|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Formed Mexico City, Mexico, 1986. Based in Mexico City around a creative nucleus of Alfonso Andre (drums), Alejandro Marcovich (guitar) and Saul Hernandez (vocals), the Caifanes have successfully fused elements drawn from their own cultural heritage with shades of UK and US alternative rock. Regularly compared to a Latin Cure in their earliest days, as their career has progressed they have refined their style into a more intrinsic Latin take on textured rock'n'roll. Even on their debut album Caifanes (1988), there were distinctive Latin traits, not least on their breakthrough US hit "La negra tomasa", which rocked along to a cumbia (the Colombian variant of salsa, which is huge in Mexico) rhythm. Other tracks included the twisted pop of "Mıtenme porque me muero" ("Kill Me Because I'm Dying"), which offered the first evidence of the group's pursuit of dark melancholia and pagan themes. This facet, together with Hernandez's tattooed visage and domineering stage presence, saw many north of the Mexican border link them with the satanic metal movement, in reality an ill-fitting genre for a band who have steadfastly eschewed shock value and self-parody. On their follow-up album, El diablito (1990), the Caifanes kept the central rock elements of their sound - melodic synth patterns interwoven with the clarity of Marcovich's guitar playing - while continuing an eclectic trawl through the Caribbean and neighbouring Latin traditions. Hernandez's lyrics were also becoming more interesting, if a little bleak. "Antes de que nos olviden" narrated the concept of assassinated student activists returning to earth to fulfil their destiny. More atavistic spirituality pervaded the acclaimed El Silencio album (1992), produced by noted Bowie and Talking Heads collaborator Adrian Belew. Songs such as "Nos vamos juntos" ("We Go Together") traded Hernandez's concerns about the afterlife against music which itself trod along the fault lines between the material and spiritual world. The group could also be just as evocative on a song such as "El communicador" which, from pained personal experience, asked questions of the way the Mexican media is used as an intermediary agency for the national government. Heroes to hundreds of thousands of disaffected young Mexicans - at home and in the US -through their regular appearances on MTV Latino. Caifanes confirmed their ascendancy with El nervio del volcan (1994), their fourth album. A studied, sumptuous record, this managed once again to animate inward-looking perspectives without sacrificing the frothy pop-rock hooks which had become their trademark.
Taken from the Rough Guide to Rock. © Rough Guides Ltd. First edition published Aug 96 / Nov 96 (USA). Distributed by Penguin. WEB MASTER: Al Spicer. DESIGN AND SCRIPTING Henry Iles & Ben Rudder. |