Maverick Millo Torres takes Island music to whole new levels with his band El Tercer Planeta (The Third Planet)
By: Karl Avanzini
Puerto Rican Millo Torres began studyingmusic at a very young age. He joined different bands while attending Boston University, and later graduated from Berklee College of Music. When the multi-talented musician returned to his homeland, he formed a Latin, reggae/ska band in 1994 called Millo and The Tribal Vibes, and five years later changed the name that has endured: Millo Torres Y El Tercer Planeta (MTTP).
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Millo Torres |
Torres was one of the first Puerto Ricans to introduce social and political content into his lyrics. He drew many young people to both his causes and to his group's music. The political inclinations of his songs were important at a time when cultural nationalism grew considerably, exacerbated by a contentious U.S. military presence in Vieques, and the harmful repercussions that presence was having on the health of its islanders. The group benefited by regional influences, where sounds jump from island to island, in this case the fusion of Latin, disco, reggae, and ska into one explosive sound. The reggae is more staccato, the disco just right, the ska more tempered, and Torres's creamy-smooth vocals surge with true emotion.
In 1996, MTTP released their debut album, So�ando Realidad (Dreaming Reality). The independent album gained the acceptance of many and put the world beat sound of MTTP on the radio airwaves. It wasn't long after that the band caught the attention and was signed by multi-national record label WEA Latina. During this time, Milo produced the second album, the first with WEA, Caminando (Walking). The band later toured, hitting such cities as Miami, Orlando and L.A., and sharing the stage with luminaries such as Carlos Santana, Ziggy Marley, Man�, AlphaBlondy, Lucky Dub�, Miguel Bos�, Steel Pulse, The Wailers and Burning Spear. Millo then produced the group�s third album Mundo de Locura (World of Insanity) in 2001, and the band continued to tour throughout the island and the U.S., in the process getting considerable airplay and enjoying popularity among a broader audience. That year they were lauded as winners of the Best Latin Rock Album award given by Premios Tu Musica. Torres then released MTTP Live, a live recording from the Tito Puente Amphitheater in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The recording captured the band�s energetic and hypnotic grooves as they performed live.
After building his own studio, in 2006 Millo recorded and produced the band�s fourth studio album, Masa con Masa. Last year, the band returned to the scenewith two radio singles that dominated the local radio airwaves for more than six consecutive months, �Me Gusta Como Quiera� and �Dime Amor,� at the same time garnering a nomination for Univision's prestigious 2008 Premio Lo Nuestro awards for Best Rock Album. MTTP has braved the test of time, and continues to make inroads with maverick Millo Torres at the helm, no doubt cementing them as pioneering Puerto Rican rockers.
