New York/Venezuelan experimental musician, Xi.me.na Borges is an extremely eclectic songwriter. Armed with an array of digital and analogue technologies, Xi.me.na uses her voice to blend the music of disparate times and places, creating alluring sonic collages all in real time.
It's like being inside a composer's mind while she works, and the effect is totally mesmerizing. Called “pop diva of opera” by Parenthesis Magazine, XI.ME.NA migrates confidently between avant-garde opera and electronic pop: From stacked harmonies and joyful hooks, to moodier, reflective moments that showcase her sophisticated vocals. Neufutur Magazine says “XI.ME.NA’s music does come from left field, but it is done in a fashion that is absolutely catchy and hard to forget.”
In November 2013 she released “Joyful Noise” with multi-award winning producer and Grammy nominated musician Gonzalo Grau. Ximena simulated all instruments on “Joyful Noise” with the creative use of her vocals. IX Daily called it “the most innovative Christmas album of the year” and Neufutur Magazine “This is the best holiday-themed album that we have happened upon so far this year”.
Since then under the name XI.ME.NA, she has been performing using only her voice and electronic instruments to create the music. She performs in five different languages with original songs, jazz standards, and covers arranged in a unique and contemporary way for her voice and looper. XI.ME.NA and her band have performed in New York, Brooklyn, Caracas, Valencia, and Berlin. XI.ME.NA is coming off the heels of working on a new project, Rocktopia, a symphonic rock concert recorded at The Budapest Opera House, which began airing on PBS in the fall. XI.ME.NA just finished touring with Rocktopia in 20 cities, 11 states, 7,775 miles on 2 buses and 1 truck, 10 Rocktopians, 6 crew, 1 management, over 400 local orchestral players and 450 local choral singers.
Simultaneously, XI.ME.NA has finished recording an exciting new album of original songs, 4 of which are available on her EP Corners on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby.
Who and Who Live at Joe's Pub
Mike Ramsey on percussion
“Listening to the experimental art song of Xi.me.na floating atop a skirt of billowing plastic, voice live and looped, […] was like downing one shot after another of pure creative spirits, dizzy and exhilarating. Don’t cut me off. I’ll take another”
“Built from the ground up with her roots in opera, lyric poetry, fantasy and beautiful longing. What a lovely gathering of journeys. The song “Roaring Sea” echoes like a prayer.”
“It is mind-boggling how Xi.me.na gets so many sounds from her own body, but she does magnificently enchant”
“Ximena is a sum of Maria Callas + Tracy Champan + Lady Gaga […], with that sort of postmodern universal proposal that isn’t afraid of its innovation. Her vocal lyricism allows her to record loops live that become homages, landscapes, and poems while the minutes pass and her arms lift as a sign of femininity among all the electronic sound waves.”