May 8, 2009 23:00
Stazione Leopolda di Firenze | IT
The City Mix project, now in its third edition, is a journey across the capitals of contemporary electronic creativity in search of advanced music and experimental visual design.
City Mix > Mexico City
In the international map of electronic and digital arts, for some years now, South American countries, in particular Mexico and Chile, have a prominent place. The megalopolis of Mexico City has established itself as one of the most prolific forges of new talents who have grown in its alternative scene and who often have been exported to the world capitals of the club culture. The Mutek Festival, with its five Mexican editions already made, has played a key role in this scenario, inviting some of the European and U.S. leading musicians to perform in the Mexican city and promoting local artists worldwide.
Murcof (The Leaf Label) _ live
Murcof (Fernando Corona, b. 1970, Tijuana, Mexico) merges contemporary ‘holy minimalist’ orchestration and melancholic techno to create a near devotional music that has been compared to imaginary collaborations between Arvo Pärt and Thomas Brinkmann or Giya Kancheli and the Aphex Twin. Corona is involved with the rising Nortec movement, founded by artists (including Panoptica, Ruisort and Loopdrop) whose electronica incorporates popular traditional Mexican music. In 2002, he released his first EP of twitchy digital clicks and reconfigured late twentieth-century compositions via Context Free Media, the label run by San Francisco tech-minimalist Sutekh.
His long-playing debut “Martes” (Spanish for Tuesday, the day of the week that Corona started recording the album) was initially released on Mexican micro-indie Static Discos before being picked up by UK electronica label Leaf. The mysterious, atmospheric music on the album perfectly reflected the parched, near lunar landscapes of the Rumorasa mountain range pictured on the sleeve. To create “Martes”, Corona utilized software downloaded from the Internet to process the sounds of his contemporary classical CD collection, juxtaposing the by-product of this experimentation with arid micro-rhythms.
Hector (Phonica/Horizontal) _ dj set
Hector began DJing at the age of 16 after hearing visiting European DJs play on their rare trips to his home city, Guadalajara. Inspired by the sounds of Carl Craig, Moodymann, The Timewriter and Terry Lee Brown Jr., he realized that his future lays in music. After finding his feet at Bar Americas, Hector headed for England, where fell in love with the capital’s music scene. While playing in Ibiza, he befriended Simon Rigg of Phonica Records and soon began working at the Soho store upon his return to the city.
After having the honour of being first producer to release on Phonica’s in-house label, Hector developed a strong following through acclaimed releases and remixes on 8Bit, Watergate, One Records, Siesta Records, Saved Records. A deep knowledge and infectious passion for cutting-edge music have made Hector a beloved figure on the international club circuit, and he continues to relish the opportunity to play alongside his heroes and friends like Loco Dice, Carl Cox, and Richie Hawtin.
Selfish _ live visuals