From his small bedroom filled with music posters on the wall, a computer, a microphone and instruments, 26-year-old, Jonathan Ordiano – artistically known as Kaefan – produces alternative cumbia music and writes songs inspired by horror films. Two recently released tracks, “Psicosis” and “Sudno,” introduce his debut EP, El Baile Gothico, which contains a total of five pieces.
“Cumbia brings a lot of dance and joy through resistance,” Kaefan says.
He describes his music as a gothic and psychedelic experience and portrays his fashion sense as a “gothic cowboy.” By day Kaefan is a tech specialist. He is a self-taught musician, who also learned how to use music editing software on his own.
“I only had one piano class when I was 10, but it wasn’t as accessible to me because my parents couldn’t take me so I never went. And I wanted to learn to play drums, but it was expensive,” Kaefan says.
His parents immigrated to Salinas from Puebla, Mexico before Kaefan was born. They worked in the fields picking strawberries and Kaefan would also join them. He attended CSU Monterey Bay, where he graduated with a bachelors in computer science and is currently working as an IT specialist at a local nonprofit.
From working in the fields, helping in his family businesses and selling anything he no longer needed, Kaefan would save money for instruments and other tools to make music.
“‘Psicosis’ is a psychedelic take on anxiety and a spooky way of me showing how stress can manifest through hallucinations and fantasies,” he says. The track gives listeners an upbeat song to move the feet and hips, while dancing with the ghosts alongside lyrics “Voy sintiendo las psicosis, ya andan bailando los fantasmas. Voy bailando las psicosis.”
“Sudno” brings back the ’80s techno cumbia, as Kaefan sings about protecting his loved ones and forgetting all the world troubles through dancing and making music until his last breath. “No dejaré que el mal entre… no dejaré que ellos nunca te hagan daño otra vez,” he sings.
Although Kaefan is a solo singer, he also has four other friends throughout Monterey County who join him in performances playing the drums, electric guitar, bass guitar and congos.
“I’m creating my own version of cumbia, perfect for some hard-core foot stomping,” he says.
The EP is set to release on Aug. 7.