Kinky returns to SA

Courtesy photo

A crazy monster with five heads all beating each other up — in a nutshell, that is what three-time Grammy-nominated Kinky is.

"But at the same time growing and growing stronger with the pass of time," vocalist Gilberto Cerezo told the Current from Los Angeles, where the band has lived for seven years. The fusion of electronica, rock, and Latin rhythms that make up this insane combination of musicians (performing together since 1998) puts you in a dancing daze, even if you're not a Spanish virtuoso. Their first two albums (Kinky in 2002 and Atlas in 2003) were produced by Chris Allison, of Coldplay and The Beta Band fame. They're now with Nacional Records (the nation's leading Latin alternative label) and are still considered one of the best Latin live music acts in the world.

Think of a mixture of Daft Punk and The Presets, but add five guys offering each a different element: Ulises Lozano on keyboards and accordion is both a DJ and a norteño vigilante; guitarist Carlos Cháirez shreds on guitar; cowboy hat-wearing César Pliego drops heavy bass lines that you can feel throughout your entire body; and Omar Góngora (who is always standing up), a unique combination drummer/timbalero who can play anything from hard rock and funk to Afro Cuban, is a show in himself.

"[Góngora] told me he dreamed about this setup," Cerezo said. "That he was able to play the kick and the snare, and he was also on the timbal at the same time. He figured it out, and he made his percussion set to fit his necessities." Cerezo's own electronica/rock contribution incorporates lyrics inspired by Spanish-language literature. "A lot of Latin American literature influenced me when I was really young, like Julio Cortázar or Gabriel García Márquez," he said. Sueño de la Máquina (Dream of the Machine), their fifth studio album, was released in 2011 and feels like an '80s sci-fi post-apocalyptic film. The album tells the story of a man who parties all night in Mexico City until he finally collapses in a hotel room.

"The next day he opens the door and he finds out that the apocalypse has started," said Cerezo. "We wanted to do the contrast of these two colorful and intense things that are happening in our country [the violence and the nightlife]. One of the main reasons that we did that is all the negative stuff is just a period of time that we are having in Mexico, just a hole that we stepped in, and we are slowly climbing our way out."

Kinky is a huge breath of fresh air for San Antonio. If you've never seen them live, check them out — they will make you dance, they will get stuck in your head, and they'll win you over with their irresistible norteño charm.