Most of the bands today lose their creative drive after four or five years of being together. Few are the acts that after almost a decade keep surprising each other and finding in their band a sanctuary beyond time, age or circumstance. This is the case of Chikita Violenta, a band that has united four friends to jam at least twice a week for over a decade.
Since their younger days, Andres Velasco (voice, guitars), Esteban Suarez (guitars) and Armando David Ortigosa (bass, keyboards) searched for a sound that was closer to the college rock that predominated within the US, covering the likes of Pavement, Sonic Youth, Built To Spill and Tortoise, bands that appeared in the always hard to get CMJ mag (they waited eagerly for the month to change to run to the Tower Records store in Colonia Juarez to get it).
After recording several demos that ended in the hands of friends and family, they release their self-titled and self produced debut in 2003. This first effort placed the band on an ever-changing musical ecosystem. After the famous 'Avanzada Regia' (the name that was coined for several up-and-coming bands from Monterrey), the major record labels stopped supporting the local rock movement that predominated in previous years. With this, and with the advent of affordable digital technology, a whole new generation of local bands arised, having the same affinity for the DIY movement as Chikita Violenta had.
In 2005 a single email sufficed for Canadian producer Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene, Super Furry Animals, Los Campesinos!) to convey his interest in the project. The Stars and Suns Sessions studios in Canada received the band on three occasions to create The Stars and Suns Sessions (2007), a solid, timeless and powerful record that was well praised by both local media and international press. This sessions mark the beginning of a long and fruitful friendship with the members of Broken Social Scene, who collaborate on this material. After the release, Chikita Violenta had two nationwide tours and was invited to play the SXSW Music Festival for two years in a row. The band has consolidated as one of the live acts to follow.
On 2009 and 2010 the band travels back to Toronto, Canada to Dave Newfeld's studio to record TRE3S, their most daring and purposeful work to date. On this new production the sonic textures, the vocal harmonies and the organic incidental sounds play a very prominent roll, being the catalyst of memorable tunes. What can we hear on this album? We can hear Chikita Violenta in their purest state; we can
hear a band that keeps betting on the creation of a genuine sound. Far from repeating themselves, they have taken the less explored road experimenting with different recording techniques to deliver eleven songs that go from noise, to indie-pop, to experimental grounds with no difficulty. Raw gigantic drums intertwine with heavily layered guitars and processed effects, always keeping a melodic sense and consistency, creating a colorful painting with many textures.
TRE3S was recorded on three sporadic trips to Canada throughout a year and a half (2009-2010). Many recognized musicians from the Canadian indie scene collaborate: Wintersleep's Loel Campbell, The Most Serene Republic's Tony Nesbitt- Larking and Broken Social Scene's Lisa Lobsinger. Dave Newfeld himself has a very proactive roll on the record, besides producing and mixing it.
TRE3S is a near-perfect pop album that introduces not only a band to watch out for but also an entire country getting ready to take the independent music world by storm.
