Los Angeles/Denver–based indie-alternative artist and producer Yugs is known for creating music that makes you close your eyes and dance, blending an eccentric mix of influences, from The Strokes and Mac DeMarco to Nujabes, into warm guitars, dreamy synths, Latin grooves, and introspective lyricism crafted to “help you see the magic that exists all around us.”
His new single, “Un Amor Violento” (feat. Fruta Brutal), is more than a cover of the 1991 Los Tres classic, it marks a turning point in Yugs’ artistic journey and a reconnection with his Chilean roots. Following the end of a seven-year relationship, Yugs left his 9-to-5 marketing job and traveled to Chile for the first time in over six years. Staying with family in Santiago, his cousin Deby Kaufmann introduced him to Los Tres. Hearing “Un Amor Violento” in that moment resonated deeply, encapsulating the disorienting realization that a love that once dazzled could also leave you leveled: “Porque un amor violento nos deslumbró, nos fulminó.”
Culturally, the track carries even more weight. Yugs is a Jewish-American artist whose mother, Gabriela Kaufmann Gottlieb, was born in Santiago after her parents fled Nazi Germany. With music running through his lineage, including his mother and great-grandmother as pianists, reconnecting with Chile became a reclamation of both heritage and artistic identity.
Originally performed live at Denver’s Mercury Cafe in August 2023 with Ecuadorian-American musician Fruta Brutal, the song was later recorded at Mañanas HQ in Denver. Fruta Brutal contributed lead acoustic and electric guitar as well as vocal production, while Agustín Rodas in Cuenca, Ecuador mixed, mastered, and added keys, making the collaboration a true Latin American endeavor.
Sonically, Yugs filters the ’90s Chilean classic through his indie-alternative lens, pairing warm guitars, textured atmospheres, and intimate vocals to create a version that feels simultaneously nostalgic and emotionally current. “Un Amor Violento” is not a song about bitterness, it’s about mourning, growth, and learning to move forward while holding love for what once was.
With this release, Yugs not only honours a beloved Chilean classic but also channels heartbreak, cultural reclamation, and cross-continental collaboration into a dreamy, heartfelt , indie-rock soundscape, an intimate invitation to close your eyes, feel, and dance.
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