Eden Muñoz’s 2022 live album, La Historia Debe Continuar, effectively introduced him as a solo artist. Released after his decade-plus at the helm of Calibre 50, that record had a liberating effect on him, one that makes the passionate exuberance of his studio debut particularly fitting. “I allowed myself to mix musical styles, genres, and instruments,” he tells Apple Music. “Ten years ago, they would have thought I was crazy, but I think people’s ears are more open now.” Sounding somewhere between banda and mariachi, his new songs go further by incorporating vallenato details, unexpected tropical twists, cinematic country landscapes, and high-flying arrangements. “I don’t want to change the way I talk, which is plain, everyday street language,” Muñoz says of his approach as a lyricist. Here, he retains a keen eye and ear for capturing moments and feelings in his hard-hitting lines, from the devil-may-care spirit of a crazy bender on “Dónde Va a Ser la Peda” to the devastating regret of “Ni Volviendo a Nacer.” Throughout the album, his voice feels warmer and closer than ever, telling stories with the familiarity of hearing from an old friend, his casual phrasing conjuring complex emotions with apparent ease. Read on as he talks through Consejos Gratis, one song at a time. “Dónde Va a Ser la Peda” “I’ve noticed, especially when looking at social media, that we are consuming everything way too fast. It’s something I would like to change, but you just can’t. Now, you need to use very concise words in lyrics so that young people understand what you are trying to say. The song is about something real, which is going on a bender. It opens a door and lets you know that there are all kinds of things in the album. And it feels odd because albums are not really whole concepts anymore. Instead, artists just release songs once or twice a month. I’m not afraid to do that, but I’m still working the old way. And what better way to start than with something that makes you want to listen to the whole thing?” “Bájale” “This is the first open risk I take in the album, especially with the production. It’s a song that defines Eden as an artist in full possession of his freedom. The intro is very dramatic, with the mariachi echoes, but suddenly you hear a tololoche and harmonies that come from Sinaloan banda music. There’s also some woodwinds, brass, and accordion—the kitchen sink. Oddly, it’s in a minor key, which is not that common, especially when you are singing about love or, as is the case here, toxic relationships.” “Mañana Voy a Verte” “This is the complete opposite of ‘Bájale’ and the point where the record takes an unexpected turn. After ‘¿Dónde Va a Ser la Peda?’, you might think you know where the album is going, but ‘Bájale’ is a whole different thing in every sense. Then, ‘Mañana Voy a Verte’ turns everything upside down, and you realize that the cycle I’m following has no set parameters. It’s a song that really satisfies my troubadour, bohemian soul and the part of me that wants to change the rules of the game. Here, we go back to that classic banda sound, but mixing it up with the kind of norteño that was around in the ’60s and ’70s, when the tololoche was the backbone of the music. I hadn’t done that before. The arrangement, the steady drumming, and the love declaration of the lyrics are very much in the classic mold too.” “Consejos Gratis” “The music is old school, basic to a degree, but there are loads of people that still love this sound, which is what I was raised on. To stop playing it altogether wouldn’t be healthy because that’s the basis for what we have now. The lyrics came from a get-together where some old folks were giving different kinds of advice. I took the liberty of writing some of their words down to use them as lyrics. It’s all authentic. Who doesn’t need a little bit of advice, especially if it comes in a song?” “Como Quieras Quiero” “This is like an analog-digital hybrid. The beat is a regular banda, 6/8, very upbeat and partylike. But there’s also some charanga, which sounds very tropical on the congas and all those things. It’s a very Mexican tune, just tropicalized. The call-and-answer backing vocals give it a really cool touch. It’s one of the musical indulgences I allowed myself, and it fills my wandering spirit.” “Oficialmente en Soltería” “We’ve all been through the end of a relationship. It affects you and it hurts because you don’t want it to come. Those are hard moments to try to set to music when you talk about love and feelings. What I wanted with this song was to soften that transition in a way. The lyrics have a tongue-in-cheek spirit, but you can also take them seriously because they never go over the limit that way.” “MX - MAD” “This is a traditional, story-driven corrido. There’s this new kind of corridos now, and they are very different, but what I’ve been championing for many years are the stories that allow you to close your eyes, visualize your own movie, and put a face to the characters. As entertainment, I feel that they have an edge over other types of songs. Musically, I want to get into more sophisticated things, but I would never sacrifice the traditional side of corridos.” “La Historia Debe Continuar” “This song closed an era for me. That’s where the title comes from, and that’s why I used it to name the tour. There’s a duality to it that anyone can relate to, no matter their context or situation. Musically, it signals the end of a chapter in my life. It’s a sad, melancholic song, maybe a little bitter, too, but I wanted the music to balance those feelings out. That’s why you hear a vallenato accordion out of the blue, or the half-Texan beat. It’s an interesting experiment.” “Gafete de Cabrón” “It’s one of those songs we should never stop doing, with the simple, straightforward lyrics and a rural feel. It has a lot to do with my roots and the way that I talk. At the same time, I want to leave an open window for the next generations. Even if they speak a different language, they will know exactly what I’m trying to say.” “Blas” “I like singing true stories. They have a realism that you can hear and feel. Unfortunately, these are stories that keep happening in my country, but it’s our reality whether we want it or not. I sing them with respect, and I never encourage people to emulate them, but we need to put them on the table and leave the rest to the listener. I wrote ‘Blas’ and ‘MX-MAD’ with my friend Blas Murrieta, who was incarcerated in the United States for a while. I can’t even imagine all the stories he must have heard over there. These are just two of them, but we’ve written more that will be coming out on future albums.” “Mientes Tan Bien” “I like to do a cover on every record. They are all songs I wish I had written myself and I know inside out, but at the same time, I need to feel that I can make them my own. That’s what happened with ‘Si Te Pudiera Mentir’ [the Marco Antonio Solís song recorded for Calibre 50’s 2019 album, Simplemente Gracias]. A lot of people still think I wrote that. I hope the same thing happens with this one. I don’t think that the younger generations are aware of the original Sin Bandera version, which is completely different from this one in the arrangements and the performance.” “Me Rendí” “This is a very West Mexico arrangement, with the woodwinds and the cellos, violas, and violins—classic but with a grupero vibe. If anyone could jump on it, it had to be Banda MS, especially because of Alan’s voice. We have an incredible chemistry. We share management, music, and lots of other things.” “Ni Volviendo a Nacer” “I like to write lyrics that don’t seem to say much but are really saying a lot. This is a beautiful musical experiment where I flirt with mariachi. I felt it was the only way to set the words to music. Here, we go back to that world of pain, mistakes, and bad decisions.” “Ya Me Está Yendo Bien” “This is a musical indulgence. I’m a big fan of country music, which I had never done before. Even though it has nothing to do with corridos, I challenged myself to make it fit here, and I think that we succeeded. It is a very traditional corrido, and so is the way I sing it. There is a lot of positivity and ambition in the words, and that carries into the music, where you can hear elements of country that blend really well with the rest of it.”