An exclusive remix of Mexican Institute of Sound's "El Microfono" by underground electronica sensation, Nickodemus, will be released on the upcoming soundtrack to the Showtime movie E.S.L. which will premiere nationwide this March. The soundtrack will feature other Latin Alternative greats like the The Pinker Tones, Nortec Collective, and Andrea Echeverri (of Aterciopelados fame). The soundtrack will be released February 12th, so check record stores near you.
Café Tacvba will be playing this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The three-day festival held in Indo, California has played host to top acts like Manu Chao, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Morrissey.
Café is scheduled to perform on Saturday April 26th, the second day of the festival. This year’s festival also includes performances by MIA, Kraftwerk, Portishead, I’m from Barcelona, Tegan and Sara, Vampire Weekend, and Architecture in Helsinki, among others.
Meme, Cone Cahuitl, Quique and Joselo, better known as Café Tacvba have been together since 1989 and have been stirring up the Latin Alternative scene ever since. They are best known for one of their early songs, the corky sounding “La Ingrata” and their 1994 album Re. Café Tacvba also won the 2004 Latin Grammy award for Best Alternative Music Album with their album Cuatro Caminos.
Their latest album, Sino was released in October 2007 featuring the hit single “Volver a Comenzar.” Ranging from electronic to rock and even punk, their music is eclectic, fun, and just plain good. They also played last summer’s Lollapalloza alongside other icons like Pearl Jam, Daft Punk, Stephen Marley, and Iggy & the Stooges.
To purchase tickets visit the Coachella website. They just went on sale at 10AM this morning.
- Stephanie Aviles [Stephanie is a sophomore public relations major at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications @ Syracuse University. She hails from San German, Puerto Rico and is a self-proclaimed record junkie. Her favorite bands include The Addicts, The Clash, Permanente, Circo, and I’m From Barcelona. Check out her posts appearing regularly on Area Álternativa.]
Felicitaciones to Hip Hop Hoodios, MIS, and Monareta because this March their music will be featured in the film Pride and Glory, a "gritty and emotional portrait of the New York City Police Department," starring Ed Norton, Colin Farrell, and John Voight.
The premiere date is slated for March 14th, so mark your calendars.
Even though DJ Bitman is out on his own, doing big things, let's not forget about his past as part of the DJ-ing duo Bitman y Roban. Their song "Tatita" combines '80s and 90's hip-hop with smooth lounge rhythms and signature scratching technique. With infusions of Kurtis Blow's "These are the Breaks" and Naughty By Nature's "Clap Yo Hands," "Tatita" is a cool, yet calm way to kick back and blow off some steam. Enjoy.
With all these bands releasing new albums the big question is: who's next?
Glad you asked -
Plastilina Mosh is currently in the studio working on their next album which is said to be "a crazy-rocked-out musical adventure a la Monterrey!"
The Alterna-Rock group was formed in 1996 by Alejandro Rosso and Juan José González (best known as Jonás) in Monterrey. Their sound is best described as a combination of "'60's sleazy-listening, '70s disco/funk, '80s punk/new wave, and '90s hip hop all microwaved to perfection."
Their last album was 2003's Hola Chicuelos, with notable singles "Peligroso Pop" and "Te Lo Juro por Madonna" but it was 1998's Aquamosh that contained their hit song, "Mr. Pmosh"
Plastilina Mosh have been compared to Basement Jaxx, The Chemical Brothers, and Fat Boy Slim but here's what critics have to say:
"Forget about the much-hyped, little heard "rock en espanol" genre. Plastilina Mosh have something much cooler to offer: call it "Beck en espanol" - INTERVIEW MAGAZINE
The boys from Barcelona are kicking it hard core in 2008. The Pinker Tones are releasing their new album, Wild Animals, on April 29th and headlining Vans Warped Tour where they will play alongside Gym Class Heroes, Everytime I Die, Relient K, The Academy Is..., and many more top bands.
The duo seemed to take over the world in 2007 as a subject of a New York Times feature and an A&E special, a performance on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic," and a song featured on "Ugly Betty" and "Entourage." The Pinker Tones also received heavy play on mtvU, MTV Tr3s, Mun2, and LATV. But perhaps it was their SXSW performance where they performed five shows in 36 hours, blowing the audience at KCRW’s Sounds Eclectic Evening in Los Angeles away alongside leading artists like The Shins, Lily Allen and Rodrigo and Gabriela. Their latest single “Karma Hunters” was also selected as the theme song for Mun2's popular reality show ‘Chicas Project’.
With the success of their 2006 debut The Million Colour Revolution and their 2007 remix album More Colours!, the group plans to expand with their next album, hitting fans with a variety of vocal guests including Jimmy Lindsay from groundbreaking 1970s Jamaican funk group Cymande and Amparo from Spanish reggae-rock band Amparanoia. The albums first single off of Wild Animals will be, “Happy Everywhere.”
Here's what the critics are saying:
“Barcelona’s Pinker Tones are just flat-out unbelievably fucking great…they rate as one of the finest exercises in pop confection currently working in the known universe.” - LA WEEKLY
“An exuberant and eclectic collection, swinging from electro-soul to bossa-nova-esque to a Catalan-Hawaiian instrumental. Think of a soundtrack for a blaxploitation or James Bond movie with a score by both Kraftwerk and Henry Mancini." - NEW YORK TIMES
Nortec Collective returns to the music scene with their new album Bostich + Fussible / Tijuana Sound Machine, set to drop May 6th.
This is the groups latest musical endeavor since their hit 2005 album, Tijuana Sessions, Vol. 3. The album scored two Grammy Award nominations for "Best Alternative Music Album" and "Best Recording Package" as well as praise from Rolling Stone, The LA Times, XLR8R, and The New York Times, and #1 status on both iTunes and eMusic in the first week of its release.
The electronic hitmakers are known for bringing their unique music style, Nortec - a fusion of Norteño ("from the North") and Techno, to the mainstream, creating a fusioin between electronica style and culture and traditional Mexican music.
With their musical repertoire featured in commercials (Volvo, Dell, Nissan) , TV Shows ("Big Love," "Friday Night Lights"), Movies (Fast Food Nation, Babel), and video games (FIFA Soccer), the five man phenomenon made up of Fussible (Pepe Mogt), Bostich (Ramón Amezcua), Panóptica (Roberto Mendoza), Clorofila (Jorge Verdín) and Hiperboreal (PG Beas) are sure to blow the Miami Sound Machine out of the water - Tijuana style.
