Singer-songwriter Humbe Performs Live!

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Singer-songwriter Humbe Performs Live!"

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Date: March 4, 2026
Episode Theme:
A vibrant and heartfelt conversation with Mexican pop star Humbe, paired with exclusive live performances. The episode explores Humbe’s creative process, familial collaborations, the cultural roots of his music, and how his latest album, "Dueno del Cielo," fits into his evolving artistic journey. Listeners are treated to the stories behind his songs and the emotional resonance they hold.

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Main Topics & Key Insights

1. Introduction: Humbe’s Background & New Album

• [01:25] Alison Stewart introduces Humbe: a rising Mexican pop artist known for blending R&B with traditional Mexican influences.
  • Humbe has released three albums in three years; his latest, "Dueno del Cielo," is described as the conclusion (perhaps temporary) of a thematic trilogy about love, loss, and hope.
  • Recent Latin Grammy nominee for Best New Artist.

2. Humbe’s Band & Touring

• [02:11] Humbe introduces his touring crew: photographer, drummer, musical director Marcos, and a close friend/guitarist.
  • “We’re very happy to be here. We’re very, very happy to meet you.” (Humbe, 02:23)

3. Story Behind “Novatas”—Live Performance

• [02:29] Humbe introduces "Novatas," inspired by observing his brother’s relationship and the innocence of being new to love.
  • “This is a song that I wrote about...the purest form of love...being new to love, basically.” (Humbe, 02:33)
• [02:54] First live performance: “Novatas.”

4. On Productivity, Process, and the Nature of Albums

• [05:39] Alison asks if the three-year, three-album streak was intentional.
  • “No, actually, no. It’s just life. I never put that much pressure on releasing music. I just do it whenever it feels right.” (Humbe, 05:41)
• Is this the end of the trilogy?
  • “I did feel like it at some point, but now...there’s nothing an end on this until I die, basically.” (Humbe, 06:00)
• [06:22] Future projects teased: “Volumes, volumes, volumes.” (Humbe, 06:18)

5. Making "Dueno del Cielo" in Iceland

• [06:22] Why Iceland? The team sought a Bon Iver aesthetic but found their own sound instead.
  • “We combined all of our colors into one...me, my brother Navi, and my sister-in-law, Christa...it was a beautiful experience.” (Humbe, 06:28)
• [07:03] The creative effect of constant daylight in Iceland:
  • “I am a night person...having to work during the whole day made...pure continuous creative hours of workflow. It was beautiful.” (Humbe, 07:48)

6. The Art of the Long Album

• [08:10] Album length (22 songs)—is Iceland’s unending daylight the reason?
  • “Yeah, it’s a long album...I’ve always wanted to do a long album...huge artists had these huge bodies of work that represented an artist’s era. I don’t want that to be lost in my project.” (Humbe, 08:15)

7. Mexican Roots & Influences

• [08:41] Growing up in Monterrey:
  • “One of my most successful songs...is a mariachi song...my dad used to bring mariachi to my mom every single holiday. It’s part of us, part of our DNA.” (Humbe, 08:51)

8. “Dias Noches”—On the Power of Intense Attachment

• [09:35] Introduction: A song about obsession and falling hard for someone new.
  • “You met that person ten days ago and you still can’t stop thinking about that person.” (Humbe, 09:35)
• [09:52] Second live performance: “Dias Noches.”

9. Family Collaboration & Home Studio

• [14:15] Working with his brother, Emiliano:
  • “We’re siblings. It feels like home...something you can feel in the music—family.” (Humbe, 14:28)
• [14:45] On recording at home:
  • “There’s no way to sing like when you’re on your own...it’s more comfortable in every way.” (Humbe, 14:47)

10. The Live Show Experience

• [15:02] For new listeners anticipating a live show:
  • “It’s pretty fun...pure live music...every single song becomes alive...everyone should be expecting just to sing their hearts out.” (Humbe, 15:15)
  • Production is “magical,” going “hand by hand with the music.”

