Meet BICHA

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful BICHA a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

BICHA, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
I find power in individuality and self-expression; I might be the only Latina woman with red hair and blonde stripes and bleached eyebrows wearing a punk rock outfit at a doctors office or a grocery store. It’s cool. I think it’s powerful.

Embracing your quirks and cracks actually has helped me tremendously as an artist and as an individual; is the only way I get to love myself and therefore, spread that love to others. Only good things come if you stay true to who you are, its energetic.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
BICHA is the name I gave to my alter ego and my music project.

I was born Carla Pensalfine originally: a songwriter/musician/creature from Mendoza, Argentina now based in Los Angeles. They say that Kurt Cobain and Madonna had a child when touring Argentina and they left her there…. that’s BICHA; a canvas of raw, chaotic, emotional and melodic colors.

I released my Debut EP No Quiero Pensar Mas on 2022 (produced by Andres Ceccarelli) that made it to Spotify Editorial Playlists like Indie Argentina, EQUAL Argentina, Mujeres del Indie. On 2023 I released a single Mente Revolver (also produced by Andres Ceccarelli) followed by the singles “Blood on Your Teeth” and “Dirty Mouth” from my upcoming live EP L.A Tapes, engineered/mixed/mastered/produced by Javier Cruces.

I moved to LA 2 years ago, and L.A Tapes will be my love/hate letter to Los Angeles; inspired by bands like Hole, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Bikini Kill, Wolf Alice, etc. Its not what I usually do, this has to be the rawest my project has ever been. It’s also the first time I introduce the English language to my songwriting, which is exiting.

My mentor Marko DeSantis from Sugarcult actually inspired me to release this project, he was like “stop overthinking, these songs are sick you HAVE to release them. Book a studio for a weekend, get your band, your friends and lots of beer and record all of them” – and so I did. My dear friend Javier Cruces recorded me and my band at The Hobby Shop Studios in Highland Park; with Gonzalo Martin on vocals and keys, Valentina Nebel on octapad & vocals, Jed Alpert on bass and Brandon Lutz on drums.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I would say 1. STOP OVERTHINKING AND DO SH*T, 2. EMBRACE REJECTION and 3. ITS NOT THAT DEEP (dont take yourself too seriously, have fun, be disciplined)

Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
Definitely the gays. Just kidding… no I’m not. Anyways, I would say my ideal listener is someone that craves raw expression, is open to being uncomfortable sometimes (in a good way) and isn’t scared to feel seen through music. Of course it’d be great if they’d be able to speak both Spanish and English so they could understand what im singing about.. but I do believe that music a universal language.

Contact Info:

 

Image Credits
Luis Zavaleta, Ayesha Fernandez, Leo Rassool, Shelby Khoury

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