Dani Labbé is a Guatemalan singer and songwriter who continues to rise and this Friday, May 22, she demonstrated her sonic and artistic evolution with the publication of On the surfacean EP (Extended Play), which has its interpretive quality, originality of its voice, and the excellence of international musicians and a high-level producer.
Labbé has captivated Guatemala due to his performance of boleros and due to his ability and dedication, he has grown by leaps and bounds in the country’s musical movement.
Her talent and passion bore fruit and she was closely watched by fellow Guatemalan Rodolfo Castillo, who arrived in the US in the 1980s and became one of the most important renowned producers of Latin American and international music.
With more than four decades as a music producer, Castillo guided Labbé and the composer added her talent, passion and quality to arrange On the surface, an album that was recorded in Miami, USA, in 2025.
The EP
On the surface It is an EP that includes six songs and that, as of May 22, is available on all digital platforms.
Rodolfo Castillo was the recording and mixing engineer, while mastering was carried out by engineer Boris Milan.
The EP was recorded at Castle Recording Studios in Miami, FL, under the CMP Records label. and featured the participation of the following musicians:
- Lazaro Horta – Piano
- Yasmil Marrufo – Acoustic Guitar
- Richard Bravo – Percussions
- Yorgis Goiricelaya – Double Bass
Labbé began promoting the album in April 2025 with the publication of April 17, the first single. In November of that year he published Will it be?the second single and on May 8 he released By your side, and according to the national singer and songwriter, it is the song that encapsulates the entire theme of the EP.
“at your side It was the last single from the EP. I started writing this song at the end of 2023 and it all started with wanting to portray an old love, those stories that we have been told that are forever, of seeing your partner grow old and being with that partner forever,” said Labbé.
“It seemed like something very nice to portray, so I started writing the first verses talking about rubbing someone’s hair until it turns white, holding their hand until it wrinkles, and well that was the main idea. It was an idea that I had saved for more or less a year, and in 2024 we resumed with Rodolfo Castillo, my producer. The idea, since we started working on an EP of covers of classic boleros and original songs and among those original songs this one came out, At your side”, added the Guatemalan artist.
The production
For Rodolfo Castillo, working with Labbé was another professional challenge in his career, due to the singer and composer’s quality and passion for the bolero. Furthermore, it catalogs On the surface as an album with a high lyrical and sonic level, due to the musicians who were involved and the dedication and evolution of Labbé.
According to Castillo, this album predominates filin (Cuban adaptation of the English term feeling), which emerged as a new way of interpreting the bolero and the romantic song, during the 1940s in Havana, Cuba.
“The filin (feeling) is like an adaptation of the bolero, but with a touch of jazz, and that’s like the insignia that has no tempo. That is, you are singing and suddenly the pianist falls on you,” said Castillo.
“The original songs included in this EP are boleros and at the same time filin (feeling) and Y are composed by us. There are some songs that suddenly include a very nice touch of chacha. So it will be a very nice experience for the listener and Dani’s admirers. Particularly, I am very happy with everything that is happening with her because she is one of the artists from Guatemala who, without a doubt, promises to be very great. Furthermore, I am sure that he will represent us all over the world and in the country he will be one of our pride,” concluded the multi-award-winning producer.