Like any great release, Adrian Be’s latest has a great story behind it. It all starts with Monterrey’s finest and most suave netlabel, Finesse Records. Helmed by astute label boss Teen Flirt, the Finesse crew has developed a distinctive sound with little precedent in the Mexican electronic music scene, both sonically and in their polished aesthetic. Their American club-inspired sound has broken off into something completely unique, and the evolution of their catalog is evidence of this – starting with their first release, Teen Flirt’s “UNTLD”, continuing with the debut EPs of 1OO1O and Red Bro, and most recently, seen in their international collaborations with Mount Banks and AllsGlass. 2015 will see another shift as the label dives deeper into its origins, adding more elements, and making their statement ever more personal.
Adrian Be’s Corona EP is the label’s newest launch. It was supposed to come out last year, but right as the 25 year-old producer was ready to finish mixing the EP, his gear was stolen from the trunk of a car he’d been traveling in with some friends. One of those, “Should I take my gear with me? Nah” moments when shit unfortunately goes down. With the theft, Adrian’s mixing process was abruptly cut off and all his work to date was lost, including many of his past EPs and other projects. It’s a shitty situation, but he’s staying positive and looking toward a fresh start.
Their American club-inspired sound has broken off into something completely unique, and the evolution of their catalog is evidence of this.
Adrian and I had been talking about Corona through Facebook since sometime last year. At this point, given the theft, it feels like kind of a miracle it came to fruition. Back when I heard the demo of the title track, I knew this guy was going to hop to another level if he was able to pull it off. There aren’t many producers who make the jump to vocalizing their tracks in Adrian’s circle, so from that point of view, it’s clear he wants to step it up a notch. “Corona” is about club music, and deep house-driven sounds in the good tradition of Finesse. Adrian’s vocals can only be described as “Regiotune”, which is a word I just made up for his Monterrey-rooted autotune flow – which, by the way, is pretty groundbreaking for the type of electronic music that’s happening in Mexico right now. “Yosh” is the complementary vocal track, another showcase for the vocals, and it’s full of slow, baby makin’ club beats. To top off these two pioneering pieces, Adrian added a rescued track titled “Javyf”. This one is more abstract; it has some type of vocal sample, but goes in a rather polyphonic direction with interesting chord changes in the synths.
Who knows exactly how the songs would have turned out if Adrian had taken his gear from the car that day. If the project files had been available, maybe other modifications would have come. But the final product outweighs any worries or doubts that come from getting cut off so abruptly when you’re in the middle of a production process. Plus, as it turns out, Adrian stumbled on what appears to be his old laptop for sale while browsing online for a replacement computer. He’s now in the middle of legal proceedings to try and reclaim the equipment, after months of being gearless and only being able to DJ using an iPad. Hopefully it works out.
Art Pack Insert by: Monica Delori
To accompany this incredible set of 3, Finesse and their neighborhood homies from Fantasma Films prepared a video that complements the Regiotune vibe – reggaetón aesthetics, with Monterrey logic, and the enhancement of the Finesse Record’s touch.
They’ve shared this preview with us exclusively on the eve of the launch of their newest proposal, and we can only hope that more elegant Regiotune will be created as a result.
P.S. Please take real good care of your stuff.
