Feb
20

The Natural Traits of Ernest Gonzales

Jonah Bromwich’s most natural trait is telepathy. One of electronic music’s most enjoyable characteristics is its ability to seem alien. It can seem like the kind of advanced sound that everyone will listen to once the singularity takes over and our bodies are ½ nanobot. It’s easy to forget that the beats are crafted according… Continue reading »

Mar
15

The Bass and the Movement

Since Kanye discovered robot techno three years late, rap’s been on an Itchy and Scratchy Land-style collision course with electronic music. Of course, there’s the long history: “Planet Rock,” Juan Atkins, disco-rap, Whodini, Egyptian Lover, hip-house, “Bombs over Baghdad,” hoobity blah. But when Kanye sampled “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” it indirectly annexed a new realm… Continue reading »

Dec
14

Bass and Blood Flows

Few descriptions are more trite than “organic.” It’s a word used to describe everything from music played with real instruments, to the seamless incorporation of seemingly irreconcilable styles, to the produce grown by white people with natty dreads and Sage Francis records.  Over the last few years, a glut of rappers have attempt to escape… Continue reading »

Nov
15

Sonora-”Paraiso (Mexicans with Guns Remix)”

With a name conjuring arsenals of assault weapons and photo galleries filled with him dressed like El Santo, I’ll assign the blame to Ernest Gonzales for causing me to want to make Breaking Bad analogies every time he drops a new Mexicans with Guns track. These comparisons never arise with his more headphone-friendly solo material,… Continue reading »

Aug
13

Mexicans With Guns – “Dame Lo” Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2N8IQJ6u40 Breaking Bad as seen through the prism of Aztec mythology and directed by a young Robert Rodriguez. Needless to stutter, Mexicans with Guns do not fuck around. Ernest Gonzales leaves the sensitivity and nostalgia for his solo work. I’ve described MwG as the product of narco-criminals clamping Gonzales in a figure-four leg lock and… Continue reading »

May
17

Exponential Function: Gun Toting Mexicans and Diego Bernal

According to simple-minded caricature, San Antonio is a city best known for Tim Duncan, Pace Picante Sauce, and the Alamo (which according to my research gleaned from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure has neither bikes nor a basement). Though Austin and Dallas typically absorb the glare of the Texan music spotlight, Exponential Records, based in the… Continue reading »