Español

Kin Kon Blog

  • Back to That Kinky Stuff

    02/13/12 |   Kin Kon Records

    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.

  • New Video: Kinky – “Despues Del After”

    09/13/12 |   Kin Kon Records

    KCRW has debuted the new video for Kinky‘s newest song “Despues Del After” and it will have you dancing like a robot. The video was shot in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong and features members of the band being lead to an after party where everyone is partying and singing Karaoke. Karaoke with Asians is on my bucket list of thing to do, I’ve heard it’s probably one of the best Karaoke experiences you’ll have!

    We saw Kinky perform at SummerStage as part of the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC). For some it was their first Kinky experience and others were Kinky veterans, it was apparent as they sang the words from their latest work ‘Sueño de la Maquina’. Raul Campos of KCRW interviewed the band backstage and they talked about how 13 years ago the band had received LAMC’s ‘Artist Discovery’ award. The Grammy-nominated band is originally from Monterrey, Mexico and it was not their first time performing at SummerStage, a place frontman Gil Cerezo says has been special to his musical career.

    Entervista en KCRW:

    Check out the Video… qué tal?

  • Gil Cerezo: “Somos como ratas de laboratorio medio ‘freak’ ”

    09/13/12 |   Kin Kon Records
    Kinky

    Nadie puede escapar el fin del mundo, ni siquiera la banda electro rock Kinky.

    Mientras la mayoría se esconden temerosos del fin del mundo, la banda mexicana electrónica Kinky desea despedirse ‘con todo’. El quinteto recientemente lanzo Sueño de la máquina, un himno party-rock para el conteo hacia el apocalipsis. El concepto del álbum les tomo tres años y sigue el sonido techno de la banda, mejorado con la colaboración de La Mala Rodríguez en el sencillo “Negro Día”.

    Producido por la leyenda musical John King (Beck, The Rolling Stones, and Beastie Boys), el álbum también contiene cameos de Dante Spinetta de Illya Kuryaji, Randy de Molotov, Ceci Bastida y muchos más. Gil Cerezo, vocalista de la banda nos contó sobre el álbum y cómo su trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo ha afectado la producción de sus discos.

    Kinky

    “Sueño de la máquina”

    Es la historia de un personaje cualquiera que sale en la noche a encontrarse con diversión, alcohol y su chica. Durante el transcurso de la noche este personaje se va de parranda hasta que despierta en un motel donde no recuerda lo que sucedió. Al abrir la puerta se encuentra con un mundo apocalíptico donde se enfrenta a todo tipo de desorden.

    Se trata de una fiesta para el fin del mundo y no precisamente de algo dramático que nos lleva a un destino negativo. Estamos viviendo el fin del mundo desde hace muchos años así que es una manera de celebrarlo y enfrentarlo de una forma divertida; es más bien para aconsejar que salgan a reventar con todo y a divertirse lo mejor posible ya que al fin y al cabo el fin del mundo esta a la puerta.

    Estudiantes de John King

    Siempre habíamos tenido curiosidad por trabajar con un productor que lleve la batalla del proyecto. Hemos tenido intentos fallidos con otros productores por el mismo hecho de que somos como ratas de laboratorio medio “freak” siempre al tanto de todo aspecto de nuestra música y asegurándonos de que se trabaje de cierta manera.

    Y en esta ocasión nos encontramos con un sexto integrante del grupo. John no hizo mas que sumar, sumar y sumar a la dinámica de nuestra música y fue como el capitán de este barco; lo hizo de una manera muy buena. Al igual que nosotros, el tiene un “background” muy interesante donde combina mucho el sampleo y utiliza un técnica de grabar desde de un vinyl hasta un sintetizador o un sampleo de salsa; de todo hace una mezcla tan rara. Venimos de la escuela que el prácticamente fundo así que para este disco nos fuimos con el director de la escuela, y nos funciono muy bien.

    Kinky: “Despues Del After”

    Video uploaded by: Nacionalrecords

    Los invitados a celebrar el apocalipsis

    La canción con La Mala Rodríguez fue la primera de las colaboraciones que se trabajó para este disco. Se le envío la maqueta cuando ella estaba en Barcelona y ella después escribió sus partes. Nos la mando, la acomodamos y después yo escribí en parte de lo que ella envío. Quedo muy bien ese track. En el caso de Dante la manera de trabajar la canción fue similar ya que le mande un track y estuvimos en constante comunicación sobre la temática de la canción. Los otros invitados fueron tipo visitas casuales, la verdad, porque eran participaciones con gente que iba pasando al estudio cuando nosotros estábamos grabando. No eran tan específicas como las colaboraciones con La Mala o Dante.

    Lo que nos falta…

    En lo personal me gusta mucho el reggae y la música jamaiquina, también toda clase de música latina. La banda en su variante esta muy metida en lo que es la música techno pero muy pendiente de que nos falta tratar el lado melancólico, medio tristón. Eso se deja a un lado por lo de vender discos, pero si nos falta bajar un poco. Tal vez para el futuro.

    Kinky Album CoverSatisfacción instantánea

    Nos gusta la rapidez de sacar sencillos y EP’s porque, a comparación de un disco, son como una manera menos frustrante de sacar tu material. Pero sin embargo me sigue gustando la idea de trabajar un concepto largo de principio a fin que se resuelva con un disco. Me gusta lo de trabajar el contendió y la complexidad de la historia me da mucha satisfacción.

    Como artista y músico siempre tienes los sentidos muy abiertos a todo y siempre estas buscando retener y mentalizar sonidos distintos que después se convierten en la interpretación que tú le das. En el caso de nosotros, lo mas reciente es este de Sueño de la máquina.

     

  • The New Kinky!…Video for “Despues Del After”

    09/13/12 |   Kin Kon Records
    The New Kinky!...Video for "Despues Del After"

    Last week while Bastille Days had taken over the streets of Downtown Milwaukee, it was with a bit of regret that I partied at one of my favorite Mil-ville fests while one of the dopest of the Latin Alternative scene, Kinky was making their triumphant return to an event I was wishing I was at, the Latin American Music Conference. That’s no disservice to Bastille Days, but a testament of my appreciation for the band Kinky and the fact that this “conference” is also a forum for some cool, up-and-coming Latin acts to perform for industry cats.

    Kinky, a funky five-piece out of Monterrey, Mexico, was returning to NYC for the conference and coming full-circle in the process. It was at LAMC 10 years ago that they dropped the demo that helped launch their career and in the process won the LAMC‘s Discovery Artist contest. And after four excellent albums, they were back with their latest in hand. And I was missing it…

    …thankfully I did get the album. Kinky’s latest, Suena De La Maquina (trans. dream of the machine) in time for this week’s new music and played it on Monday’s Sound Travels. There’s a lot to like about the party vibe this band’s music creates and that is in full gear here on their latest. If you’ve never heard Kinky, they walk the line between electronic music and rock with style. And on their latest, they got help from legendary Dust Brother, John King, who has produced Beck, The Rolling Stones and Beastie Boys. Not only that, but the album was mastered by Howie Weinberg, whose credits include iconic albums like Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Nirvana’s Nevermind and U2’s Pop. If that’s not enough, the album also features collaborations with Mala Rodriguez and Dante Spinetta from Illya Kuryaki.

    There’s alot to like on the new album, but what I wanted to share today, is the new video. How could they know it was my fave from the album too?