The Mexican Wave
I've been listening to the fusion music coming out of Mexico for some time now.
I think it was that Fussible track "Odyssea" that first alerted me to the fact that something was going on.
After that I discovered the NorTec Collective and eventually managed to get my hands on of a copy of "The Tijuana Sessions" - now known as "The Tijuana Sessions: Volume One".
That was quite a while ago - these days the Nortec Collective have been going for long enough that I have just had ordered "Tijuana Sessions Volume 3".
I think the NorTec website sums up their approach nicely:
Sampling intstrumental parts from dusty tapes of tambora and norteno band rehearsals & combining the use of electronics and dance music aesthetics with the hard driving sounds and rhythms of traditional mexican street music
It didn't hurt that Craig Richards & Lee Burridge put a copy of Panoptica's "And-L" on their Tyrant triple pack either ....
Oh yeah, there's been a buzz going around about the NorTec sound ....
Now, just arrived, the latest manifestation of the "Mexican Wave" is an album from Instituto Mexicano de Sonido" called "Mejico Magico" which has just been handed to me by my friendly postman.
One thing I do know, the Spanish custom of sending items "contra reembolso" - against renumeration - or what used to be called C.O.D. in my childhood - is vital if you live in the sticks.
I ordered mine from Pop Madrid and it arrived promptly. I paid the postman on the door - so quick and convenient - I have to travel miles to find a decent CD shop and I haven't bought a record in Spain in all the time I've been here ...
Imagine a album somewhere between big beat and hip-hop - more Freddy Fresh than Fatboy Slim - with a distinctly Mexican feel to it.
This interesting album comes with a nice freebie promo CD featuring a tune that sounds like a cross between "Rock Around the Clock" and "Norwegian Wood" along with a house-style dance stomper "Cha-Cha-Cha" that I decided I wanted to play out when I DJ.
It's one of those tiny little CD's - and what happened next leads to my next entry ....