XYX Interview: SXSW 2010

There's something about a two-person band that forces the members to play fiercer, louder and harder; each member has to work harder to throw in everything possible to fill up the sound. For Mou Ortiz and Anhelo Escalante of XYX, their drums and bass combo, piled on with reverb and delay, has a manic exhilaration that is downright intoxicating. The duo, from Monterrey, Mexico, began playing together two years ago and has a 7-inch, 'Sistema de Terminación Sexual,' available from S-S and Nene Records, which Ortiz and Escalante also help run. Before heading across the border to Austin for SXSW, Ortiz spoke about running a label, drumming influences and the difference between gigs in Mexico and the U.S.

Describe your sound in your own words.

It's like a good bad trip.

How did your band form?

The band started just like we didn't plan it, Anel and I. We had a studio because we have a label here in Monterrey; it's called Nene Records. And mostly we do our recordings here at a little studio we have, we just have an abandoned warehouse that we got. We were just there hanging around and the only two musical instruments that were there were a bass and a drum set and we just started jamming and taping stuff and we thought it was interesting what we were doing just jamming so we started to make some songs. We did a record, a whole record; the first 7-inch has only three or four songs, but we did the whole record in two or three days almost two years ago. It was really fast, and Ahnelo and I were playing in other bands together and everyone had [his or her] own bands and projects. We started playing really fast and recording, but it wasn't planned or anything.

How did you end up with a record label?

Nene was started by some friends 10 years ago, but, you know, they were recording tapes and selling them at shows, like a really small thing, almost like a joke, kind of. Those guys were in a band called Taladro Supremo in which Anhelo played, and so we met and we started to make gigs. Suddenly, in Monterrey there were a lot of interesting bands, this was, like, four years ago, five, that suddenly a lot of good bands were emerging from nowhere here in Monterrey but they didn't have recordings or money to go into a studio, so we got cheap recording equipment and started recording those bands we thought were interesting. Some of them were our friends or they became friends later, so it started and it still is between friends and roommates and stuff. I'm guessing it's like that everywhere.

What are your musical influences?

Well, I guess Anhelo and I, we both have quite different influences. But the thing that we were into together when we started the band, we were listening a lot to the Butthole Surfers. I guess it influenced a lot the band -- for example, the delay stuff on the vocals, but that's one thing. Everyone listens to different stuff. I am a Beach Boys fan. For drumming inspiration, years ago I saw this guy Zach Hill, from this band Hella, it's from Sacramento, it's the fastest, hardest drummer I've ever seen. It was four or three years ago I saw him play in San Diego and it was like, "F---, I have to learn how to play drums." So I took the old drum set and started playing. Then, I like jazz drummers [like Gene Krupa].

How did you come up with your band name?

I don't know: It was like, we thought of it more of a visual thing, because it has symmetry. We started to play with letters that didn't have any meaning at all but later we found that this XYX, you could translate it to chromosomes, like the different combinations of chromosomes and there is not an XYX, that combination of chromosomes didn't exist, so when we found that out we were like, "Oh, yeah, we should use that name." But it's mainly a visual thing. It's something more abstract than regular band name.

What's the craziest show you've ever played?

Our first show was kind of cool; it was in December two years ago and it was freezing here in Monterrey and we played in a place called El Garage, which is, like, the best place to do shows, it's a great place. People were packed inside and we were playing and I couldn't see Anhelo because there were a lot of people standing between us and we didn't see each other the whole show -- it was crazy. We did a US tour last year; we went to Austin and California and we had really good shows there.

Can you tell the difference between playing shows in Mexico and the US?

Oh, yes, playing a show here in Monterrey, we've been playing for a long time here, with other different bands, I really don't know how people react about it, but we play here and it's like, "These people have been playing here for years." So it's not a big deal for people, I guess. When you go to other places, like the tour we did in California, people seemed like to be really into it. Maybe here [in Monterrey] at a regular show if there is a hundred people, maybe just 20 will be putting all their attention to you, and while we're in the US there's more people interested in paying attention in supporting a band. It's a different culture because in the US a lot of bands do touring and they know how is it to be on tour and to be hungry and to not know where you're going to sleep tonight or that kind of stuff, and they're more willing to support, to give donations, for example, at the end of the show -- and here there's not that band touring culture.


Carl Atiya Swanson is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.