A good thing that it’s no longer a well-kept secret anymore: the music scene in Mexico City is teeming with creativity, with names like Mint Field, Concepción Huerta, Gibrana Cervantes and Mabe Fratti putting out incredible work at a blistering pace. Composer and musician Fer Franco is yet another name to follow, a Guatemalan artist with close ties to Fratti.
Franco’s upcoming solo LP Ritos de Paso (“Rites of Passage”) – out February 9th – combines styles like noise rock, techno, ambient music and krautrock in a giddy, inventive way, channeling a sense of adventure and pop immediacy. “When I was making these tracks – and this might sound like a bit cliche, but it’s totally true – is that this record purely exists because of the pure joy of making music with a group of people. It wasn’t always easy, but generally speaking, I was very detached from expectations and very detached from ‘Oh, it has to be good’ or sound a certain way. It was more like, ‘Let’s let things happen.‘”
After first single “Asumir Forma”, Franco unveiled a more ghostly, shapeless track “Eliminar Lo Innecesario”, featuring Fratti on mellotron and Hector Tosta (Titanic) on bass. Fun fact: the direction of the song was inspired by putting a gift from Franco’s wife to good use: a custom-made (!) Oblique Strategies card set. When it comes to the overall awesomeness of presents, this certainly ranks up there.
Watch the video for “Eliminar Lo Innecesario”, directed by Dani Pinto, below.