11. The Performer’s Mindset

• [15:52] What is Humbe trying to accomplish on stage?
  • “I know every show’s different...a different battle. But I try to memorize where I stand every moment. The more you memorize, the more you have it from A to Z...It feels complete once you see it as a spectator.” (Humbe, 16:25)

12. “Fantasmas”—Grief, Memory, and Community Resonance

• [17:32] “Fantasmas”—written to celebrate life and loss, inspired by memories of his grandfather.

  • “It celebrates life, celebrates death...it ended up reminding me of my grandfather...it makes [my family] make pieces with the fact, you know...makes you cherish the good moments.” (Humbe, 17:32)

• [18:21] Audience use of the song during Día de los Muertos and moments of remembrance:

  • “It’s beautiful...That’s the purpose of music. Music should be an outlet for emotion, and that’s exactly what people are doing with it.” (Humbe, 18:21)

• Conversation about grief and how music transforms it.

• [19:02] Third live performance: “Fantasmas.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “There’s no way to sing like when you’re on your own.” (Humbe on home recording, 14:47)
• “I feel like everyone should be expecting just to sing their hearts out.” (Humbe on his live shows, 15:21)
• “I always aim for [albums as] a huge body of work that really represented that artist’s era.” (Humbe, 08:18)
• “It’s beautiful...music should be an outlet for emotion.” (Humbe on fans using “Fantasmas” to process grief, 18:21)

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Episode Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:25 – Host introduction & episode theme
• 02:29 – Introduction to "Novatas" & live performance
• 05:39 – Discussion: Three-album release process
• 06:22 – Creating music in Iceland
• 08:41 – Cultural influences from Monterrey, Mexico
• 09:35 – Introduction to "Dias Noches" & live performance
• 14:15 – Collaboration with brother/at-home recording
• 15:02 – What to expect at a Humbe concert
• 15:52 – Humbe’s performer philosophy
• 17:32 – Introduction to “Fantasmas” & live performance
• 18:21 – Fan connection & music as emotional outlet
• 23:34 – Closing gratitude and farewells

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Conclusion

This episode of "All Of It" offers an in-depth, candid look at Humbe’s artistry, highlighting his roots, collaborative spirit, and the meaning behind his music. Through live performances and honest conversation, Humbe shares how personal stories, family, and cultural heritage profoundly shape his work—and how he hopes to make audiences feel both joy and catharsis, whether at home or at his shows. The episode is a vivid testament to music’s power to connect, transform, and heal.

Transcript

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[D]

This is all of it on wnyc. Hello everybody. I'm Alison Stewart. Mexican pop star Umbe has released three albums in three years. His latest, Dueno de Cielo is the last in a trilogy which explores love, loss and hope. A recent nominee for best New Artist at the Latin Grammys, Umbe is best known for thoughtful songwriting and production that combines R and B with traditional Mexican instrumentation. His new album Dueno del Cielo is out now and he is performing two nights at Brooklyn Paramount tomorrow night and Friday night. We are lucky enough to get a sneak preview of those shows. Umbe joins me here in studio for a live performance. It is very nice to meet you.

[E]

Nice to meet you too. How are you?

[D]

I'm doing well. Will you introduce us to everybody real quick before we start?

[E]

Yeah. It's my photographer, this Roberto, my drummer.

[D]

Nice to meet you.

[E]

My musical director, Marcos. And this is my dearest friend, a guitar player. We're very happy to be here. We're very, very happy to meet you. Thank you for having us here.

[D]

We're going to start off with the song Novatas from your 2024 album. Will you set this up for us?

[E]

Of course. This is a song that I wrote about, I feel like the purest form of love. A song I wrote about the relationship I see in my brother and his future wife. I believe I love this song. And it's about being new to love, basically.

[D]

Let's hear it.

[E]

Thank you.

[D]

That was singer, songwriter Umbe with a live performance of his song no Vatas from his album Dueno de se Leo. It's out now. He's performing at Brooklyn Paramount tomorrow night and Friday night. You put out three albums in three years. Was it always meant to be that way?

