When Ralphie Choo explains that his artistic alias is born from the union of the name of the character of The Simpson Ralphie Wiggum with one of his most famous episodes in the series – the one in which Lisa tells the police chief’s son that he is very chu-chu-chuuuuli (I choo choo choose you, in its original version) -, one may think that his character is as shy and innocent as that of the cartoon. But not. Although not quite the opposite.
Both he and his music are a collage of infinite and sometimes conflicting influences and attitudes. He’s a hipster, with his hoof-toe sneakers and his taste for synths and autotune. It is a classic, with academic studies of music, horn or guitar. He is cautious at first contact, but daring when he speaks or poses in front of the camera. He is equally respectful of genres and obsessive about evolving them.
The curious thing is that perhaps he would be nothing – or not at all popular, rather – if a knee injury had not forced him to rest for two months. So he thought it was the perfect time to start a musical project. A work that has been aired on NPR (US public radio) and has been applauded by prestigious North American media outlets such as Rosalía. Pitchfork o Billboard.
Born in Madrid in 1998, his parents moved to Daimiel (Ciudad Real) when Juan was a baby. From there, His mother tried to encourage him and his twin sister to have all kinds of creative hobbies.. “We have never talked about it, but I think it is because everyone in the family has done engineering and very technical things. I guess he was trying to encourage that part in us and that we would choose later,” he explains.
Thus, he taught at a municipal music academy until he was a teenager. “He was a Hobbie punctual and at 15 or 16 I started to lose interest. I wanted to be a normal kid and do things like be with my colleagues or go out. Nor did I see myself in the classic professional opportunities of a conservatory like playing in the symphony orchestra from I don’t know where. Just thinking that I would have to wear a suit… What’s wrong,” she points out.