Wednesday, March 14   8:00 p.m.
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  Mezklah - Chango Arana
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MEZKLAH
Biography

"We started Mezklah to create music that we had always wanted to hear – artistic expressions that crossed boundaries and spoke to us in new, personal ways. The problem was that music didn’t exist yet. Once we began to tap into the innate creativity and tribal consciousness that’s inside all of us, then we discovered the music we had been yearning to hear – and music other people have been yearning for as well." -Angel Garcia


The much-heralded Los Angeles-based duo -- Angel Garcia and Greg Hernandez -- came to create and define their own genre of music: Tribal Electronica. On their debut album SpiderMonkey, the duo burst the expected rules of language and song structure with tracks that switch between English and Spanish as seamlessly as they mix up their disparate genres, themes and subject matter.

The two visionaries who comprise Mezklah (the Spanish term meaning “mix”) create an amalgamation of musical styles which is perhaps the best description of what makes up every element of this unusual success story. Their music is an ever-evolving creative process. With Angel’s dynamic range of vocals and Greg’s sonic wonders on his electric guitar, Mezklah completes their live performances by using an accompanying backing track of live prerecorded instruments and electronic beats, which is key to their musical brew. It is where drum-n’-bass meets cumbia, trip hop and afro-Cuban beats for a walk through the jungle and a date on the dance floor. Mezklah’s music, called daring, genius, imaginative, and gripping by critics lives up to their name and their preparedness to walk tightropes without a net.

“What ties Angel and I together is that we both always keep open minds about everything,” said Greg. “We are always trying to experience new ideas and we then take all we learn and work it into our music.”

Though Greg and Angel originally met playing together in a conventional four-piece alt-rock combo called Circa in the late nineties, it did not take long for both of their experimental natures to take the reins. Friends in the dance club scene introduced Angel and Greg to a new breed of DJs who had started intricately mixing up jungle and drum-n-bass with such radically contrasting styles as world, dub Latin and trip-hop. Hooking up with producer Eric Alatan, who had the studio and equipment necessary to help them create and develop their new style of music, the duo left Circa to follow the experimental path forged by these new music hybrids and become Mezklah. “There we were – just the two of us – up there in front of people who had absolutely no idea what to expect. The first time I looked behind me and there was no drummer or bassist, I actually felt kind of naked,” Greg remembers. “Then I realized that not being locked into the restrictions of a rhythm section freed me up to play in an entirely different manner.”

At first Mezklah would play wherever and whenever they possibly could and were very connected to the art and social activist scenes in Los Angeles – and, despite their success, remain so. They would perform at community centers, art galleries, parks, house parties, almost every night of the week. They also explored their roots in Mexico, where Angel was inspired to flex his lyrical tongue and start writing and singing in Spanish.

“I knew how to write in English – I had been doing it for years and was very comfortable with the poetry of the language. I had no idea how mixing the two languages would work – or how people would react to it. But it opened me up, giving me the chance to express myself in exceptional new ways.”

And though they are often considered a socially conscious band, particularly for Latino causes, their lyrics are often written more universally, as if a reminder that the specific battles of a certain few are the greater wars we all face. Greg says, “In the end, we’re all the same – despite our differences in cultures, languages or traditions, we’re all part of a much bigger human experience.”

Their love and appreciation of global cultures, heritage and ritual is visible in more than their music – it is on their skin. Angel creates Mezklah’s striking visual presence by hand-painting tribal illustrations all over their bodies before every single performance. “I think there’s a basic tribal nature that lives in our consciousness and is in our blood. When I am body-painting, it is not just a calming, meditative process I go through before performing – it is a way to bring us back to our roots and a reminder that we are just a part of something that existed long before us. We are simply reconnecting to that power and consolidating in our world.”

Angel also designed and assembled the cover art and booklet for SpiderMonkey, which was an eight-song homemade demo before Mezklah was discovered by Escuchalo Records after winning the Budweiser Battle of the Bands contest. The 12-track album features dance floor favorites like the Reggaeton-infused “Chango Arana” to “Fogata,” a horns-laden tribute to women’s struggle for civil rights fueled by drum-n-bass beats. The raw grit of Mezklah is unveiled in the sensual, psychedelic sounds of “Passion in the Flesh” and “Shotgun” while “Red Mud” creeps slowly before exploding into a barrage of beats at the chorus.
With the international release of SpiderMonkey by Escuchalo Records, Angel and Greg see bright plans for the future. They have already completed a successful European tour, with plans to return in 2007. They also performed in front of 20,000 fans in Mexico City, for the 2006 Dia de Los Muretos festival. In America, Mezklah has toured constantly up and down the West Coast, the Southwest, as well as participating in "Rock in tu Idioma", the first ever rock en espanol show in Memphis.
Angel says, “The release of the CD finally gave us the freedom to explore new places, cultures and ideas. We started Mezklah to create music that we had always wanted to hear – artistic expressions that crossed boundaries and spoke to us in new, personal ways.”

As the editor of famed Hispanic entertainment newspaper Al Borde wrote, “Mezklah is one the reasons why we can keep believing in Los Angeles as the place that germinates genius every once in a while.”

Make no mistake, this is the band to watch out for in the future.