We rarely get to witness an event that has the potential to become a timestamp, a representation of a year or an era. PLOP Radio may have done that, assembling a lineup that we can look back on and marvel at. It might just become a time capsule of the Mexican scene in the mid-2010s.
PLOP Radio began four years ago as an online radio program covering the international indie scene, but two years afterwards, it shifted its focus into a blog, reporting on music outfits from Mexico (and now Argentina and other Latin American countries). Based in the outskirts of Mexico City, PLOP’s founder and only full-time staff member Erich E. Mendoza has been industriously gathering news, songs, and videos of bands from various scenes, including well-known acts like Sotomayor and Yokozuna and more emerging ones. Their coverage also reaches the whole country, usually shining a light on places where few dare look for good music.
That might help explain why the festival is so inclusive in terms of its regional scope. Primavera PLOP Radio is the second event produced by the site and the biggest yet, boasting nine bands with main draws being Mexico City’s No Somos Marineros and Jean Loup, Cancún’s Lng/SHT, and Guadalajara’s Hey Chica! There aren’t a ton of acts from the Mexican capital, but rather a hefty serving of bands from Tijuana. As Mendoza explains, his love affair with the city’s music scene began with Tijuana band Vaya Futuro, who told him about their peers and influences, prompting him to obsess over the city’s music, which resulted in his discovery of the city’s big acts, like VF and O Tortuga, as well as smaller outfits like Mint Field and Policias y Ladrones.
Since a big chunk of PLOP Radio’s mission garnering newer bands exposure, the festival features a ton of acts that might not ring any bells. Rather, it invites concertgoers to discover new sounds. These include Klaus, the solo acoustic project of Francisco from Hawaiian Gremlins, Guadalajara’s garage punks Nelson y los Filisteos (formerly known as Baby Nelson and the Phillistines), the slight vaporwave pop of Wet Baes, Young Tender’s throwback synthpop, and the dreamy, jangle guitars of the aforementioned Mint Field.
Primavera PLOP Radio is set to take place on Saturday, January 23 at 4:30 p.m. at Foro Indie Rocks. Check out the Facebook event for tickets and further details.
Photo of Vaya Futuro by Daniela Laniado