[E]

No, no, actually, no. It's just life. I feel like I never put that much pressure in myself on releasing music. I just do it whenever it feels right, you know. So it's kind of a good coincidence it landed on three separate years, you know, did that.

[D]

Did the final album, did it wind up being sort of a finishing point for the whole project?

[E]

I do feel like it. Or I did feel like it at some point, but now I'm living more and I feel like there's nothing an end on this until I die, basically. So I don't know.

[D]

That's so funny. So it could become four albums. Quatro cinco. It could keep going.

[E]

No, volumes, Volumes, volumes.

[D]

I understand you went to Iceland to make this record. First of all, why Iceland?

[E]

Well, we were looking for this bon Ivera aesthetic on the album. We didn't find it. We found something else, which is the most beautiful part of it because we combined all of our colors into one to create this album. When I say we, I'm talking about me, my brother Navi, which is a productor, and my sister in law, Christa, which is also my photographer. And it was beautiful. It was honestly a beautiful experience and it came out beautifully.

[D]

What do you think about being in Iceland? What did it offer you creatively?

[E]

Well, the site was beautiful. Every day it was beautiful. Yeah. I mean, we went during summer, so there was no. Yeah, there was no sundown. Like there was no night, you know, it was pure daylight. There were some like two or three hours that was like the blue hour, but it was the most dark it got. But besides that, it was magical. Like experiencing even sunsets in there. Like they lasted like for three, four hours, you know, it was weird, but it's something the world does, I guess.

[D]

I went to Alaska in the middle of July, in the middle of summer. And it's weird to be out at 11:30 on a playground, on a swing. You should be in bed, but you aren't. You're outside playing something in you Sort of gets stirred up.

[E]

Yeah, yeah. And it also affects in the creative flow, I believe, because I am a night person, I work at night. So not having that, just having to, like, make myself work during the whole day made myself just, like, have pure continuous of creative hours of workflow. It was beautiful.

[D]

Well, maybe that's why your album is 22 songs long.

[E]

Yeah, it's a long album. Yeah, it could be.

[D]

One of the reasons it could be.

[E]

I mean, I've always wanted to do a long album. I feel like before this new era of music, there used to be a lot of albums, like, being released, like, from huge artists that became, like, this huge body of work that really represented that artist's era. So that's something. I feel that I don't want that to be lost in my project, you know? So that's something I always aim for.

[D]

It's interesting. You're from the. Is it the northwestern part of Mexico? Yeah, yeah, Monterrey. What aspects of growing up there can we hear in your music?

[E]

Hmm. Well, one of my most successful songs, if not my most successful, is a mariachi song. It's a song that I never actually intended, like, for it to be as well. I mean, nobody ever intends for a song to be as big as it gets. But that song being that big made me realize how much mariachi I grew up listening to. You know, I actually really leaned into it since I was a kid because my dad used to bring mariachi to my mom. Every single holiday, every single celebration, you know, it's like part of us, part of our DNA.

[D]

We're going to hear that song later on, but you're going to perform Dias es Noches from your album Entropia. What's the song about?

[E]

Dias Noches. It's a song that's about basically getting, like, stuck in someone. Like being stuck in someone. Yeah. You're very into someone, and you met that person 10 days ago, and you still can't stop thinking about that person.

[D]

This is the synoj.

[E]

Spirit, Sam.

[D]

That was singer, songwriter Umbe with a live performance of his song Diaz Noches. His new album, dueno de Cielo, is out now. He's performing at Brooklyn Paramount tomorrow night and Friday night. I want to be over there. Is that Daniel or is it Roberto?

[E]

Roberto.

[D]

Roberto, I want to be over with you. You got all the good toys.

[E]

He's got everything.

[D]

He's got all the good toys.

[E]

You have to see us during rehearsals. It's so funny.

[D]

This is all of it on wnyc. My guest is, umberto, Umbe, your brother Emiliano, who is a producer on the album, what makes you two a pair of good collaborators?

