Nortec Collective
Norteño + techno = Nortec…
Electronica contiues to absorb all influences. Like hip-hop before it, the wide-ranging genre of music takes the (once) futuristic sounds of modern technology and merges with whatever speaks most to the heart of the artist.
More and more, artists are finding that electronica blends surprisingly and uniquely well with the indigenous and specialized sounds of the community. From the most ancient sounds to the isolated subcultures of the 21st Century, electronica is the great homogenizer of music.
The 1970’s saw a surge of interest in popular and crossover Latin music styles; underground, the synthesizers and rudimentary drum machines were also starting to pick up some of the polyrhythmic vibe. And from the very beginnings of sample-based music, artists have been going to the authentic well to tap some of the character and feel of traditional recordings.
Some traditional musics suit electronic interpretation more than others. Already gifted with a pounding 4/4 or 2/4 bass, cluttered with idiosyncratic percussion and polyrhythms, much of the folk music of Mexico seems to be made for effortless adaptation to the modern electronic style. The connection is not so much simplicity as it is The Dance as the basis for communal catharsis and the opportunities it creates for artistic expression.
Techno, that rawest-of-the-raw electronica, brings its 909s and 303s south to the border…meeting up with Norteño’s accordions.
Of course, it’s not that cut-and-dry. Techno is not the only electronic influence in Nortec, just as Norteño is not the only Mexican influence. Nortec is just as willing to throw together Tambora and Trance, or Big Beat and Banda (Tamtra or Big Banda are all good names for a genre, too).
But that’s not the point. The point is that the elements come together, the style reflects a lifestyle, and the listening community responds. The modern and the traditional, the young energy and the aged experience…the borders are crossed. The music is a mirror to the synthesis of culture.