Kin Kon Blog
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Back to That Kinky Stuff
02/13/12 |
The funk-and-electronica quintet Kinky released its album “Sueño de la Máquina” eight months ago in their native Mexico as a gift to their loyal fans. Now it’s available in the U.S., and the smart, hard-hitting, polyrhythmic music works as well here as it does at home.
Coming out of Monterrey, Mexico, a decade ago with a splendid self-titled album, Kinky found an audience for its gritty, high-energy music, whether performed in concerts and spun in dance clubs or included on television soundtracks and in video games. The follow-up disc, “Atlas,” veered away from the debut’s dirty, punchy character and added vocals in English; but by “Reina,” out in 2006, Kinky was back to what worked so well. That sound is the spine of “Sueño de la Máquina,” though not without little tweaks, like a dab of ska in “Alma de Neón.” Producer John King, who has overseen albums by Beck, the Beastie Boys and the Rolling Stones, helped the quintet get the most out of its best compositions. “We were interested in a producer who could make us more coherent,” keyboardist Ulises Lozano said when the band was in town earlier this month. “We were going off in different directions.”
Kinky’s members—Mr. Lozano, singer Gilberto Cerezo, guitarist Carlos Chairez, drummer Omar Góngora and bassist Cesar Pliego—write songs on their own, then bring demos to the group for approval. Said Mr. Cerezo: “Carlos is mechanical, but he’s a lot about the sound. Ulises is more fun-oriented—the sense of humor is important. Omar and Cesar like the spicy stuff.”
“We’ve always been able to achieve things on our own,” Mr. Lozano said. “But we needed to have someone to help us with new ideas.” The group worked on the disc for some 18 months at a studio it keeps in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. The members agree that the track “Negro Día” distills the best of the familiar and new. Mr. Góngora sets the groove with a deft pattern on the drum kit as Mr. Lozano adds splashes of electronica that lean toward dubstep. Spain’s Mala Rodríguez contributes a rap and a vocal hook that she passes off to Mr. Cerezo. “We were looking for a remix feel,” Mr. Cerezo said. “For me, that song made everything click. Everything was in the right place.”Kinky has a fan base in Mexico and throughout Latin and Central America that isn’t put off by its experimentation. “Our fans see us more as a rock band than as an electronica band,” Mr. Cerezo said. But, Mr. Chairez added quickly, “we never leave the electronica side. Since the beginning, we were an interesting combination of dance music and rock.”
Mr. Lozano, who plays the accordion as well as synthesizers in Kinky, sees the increased interest in electronic dance music as a boon for the band.
Kinky was here to perform in Central Park as part of the annual Latin Alternative Music Conference, and it was clear that the place to experience the band is in concert where, as Mr. Cerezo said, “the music is sturdier and funkier.” Kinky followed a set by Los Auténticos Decadentes, megastars in their native Argentina. Led by Mr. Pliego, who wore a white cowboy hat on the back of his head and the Fender bass low on his thigh, Kinky took over with confidence. Mr. Pliego rattled the stage with a stomping boot heel as he counted down the first song; throughout the show, the man who said not a word during the band’s interview dominated with a flawless sense of time, a gift for knotty patterns and a taste for runs into the midrange that cleaved the waves of synthesizers. During “Alma de Neón,” Mr. Lozano abandoned his battery of synths to offer flitting notes on the accordion. At one point, Mr. Cerezo played a pocket trumpet; Mr. Lozano doubled his lines on synth to mimic the sound of a fat horn section. Despite the oppressive heat, Kinky fans crowded the stage, alternately dancing, chanting and singing. Most seemed to already know the new material. Earlier, Mr. Chairez mentioned that the band has been playing most of the new album in concert for a while.
In addition to a string of shows in Mexico, Kinky is off to Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Venezuela to tour behind “Sueño de la Máquina.” The band members say they will return to the U.S. for a lengthy visit in the fall and winter, though the dates and locations have yet to be fixed.
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