Boy Pablo is ready to reintroduce himself. While his career took off in 2017 with the viral, outsider-pop anthem "Everytime," Boy Pablo's Nicolas Muñoz has since found himself more connected to his art than ever. While Boy Pablo initially started out as a project just for fun, Muñoz, now 21, has since honed a cohesive, creative vision, becoming a fully-fledged force to be reckoned with in the indie-pop space.
With Boy Pablo’s debut album, Wachito Rico, due Oct. 23, Muñoz crafts a hybrid conceptual and autobiographical record. “Wachito Rico,” a Chilean expression that means “handsome boy” and the idea of being fond of someone, is the overarching theme and a character Muñoz centered the album on. Throughout the LP, Muñoz will take listeners through the highs and lows of his alter-ego’s love story, which will be mirrored in an elevated caliber of music videos that go beyond the calling-card shore visual of “Everytime.”
Introducing Wachito Rico is lead single “Hey Girl,” an entrypoint into the love life of the album’s titular character and a return to the familiar warmth of Muñoz’s vocals. As Wachito Rico, Muñoz narrates the challenges of winning over a girl, keeping her and navigating the problems that come along the way. Roadblocks aside, a throughline of the album is Wachito Rico’s happy-go-lucky attitude that keeps him grounded even when times are tough. But despite Wachito Rico’s presence as a character, the album comes from a personal place for Muñoz, as the songs are derived from the joy and pain he’s experienced throughout his young life. But even the heavier moments―like contemplating a breakup―are overshadowed by a lighter, spontaneous tone.
While Muñoz has largely been writing and producing solo since Boy Pablo’s inception in 2015, Wachito Rico sees him collaborating more than ever. In writing and recording sessions done throughout 2019, he worked with his older brother, Esteban Muñoz, and brother-in-law, Erik Thorsheim, to broaden his perspective and expand his vision. Both visually and sonically Wachito Rico creates an atmosphere that merges Muñoz’s Latin-American and Norwegian backgrounds and remains deeply rooted in love.
Born in Norway to Chilean parents, Muñoz grew up immersed in a family of musicians at heart. At six, Muñoz learned how to play the drums, and by 10, he had mastered the guitar. Growing up, Muñoz was influenced by everything from Blink-182 and Green Day to Latin music and The Beatles. The latter is what he envisioned himself sounding like as he went through a period of musical exploration. During his senior year at the music-focused high school he attended, Muñoz gathered some friends for a gig at his school, presented his sound and suddenly Boy Pablo was born. Now, that same close-knit circle, Gabriel Muñoz, Eric Tryland, Henrik Åmdal and Sigmund Vestrheim remain Boy Pablo’s live band.
Wachito Rico serves as a more mature follow-up to Boy Pablo’s 2018 breakout EP Soy Pablo, a collection of raw songwriting and dazzling, nostalgic anthems. Through his seven bedroom pop tracks, Muñoz fused a retro sound with California sun-kissed melodies, creating a perfect segue between “Everytime” and his debut album.
With Wachito Rico, Boy Pablo shows he’s not only grown up and into his sound, but that he’s more than just an internet phenomenon.