[E]

I mean, we're siblings. It's beautiful. It's the fact of having blood into the songwriting era of everything and the production and everything. It feels like home. It feels beautiful, and, I don't know, it's something I feel you can feel in the music, you know, family.

[D]

Is it true that you record in your own home?

[E]

I do. I do everything. I like to do it because, I mean, there's no way to sing, like, when you're on your own, first of all. And also, I mean, it's more comfortable in every way.

[D]

What can you tell us about going to an Umbe show? For someone who hasn't been. Who's been hearing this on the radio and thinking, like, gosh, I really want to go to Paramount and check him out. What do you expect? What do they experience? What's the. What's. What's your vibe?

[E]

I mean, it's pretty fun. I feel like it's pure live music. I love bringing everything into the live session because every single song becomes real, becomes, like, in another way, it becomes so alive. So I love that part. I feel like everyone should be expecting just to sing their hearts out. If you know these songs, just sing it out and have a good time. Honestly, I feel like the whole scenario, the whole production, things we've done into this tour, it's magical. It really goes hand by hand with the music.

[D]

When you're on stage, this is a hard question. What are you trying to accomplish? Because it is your job, in a way. You are to be creative, but you do have a job to do. You're a performer, you're an entertainer. What are you trying to accomplish?

[E]

I mean, I could say, like, projecting and give it all, like, but that's, I think, into the standard of an artist. Like, you always want to give it all. Yeah, I really am always looking forward into perfecting every single part of my craft.

[D]

Oh, that's interesting.

[E]

You know, like, I feel like wherever I step, I know every show's different. I know every show is a different war, you know, different thing, different battle. But I do like to, like, try to memorize where I stand every single moment. You know, I like to. I don't know. The more you memorize things, the more you have it from A to C and not just let it into, like. Yeah, it's just a fun moment, a party. Like, if you have some things that are very standard and very, like, I don't know there that you're strict about them. People can really tell. Like, it feels very armed. It feels complete once you see it as an expectator.

[D]

My guest is Mexican singer songwriter Umbe, who is performing live here at wnyc. His latest album, dueno Dicielo, is out now. He'll be performing at Brooklyn Paramount Thursday and on Friday night. Okay, we're gonna get to your big song. Your big song. That's exciting to say. Big song. Your big song. Fantasmas. Tell us what it's about.

[E]

It's a song that celebrates life, celebrates death, celebrates everything that goes by. It's a song that wasn't really meant when it was written, like, for my grandfather, but it ended up reminding me, and I think about him every time I sing it. And it's a song that has done so much for me, for my family, for my people, because it's a song that literally made them make pieces with the fact, you know, like, it's a song that actually just makes you cherish the good moments.

[D]

What was your grandfather's name?

[E]

Rafael. Okay.

[D]

Hello, Raphael, wherever you are. For fantasmas, a lot of people, especially around the Dia de los Muertos, they post videos online using this song. What has that been like for you to see that?

[E]

It's beautiful. It's beautiful. It's kind of hard because most of the videos are kind of heartbreaking because it's, you know, But. But I feel like that's the purpose of music. I think that music should be an outlet for emotion, and that's exactly what people are doing with it. So as long as music does its job, I'm just happy to see whatever

[D]

it does, even though it's heartbreaking. Someone told me, and I didn't believe it when my parents died, but, you know, you wake up and you feel very sad, very sad. Then one day you wake up and you sort of have a warmth about your parents or about a person who has passed away. It sort of transforms over. It develops into that.

[E]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

[D]

Can we hear Phantasmas? Yes.

[E]

J. Sam.

[D]

Tomorrow. That was singer Sayada Umbe with a live performance of his song Phantasmas. His new album is Duenho de sedo. It's out now. He's performing at Brooklyn Paramount tomorrow night and Friday night. Thank you for putting up with my high school Spanish.

[E]

I love it. Thank you for putting up with my high school English.

[D]

Thanks for being with us.

[E]

Thank you. Thank you for your time.

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