Face it, friends. We're 1000 miles from "We don't need your stinking badges" or those old stereotypes of Mexican robbers and disreputables as depicted in TV shows like Bonanza or even classic films like The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. And Nortec Collective's Bostich + Fussible (Ramón Amezcua and Pepe Mogt) are here to show you the new face of Mexico, specifically their hometown, Tijuana.

On Nortec Collective's Tijuana Sessions, Vols. 1 and 3, (they skipped Vol. 2), this quartet of creative DJs sampled the darkness that is the current cultural panorama of contemporary Tijuana--the influence of drug cartels (who often pay local DJs to compose songs about their latest sale or murder), Norteno and Banda musicians, street sounds, even children over rumbling techno beats. The resulting Technotano or Bandatechno became music the natives could call their own. Raised on everything from Kraftwerk to Herb Alpert to Hot Butter's 1972 smash hit "Popcorn," Ramón Amezcua and Pepe Mogt soon realized that the most original thing they could was sample their local culture, from brass playing Banda musicians to the two beat rhythms that typify Norteno.

"It all sounded so weird together," Ramon told this reporter for an upcoming issue of REMIX magazine (RemixMag.com). "At that moment I knew there was something interesting there. We already had a fan base in Tijuana, they love the electronic sound we had before with Nortec Collective, but when we announced we were going to play this fusion of Norteno, Banda and folk sounds, people rejected us. When we did the first show our fans didn't show up. It was like the music your parents would listen to. Then, the only people who were supporting us weren't into electronic music, they were into the arts, painting, graphic design, video and art installation. They helped us with art and visuals. Then the old fans came back. They understood that this is a new fusion of electronic music."

Tijuana Sound Machine is both folk music friendly and alien/outer space driven, as electronic freaky as anything by Bjork, Radiohead, or Aphex Twin. If anything, the album is wildly innovative, the first salvo in what may become a global electronic revolution. With its tooting brass, eerie children's voices, darting clarinet and tuba solos, fragrant guitars and totally unstoppable two beat polka rhythm, the music is simply irresistible. Never mind hip-hop, Tijuana Sound Machine will truly take a nation of millions to hold it back.

Additional Bostich + Fussible info: Nortec Collective scored two Latin Grammy nominations for Tijuana Sessions, Vol. 3 (2005). The group's music has appeared in commercials for Volvo, Dell, Fidelity Mutual, Edwin Jeans (with Brad Pitt), Nissan, and many others. Tracks from Tijuana Sessions, Vol. 3 can also be heard in HBO's Big Love, NBC's Friday Night Lights and the movies Fast Food Nation and Babel.  An interactive coffee table book entitled Paso del Nortec- This Is Tijuana dedicated to the Nortec phenomena was released in the US, Mexico and Europe. In addition, Professor Alejandro Madrid, a musicologist and cultural theorist at University of Illinois - Chicago, recently released "Nortec-Rifa! Electronic Dance Music From Tijuana To The World".

Bostich, Fussible
"Tijuana Sound Machine" (mp3)
from "Bostich & Fussible Present: Tijuana Sound Machine"
(Nacional Records)

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Bostich, Fussible
"Shake It Up" (mp3)
from "Bostich & Fussible Present: Tijuana Sound Machine"
(Nacional Records)

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La Mujer De Mi Hermano: Music Inspired by the Film: Bostich + Fussible's label, Nacional Records, is leading the way in all things Mexi-tronic, from The Pinkertones and Pacha Massive to Latin Bitman and MIS Mexican Institute Of Sound's Pinata. Nacional also released this soundtrack. Not sure about the music, I just love the woman's face on the cover art....

Andrea Echeverri
"Baby Blues" (mp3)
from "La Mujer De Mi Hermano: Music Inspired by the Film"
(Nacional Records)

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Beto Cuevas
"Mentira" (mp3)
from "La Mujer De Mi Hermano: Music Inspired by the Film"
(Nacional Records)

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