Hello Seahorse! Readies U.S. Release
Mexico City's Hello Seahorse! plays El Rey Theatre this Saturday in support of their U.S. release. (Nacional Records)
South of the border, a growing music movement continues to extend its reach beyond Latin America and into clubs in San Diego, L.A., Las Vegas and other U.S. cities. In the midst of it all, we find Hello Seahorse!, a Mexico City based alternative Rock en Español band formed in 2005.
Despite being relative new comers, the band has already released multiple CDs and garnered accolades including multiple MTV Latin America music video awards, iTunes Latino Best New Artist title and two Latin GRAMMY nominations. Their latest project Lejos, no tan lejos (Far, not too far) has been well received in Mexico and later this month, and is now available to U.S. audiences via iTunes.
On Saturday night, the band will host a launch party at El Rey to acquaint fans with this latest work. In anticipation, Bonnz, the band's drummer, recently took some time out to talk to LAist about Lejos, no tan lejos, working with producer Money Mark (Beastie Boys), the U.S. music scene and other topics. Here is what he had to say:
LAist: Where did the name for the CD come from?
Bonnz: Back in January of 2010 we left Mexico City and headed out to a cabin in the outskirts of the city to compose the CD. But although we wanted to be away, we didn't want to go too far. Later, when Money Mark got involved, we went to L.A. and realized that although we were no longer in Mexico, there was still a very familiar feel to it and again the theme of not really being all that far away resonated, rather reflective of where we were as a band at the time.
LAist: Tell us a bit about the mix of styles found throughout the CD.
Bonnz: We try to bring something different and change for each production, and that was the case here as well. Denise [lead singer] has a rather unique voice, a trademark of sorts. She had a lot vocal training and really wanted to experiment. Denise did it with an inclination towards opera, and knowing her, I doubt she'll do that again in the future. It is one of those things where she wanted to try it, so she did. Similarly, as musicians we also tried to do different things. It is really different than our other productions, in fact, it has nothing to do with our previous releases. Other bands tend to not be that way, but we try to reinvent ourselves every time. That's not to be critical of other bands, just pointing out that it is just not our way. We are fortunate that our labels, Nacional Records and Mun Records in Mexico, allow us the opportunity to experiment and don't tell us things like hey, you've got to play this style of music, etc.
LAist: Is there a track that you prefer over others?
Bonnz: It is difficult to pick one over the others as you get to like your work much like you would your own kids. I'd say that there are different periods of time in which I tend to lean towards listening to one more than others, for example, right now I am listening to Casa Vacia quite a bit.
LAist: What was it like to work with Money Mark? Was he open to the experimentation or did he have his own ideas that he wanted to incorporate?
Bonnz: Part of the reason why we wanted to work with him is because he is very open to new ideas. He understands us well and gets what we want the CD to sound like. We initially got to know him through a mutual friend. We met up in Mexico City and invited him to our show and he liked it. Later he came to another and likewise, he was at other events we were at. Quickly we noticed there was a connection, that we understood each other quite well on a musical level. We worked on composing a couple of songs and later on in the production stage, we asked ourselves Why not do it with Money Mark?. So we did. We went to L.A. and once there we realized how great of a person he was, full of great ideas and great musician. We would play some stuff and it may not have been perfect, but he would suggest leaving it in. Likewise, the vocals may have a mispronounced word, but he'd leave it. He was looking for a bit of an edge and didn't want the CD to be over produced and it gave us good results.
LAist: Changing gears a bit, can you talk a little bit about some of the things you like most about L.A.?
Bonnz: I've travelled to L.A. quite often before, for mixing work on commercials, so I know it quite well. All of us are quite fond of the city as whole, but in particular, I like Silverlake, Echo Park, Santa Monica, Downtown...Hollywood not so much. We really like the city. There is a really strong musical vibe about the city, whether it is English or Spanish language.
LAist: In L.A., the Latin music scene has grown significantly over the years. How do you see the U.S. market for Rock en Español in comparison to places like Mexico City or Mexico as a whole?
Bonnz: Well, in L.A. in particular we've always gotten excellent receptions, but at the same time, that has much to do with the fact that it is a city that has something from every part of the world. There are people from all over the world in L.A., including many that speak Spanish. People that live in L.A. are accustomed to living around multiple cultures. Of course, it is not the same if we were to play in Alabama or North Carolina. The culture in L.A. really helps bands like us thrive. It is really quite an experience to play in front of crowds in Mexico and then go abroad to places like L.A. and play for crowds that you realize also speak your language. At the same time, we are realistic and understand we are not going to sell out stadiums and similarly sized venues, but in the end, that's not our goal. We just want to reach as many people as possible.
LAist: Lastly, you've got a launch party coming up. Can you share some words with us to extend an invite to local fans?
Bonnz: It is going to be a lot of fun. We plan on giving a good show, as always, and we'll leave it all on the stage. We are really excited about this tour and given it kicks off in January makes it a great way to start the year.
Lejos, no tan lejos is now available on iTunes.
Launch Party Information:
Where: El Rey Theatre
When: Saturday, January 15, 2011
Time: 8:00 PM