Para fans de Latina y Indie y Alternativa.
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Kinky first came together in 2000, featuring Gilberto Cerezo (vocals/guitar), Ulises Lozano (keyboardist/programmer), Carlos Chairez (guitar), Omar Gongaro (drums) and Cesar Pliego (bassist). The band then set to work developing their live sound, preparing for the annual battle of the bands at the Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York City, US. Kinky impressed, garnering the attention of British producer Chris Allison, who had previously worked with Coldplay, Fila Brazillia and the Wedding Present amongst many others. Allison offered to produce and release their debut album on his label, Sonic 360.
The end product was their self-titled debut, released in 2002, meeting with critical acclaim. The album’s success was bolstered by their music being featured in a commercial for an advertisement for the Nissan Altima, spreading their sound to new audiences. Kinky then joined an incredible lineup for the ‘Unlimited Sunshine Tour’ in the US, supporting Cake, De La Soul, The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse, as well as an appearance at Coachella festival.
Their second album, “Atlas,” came out in 2003, moving towards recreating their rockier live sound, limiting their use of electronics. helping to capture their energetic performances which had gained notoriety and positive acclaim. For their third record, they travelled to an isolated cabin in the mountains of Southern California, US, allowing them time to focus on their sound. Guest features included Men at Work’s Colin Hay and Intocable accordionist Ricardo Muñoz. For their fourth record, Kinky teamed up with Money Mark of Beastie Boys fame to co-produce the album, “Barracuda” in 2008. Their fifth album, “Sueño de la Maquina” brought in John King of the Dust Brothers for the production and mixing process, released in 2012.
Originally comprised of vocalist Denise Gutiérrez (Lo Blondo), keyboardist Fernando Burgos (Oro de Neta), drummer Gabriel G. De León (Bonnz!), and guitar/bass player José Borunda (Joe), Hello Seahouse! began making their brand of Mexican rock/pop in 2005. The band subsequently issued their debut album “…and the Jellyfish Parade” in 2006, which spawned the single/video “Squarehead”. Whilst not exposing the group to a huge audience, the record proved popular in certain circles and proved an early showcase of Hello Seahorse!’s indie-pop. A year after in 2007, the mini-album or EP “Hoy a las Ocho” was released on Magic Marker Records, featuring songs sung in both English and Spanish.
In 2009 the group earned its big breakthrough with their sophomore album “Bestia”. Marked by is darker, moodier themes, the record introduced Hello Seahorse! to a national audience and earned rave reviews upon release. The group subsequently won the Song of the Year award at Mexico’s “Indie-O Music Awards” in 2009 for their title single “Bestia” and La Zona award at the 2009 MTV Latin Video Music Awards. The single was also nominated for Best Alternative Song at the Latin Grammy Awards, and succeeded by the singles “Después” and “Criminal”.
Continuing the refined themes adopted on “Bestia”, Hello Seahorse!’s third album “Lejos. No Tan Lejos” arrived on Nacional Records in January 2011. Marking its members’ musical maturity “Lejos. No Tan Lejos” was the group’s most cohesive album to date and spawned the singles “Casa Vacía”, “Un Año Quebrado”, and “Me Has Olvidado”. The full-length “Arunima” followed in 2012, cementing Hello Seahorse! as champions of the indie rock/pop genre.
Kinky doesn't do anything in small doses. The start of their set vibrates the stage, the venue, and every member of the audience including myself. Rough and repetitive Spanish vocals spill from their mouths and Latin flare music seems to encase the entire menu.
Suddenly the vocals get angrier, louder, and rougher. In between verses electric beats fill seemingly empty spaces. Skillful guitar playing makes me forget that I barely speak Spanish and the music is entertaining without even being able to understand. I consider this a hallmark of an amazing band and hope to be able to attend another one of their shows in the future.
Following their first rough song the music becomes almost sultry. The vocals seem themed around rolled R's and lilting end consonants. I feel myself swaying in time to the music and am struck by how many melodies seem to be tied together to make the complex track.
Nothing is ever as simple as it seems with this band and soon more guttural consonants are joining the R's. A rhythm between raspy and Latin flow seems to be establishing itself with two members providing backing vocals while the main singer punctuates their verses with interjections of his own.
Finally the beat begins to rise higher and higher progressing towards techno from what seemed like a Latin dance ballad. A superior grasp of genres and progression makes this show a joy to attend.
Hello Seahorse! is a Mexican band that formed in Mexico City in the year 2005. They quickly became famous in the genre of rock pop. Early releases of their music had lyrics in both English and Spanish but their latest tracks have been only Spanish. They have released 5 studio albums and counting since they came together in the year 2005.
I watched Hello Seahorse! perform live for the first time at Coachella in the year 2012. Their performance was so fantastic they made sure it would not be the last time that I would ever watch them perform live. They performed at an outdoor venue and didn't really use any props. They were very limited on the visuals due to them performing in day light. A pretty large crowd gathered around the stage they performed at. I saw them gathering and followed. I was sure glad I did follow them because the music they were playing was fantastic. There was not much interaction with the crowd but this did not harm the fantastic experience I had. I am going to watch them perform live again very soon to try and relive the awesome memories that were created at this concert. I would recommend that anyone reading this should go and watch them to form their own awesome memories.