Née: David Niebla & Rafa Barragán
Raíces: Tijuana, MX, where else?
Sounds like: Early Nortec
You should listen to Revulab because… TJ has a lot more to offer than just cheap meds and donkey sex shows.
There was a time, about a decade or so ago, when Nortec seemed like the future–they were laying down the foundations for a whole new wave of truly Mexican-flavored electronic music to come. So we sat down and patiently waited for the avalanche of clones to show up and take over, and we waited…
Fast forward to the current days and Nortec‘s remaining two active members, Bostich & Fussible, still reign supreme in their realm with virtually no competition. The new generation that we hoped would embrace their sound and take it to the next level, put on the pointy boots and went the tribal route instead.
Well, my disappointed friend, let me introduce you to Revulab, who enters the scene to right this wrong. They proudly admit being students of the Nortec school and the influences are more than obvious. They sound very much like the earlier experiments of Nortec, before they added all the live tubas, accordions and percussion, and way before they started fucking around with the rectable on stage. In other words, a stripped-down version of Nortec with the same spirit and aesthetics and even the same Tijuana-centric song titles. Just compare Revulab‘s “Tijuanópolis” to Nortec‘s “Tijuana Sound Machine,” even the caricature-esque hipster dancers look the same.
Are they ten years too late to pick up where Nortec left? Or, more importantly, do they have something new to add to the established Nortec gospel? Can they reach the new generation of naco ravers? We still can’t tell, but checking them out live during their upcoming first West Coast tour might help us figure it out.
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TOUR DATES
June 14th – Los Angeles, California (Los Globos)
June 18th – San Diego, California (The Casbah)
July 5th – San Diego, California (The Griffin)
July 13th – San Jose, California (Creekside Bar)
July 14th – Salinas, California (El Callejon)
July 16th – San Francisco (TBA)
July 28th – Tijuana, Mexico (CECUT)