which comprised guitar-based songs that would be then shared through Soulseek.[4]

After finishing high school, Mena went on to study music composition at the music school Pro Jazz, a decision that marked a shift toward more formal musical training[4]. At the same time, Mena subsequently began her musical career as part of the indie group Prissa,[4] where she had already been making and sharing music online for a couple of years, reaching an considerable number of listeners through MySpace[5] With the help of producer and sound engineer Pablo Muñoz (Gargales, De Janeiros), Mena began working on her first album, but later moved on from this project to work with Gabriel Vigliensoni (Lucybell) and then Cristian Heyne, seeking a more professional approach[4]. The songs from this period were subsequently compiled in the album Primeras Composiciones released in 2013.[6]

Leaving her first compositions behind, Mena consciously moved away from a folk-pop style, stating that she wanted to create "something Pop, not so Chilean."[3] This shift was driven by her close relationship with her computer, and her circle involved mutual influence among friends sharing bands, tastes, and experimentation blending pop, folk, and electronic[4]. Her friends Arturo Saray and Raúl Durán (Quierostar) introduced her to the music production software Orion.[3] She subsequently transitioned to Fruity Loops. During this period, Mena mentioned the Electroclash movement, and acts such as Miss Kittin, as influences.[4]

The process of producing Esquemas Juveniles spanned three to four years.[4] Cristian Heyne began working on the record in 2004.[7] About his involvement, he commented: "Through a mutual friend, I approached [Mena] in the summer of [2004], after we had met in 2001. I had listened to some of her songs on MySpace, and I proposed producing her."[7] Production was mainly supported by Sebastián Carreras and Martín Crespo from Argentine label Índice Virgen, plus Heyne and journalist Cristián Araya from Chile.[7] In August 2005, independent label Quemasucabeza released the compilation album Panorama Neutral, which featured Mena's first commercially-released song, "Sol de invierno."[5] While Heyne ended up producing the album, Mena composed and arranged eight of the album's ten songs, and also played a large part of the instruments featured on the recording[5]. Exceptions were the cover "Yo no te pido la luna" (Spanish language cover of "Non voglio mica la luna" popularized by Mexican singer Daniela Romo) and "Como siempre soñé", whose lyrics were written by fellow Chilean singer Sofía Oportot of Lulú Jam[5]. On the other hand, fellow musician Daniel Riveros contributed with drums and vocals in "Sol de invierno."[5] Mena commented that tracks such as "Al Siguiente Nivel," "Cuando Hablamos," "Casan," and "Como Siempre Soñé" were fully programmed by her on her laptop with minimal additional production beyond Heyne's mixing.[4]

The album was early-released in August 2006 in Argentina through independent label Índice Virgen.[4] The Chilean edition was officially released on October 4, 2006, via Quemasucabeza, with a concert held at Teatro Mori in Santiago.[8] In 2007, the album was released in Japan via Art Union, including a bonus track.[9] In 2008, the album was released in Mexico via EMI.[10][11]

The cover artwork was designed by Argentine graphic artist Alejandro Ros.[12]

Critical reception

Writing for the Chilean independent music outlet Super 45, critic Andrés Acevedo described Esquemas Juveniles as a "delicately produced album designed to connect with its listeners," where Mena "reaches a level of meticulousness that is hard for her peers to match".[2] Acevedo highlighted the album's delicate layering of instruments, which create leisurely seductive atmospheres while preserving melodic freshness and a sincere, naïve charm free from mass-market formulas or disposable bubblegum aesthetics.[2] Writing for Sound and Colors, Russ Slater described the album as "a ground-breaking release, a true pop masterpiece that laid the groundwork for all the indie pop that was to follow".[13] He praised Mena's songwriting skills and noted that the album, composed of "cutting synth numbers" and "slower soulful ballads", could be described as "if Karen Carpenter had been trained by Erasure and then recorded with The Knife."[13]

In 2025, The Clinic regarded Esquemas Juveniles as "a transformative album that permanently shifted the paradigm surrounding pop music in Chile, validating it as a legitimate and viable artistic option for an entire subsequent generation of musicians", noting that it gave a voice to the youth of the 2000s while exemplifying an independent, self-managed way of creating and releasing music.[14]

Cultural impact

In 2009, Club Fonograma ranked Esquemas Juveniles second on their ranking of the Top 10 Albums of the Decade (2000s), behind Café Tacuba's Cuatro Caminos.[15]

In 2025, Esquemas Juveniles was selected number one in a poll conducted by The Clinic on the 50 best Chilean albums of the 21st century, in which surveyed more than 100 Chilean artists on what they considered the best national albums released between 2000 and 2024.[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Javiera Mena, except where noted.

Esquemas Juveniles track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Al Siguiente Nivel"  4:04
2."Esquemas Juveniles"  3:34
3."Como Siempre Soñé"Sofía Oportot 4:50
4."Sol de Invierno" (feat. Gepe)  4:24
5."Cámara Lenta"  5:27
6."Casan (No Puedo Bloquear Lo Que Quiero Dar)"  4:31
7."Cuando Hablamos"  4:28
8."Está en Tus Manos"  6:18
9."Yo No Te Pido La Luna"Daniela Romo
3:43
10."Perlas"  5:25
Esquemas Juveniles — Japanese/Mexican edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Hambre (La Comida)"3:42

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Esquemas Juveniles.[1]

  • Javiera Mena – vocals, bass, synthesizer, piano, guitar, percussion, programming
  • Cristian Heyne – production, recording, mixing (1-6, 8, 9), drums (4), guitar solo (5)
  • Gabriel Lucena – mastering, mixing (7)
  • Diego Morales – mixing (10)
  • Matías Radic – drums (2)
  • Daniel Riveros – vocals (4), drums (5)
  • Daniel Guerrero – handclaps (5)
  • Juan José Aránguiz – handclaps (5)
  • Rodrigo Peñailillo – handclaps (5)
  • Miguel Miranda – synthesizer (5)
  • Gabriel Vingliensoni - keyboards (10)
  • Alejandro Ros - design, photography

