Mariachi, one of Mexico’s unique contributions to music, is all about emotion – and there isn’t a sad song in the world that doesn’t sound better (and sadder) in a mariachi arrangement with those soaring horns and strings.
Monday 26 April 7.30pm
Viva El Mariachi: Mariachi El Bronx, Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlan, Emmy the Great + guests
Tickets £15/20/25
Part of La Linea
Produced by the Barbican in association with Como No!
Mariachi El Bronx were originally a hardcore punk group formed in Los Angeles in 2002, fronted by vocalist Matt Caughthran and known simply as The Bronx. After just 12 live performances the band signed a contract with the Island Def Jam group, but feeling they were not yet ready to record for a major label, the band opted to form their own label White Drugs to put out their first few releases. As time went on the band started to indulge their taste for Mariarchi – the music of much of the Mexican sub-culture in LA. Mariarchi, Matt Caughthran has said, ‘was something that was a part of us that we didn't really realize. I mean, being from Los Angeles and, you know, growing up and surrounded by Mexican culture, it just kind of happened’.
Mariachi El Bronx is released on Wichita Records. ww.thebronxxx.com
Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán was founded in May 2006 as a female version of the four-decades old Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán. A dynamic new presence on the male-dominated mariachi scene, the band recorded their first CD, Lo Bonito de Jalisco in 2007 and have toured widely in Mexico. Their 2009 CD Ay Mi Jalisco was a homage to the women who proudly ‘represent the customs and traditions of a magic people’. The musicians of Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán come direct from their homeland for this UK debut. See them in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzPUm4D7hmg
Emma-Lee Moss (born 1984), known by her stage name Emmy the Great, is a London-based singer-songwriter. Born in Hong Kong to an English father and Chinese mother, she emigrated to London at the age of 12 and in recent years has built a reputation as a confirmed musical individualist. Her debut album, First Love, was released in February 2009 on Close Harbour Records.
