Calexico performs in The Current studio
by Jill Riley, Calexico and Peter Valelly
October 17, 2012
Tuscon, Ariz. band Calexico has made a career out of warping genres and musical traditions together into an eclectic, clever, and wholly original sonic stew. Drawing upon jazz, alt-country, post-rock, and a wide-ranging variety of Latino styles from mariachi to cumbia to Tex-Mex, the extraordinariy talented duo of Joey Burns and John Convertino (along the ever-rotating cast of musicians that round out the rest of Calexico) have crafted a uniquely inclusive vision of indie-rock Americana.
Calexico launched their career with a string of albums and EPs in the late '90s and early 2000s, but it was their fourth full-length Feast of Wire, released in 2003, along with In the Reins, their 2005 collaboration with Iron & Wine, that first launched them into the indie stratosphere. Since then, they've honed their sound on a series of much-lauded releases and through frequent touring (including a stint with the Arcade Fire and an appearance at Rock the Garden 2009).
Algiers, recorded in the New Orleans city of the same name and released in September, is the band's seventh studio album and their first for stalwart indie label ANTI- Records. Currently touring in support of the album, Calexico stopped by The Current studios to chat with Jill Riley and play a few songs.