Release history

Region Date Label Format Ref.
Argentina August 2006 (2006-08) Índice Virgen CD
Chile October 4, 2006 (2006-10-04) Quemasucabeza [8]
Japan May 30, 2007 (2007-05-30) Art Union [9]
Mexico 2008 (2008) EMI Mexico [11][10]
Various August 22, 2011 (2011-08-22) Unión del Sur
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 [16]
Chile 2014 (2014) LP [17]
2016 (2016) Meni
  • CD
  • digital download
  • streaming
 [18]

Tribute album

Adolescente Perpetuo (Un Tributo a Esquemas Juveniles)
Studio album by
Various Artists
ReleasedOctober 14, 2016 (2016-10-14)
GenreLatin pop
Length49:06
LanguageSpanish
Label
  • El Amarillo
  • Ponk Records

Adolescente Perpetuo (Un Tributo a Esquemas Juveniles) is a 2016 tribute album to Javiera Mena's album Esquemas Juveniles. It features various artists covering the songs of Mena's debut album.[19][20]

In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of Esquemas Juveniles, this album was developed by Colombian music blog El Amarillo, which assembled a group of independent artists from Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, and Spain, to contribute their perspective on each track of the record.[19][21]

The album was made available for free download via Bandcamp,[22] as well as being released on music streaming platforms.[23]

Track listing (Adolescente Perpetuo)

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Al Siguiente Nivel"Violeta Castillo4:14
2."Esquemas Juveniles"Chico Unicornio3:25
3."Como Siempre Soñé"Sofía Oportot3:38
4."Sol de invierno"Ignacio Herbojo3:58
5."Cámara Lenta"Fakuta4:53
6."Casan"Hijos3:17
7."Cuando Hablamos"Capullo5:05
8."Está en Tus Manos"Balún5:41
9."Yo No Te Pido La Luna"Sokio4:07
10."Perlas"Bruno Toro3:30
11."Hambre"Le Parody3:24

References

  1. ^ a b Javiera Mena (2006). Esquemas Juveniles (CD). Quemasucabeza. QSC 015.
  2. ^ a b c Acevedo, Andrés (31 October 2006). "Javiera Mena – Esquemas juveniles (Indice Vírgen / Quemasucabeza)" (in Spanish). Super 45. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  3. ^ a b c Olave, Eleonora (2 January 2026). ""Quiero hacer algo pop": Javiera Mena cuenta cómo hizo el mejor disco chileno del siglo XXI". Rock&Pop (in Spanish). Prisa. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Tapia, Javiera (18 August 2016). "Esquemas Juveniles: una historia oral" (in Spanish). POTQ. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e Venegas, Rocío (15 August 2016). "Tantas canciones buenas: 10 años de "Esquemas Juveniles" de Javiera Mena" (in Spanish). El Desconcierto.cl. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  6. ^ "Javiera Mena "El amanecer"". Emol.com (in Spanish). El Mercurio. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  7. ^ a b c Vera Rojas, Yumber (30 December 2018). "Cristián Heyne, el arquitecto del pop chileno "Me gusta la agresividad sucia y rugosa de la voz"". Página 12 (in Spanish). Grupo Octubre. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  8. ^ a b "Javiera Mena en entrevista para El Mapa" (in Spanish). Radio JGM, Universidad de Chile. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  9. ^ a b "Esquemas Juveniles by Javiera Mena" (in Japanese). HMV Japan. 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  10. ^ a b "Javiera Mena - Esquemas Juveniles ( Hecho En Mexico ) Bonus Track" (in Spanish). Submarino Amarillo Mexico. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  11. ^ a b "Javiera Mena "Al siguiente nivel: la gira mexicana"". Emol (in Spanish). El Mercurio. 22 April 2008. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  12. ^ "Javiera Mena: la historia de Esquemas juveniles (N°1 entre los discos chilenos del siglo XXI) (Video Interview)". YouTube (in Spanish). The Clinic YouTube Channel. 2 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  13. ^ a b Slater, Russ (31 October 2014). "10 Classic Chilean Albums (1999-2014)". Sounds and Colors. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  14. ^ a b Flores, Raimundo; Aspillaga, Jorge. "Los 50 mejores discos chilenos del siglo XXI" (in Spanish). The Clinic. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  15. ^ "Club Fonograma's Best Albums of the Decade. 2000-2009". Club Fonograma. December 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  16. ^ "Esquemas Juveniles by Javiera Mena". Portal Disc.cl. 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  17. ^ "Javiera Mena – Esquemas Juveniles (2014) Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, White". Voluptuous Vinyl Records. 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Esquemas Juveniles by Javiera Mena". Apple Music. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  19. ^ a b Contreras, Emilio (15 November 2016). "Músicos iberoamericanos homenajean el debut de Javiera Mena con un disco tributo". Biobiochile.cl (in Spanish). Radio Bío Bío Chile. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  20. ^ "Adolescente Perpetuo, el compilado que homenajea a Javiera Mena". POTQ (in Spanish). 14 November 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  21. ^ Ferrari, Rodrigo (21 September 2016). "Adolescente Perpetuo, el tributo iberoamericano a Esquemas Juveniles" (in Spanish). Super 45. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  22. ^ "Adolescente Perpetuo - El Amarillo". Bandcamp. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  23. ^ "Adolescente Perpetuo (Un Tributo a Esquemas Juveniles) by Various Artists". Apple Music. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.