It was only a few years ago, back when tribal guarachero was still a marginalized sound from Mexico’s ghetto rave scene, that nobody thought that this unique hybrid of guaracha, cumbia, pre-Hispanic folklore, and tribal house—originated by Ricardo Reyna—would ever become mainstream. And they definitely didn’t think it would have its own Mexican Jonas Brothers to propagate its sacred and magic wonders all around the world and even find a place in important awards like the Latin Grammys and Latin Billboard Awards. Not anyone, not even these guys. Well, maybe foreigners like Untold (UK) and French Fries (FR) were probably already a little suspicious about it…but that’s about it.
We met Erick Rincón in Mexico City a while ago, back when a beer was forbidden fruit. He spent most of the time just hanging out with his blood brother or doing crazy bootleg tribal remixes of electro songs with his pen pal, Alan Rosales, and DJ Otto and Sheeqo Beat back in his hometown, Monterrey.
It was also back then when he was only beginning to work with Toy Selectah on what would later be the award winner, Inténtalo, so we thought it would be nice to catch up with Erick and see how things have changed ever since then.
Hey guys, let’s start this properly. What can we expect from Globall, aside from Becky G’s mega hit, “Quiero Bailar (All Through the Night)?”
Sheeqo Beat: Globall is totally different. I think the genre [tribal] evolved a lot. Great collaborations were accomplished. We have Belinda, Espinoza Paz, Gerardo Ortiz, América Sierra once again, and we also collaborated with Li Saumet from Bomba Estéreo and many other artists like El Bebeto, whom you’ve heard on “Inténtalo.” We’re expecting a lot from this record, so we hope you like it.
How different will the new album be, in comparison to Inténtalo?
Erick Rincón: There’s a huge difference between the new album and Inténtalo, because we didn’t make any songs on our own. It’s all collaborations, unlike the last record. But we’re planning to release a deluxe edition soon. I mean, the new album isn’t even out yet, but once it’s out there, we will later release a deluxe edition where we’ll include tracks of us as solo artists. And they won’t have any vocals, there will only be synths and drops.
That sounds really promising! We remember that you guys used to produce all of your tracks with Fruity Loops [FL Studio]. How do you make your music now that you’re all superstars?
Sheeqo Beat: Well, we’re still using FL Studio because we feel that it’s one of the most friendly platforms out there. I mean, I’ve tried using Ableton Live and all of that, but…nah, it’s not my thing [laughs]. However, we now have access to more plug-ins, so we’re experimenting more, like with the sound, for example. And as time goes by, we have been discovering new tips to get the best out of FL Studio.
Erick Rincón: Yeah, I’d say the same, too, but now we have more things at hand. If we feel like it’d be cool to have a guitar or an accordion in a certain song, now we have people that can help us achieve these things. We have a studio where we can go to if we need to record vocals, even [if] it’s just a sample or a scream. Those are the only things that have changed, in comparison to how it used to be musically speaking, when I was producing with a home theatre [on] a desktop computer. So, yeah. Things have changed a lot.
Did you guys ever see yourselves where you are today? How much has your life changed ever since we last met?
Erick Rincón: Our lifestyle has changed a lot. Most of the time we used to chill at home. We used to eat our mom’s food. It used to be just parties in Monterrey. And that’s not happening anymore. Now, we’re the party. But, in the end, we’re just there nailing a job. People love to go see the DJs, but there’s people that go to see us, so we really have a good time, too. But we really do miss going to the club during the weekends in Monterrey, going to places, [seeing] other DJs and concerts. That’s what changed. Oh, and sleeping, too. I used to wake up at 5 p.m. or whenever I wanted to, and now we have appointments, early flights, and all of that.
What do you think about the other stars of tribal music, like DJ Tetris, Alan Rosales, DJ Mouse, Javier Estrada, and, more recently, Siete Catorce?
Erick Rincón: Everybody is doing something very different from each other. [I haven’t listened to] Siete Catorce’s music [for that long], but ever since I heard it I became a great fan. You can immediately tell he’s from Baja California. You can perceive the Los Macuanos influence, it’s really ghostly. I think what he’s doing is amazing, he’s really making something very different from what we do, it is a completely different concept, but within tribal, unlike Tetris or Mouse. Tetris is super tropical and coastal, and Alan Rosales is super D.F., which is the root of tribal music in reality. That’s where it was born.
It’s awkward, right? Because we might have the exposition right now but, in reality, we play their songs in our sets. So, most times, they don’t see how we drive people crazy with their songs, they’re not aware of what they’re doing with their computers, because they currently don’t have the great exposure that we do, but we support them, just like all of the other DJs that are doing new things with tribal that are cool. And other things, too, like cumbia. You know, those who are experimenting, like Los Macuanos, María y José, Paté de Fuá, and all of that.
Download 3BallMTY’s “Quiero Bailar (All Through All The Night)” feat. Becky G below: