Fuga
Desde La Frontera
FUGA's CD debu promises to deliver the authentic sounds of border music with a tastefully arranged fusion of cumbia, merengue, ska and punk.
Sound;
Using traditional and experimental accordion licks combined with ska/punk guitar, driving bass lines, haunting female lead vocals, and cumbia sazon to flavor the mix, the ¡FUGA! sound is shaking up the Latino music scene world wide. Their extraordinary live performance was developed in the Ciudad Juarez underground, where audiences are known to be ruthless. The FUGA style itself is one influeced by rebels of all kinds; Pachucos, Cholos, Soneros, Cumbiaberos and Punketeros. FUGA draws from those five sources and sets the stage on fire with high energy, powerful lyrics and seductive dance rhythms. The only thing that is clear is that it keeps the dance floor moving and the audience coming back for more.
Albums and Tours;
In the summer of 2003 FUGA! released Desde la Frontera on their own record label Puente Negro Records in conjunction with local El Paso indie label Communal Heart Records. They released the record locally and throughout the southwest, touring ceaselessly and creating a loyal underground following. During that tour, the band opened for rock-en-español veterans Maldita Vecindad, and Grammy award winners Julieta Venegas and Ozomatli – who FUGA! be-friended after collaborating for a politically-charged benefit concert dealing with violence and human rights on the border. Other popular Latino groups FUGA has played with include Lila Downs, Eddie Palmeri, B-Side Players, Quetzal, and Son de Madera.
After five years of performing in the border region and having established their grassroots following, the band decided to take on new territory and migrate to northern California, where they are working on their second record "Relatos Rebeldes" to be release in 2008. Older, wiser, and with a new record in the works, this band continues to be a pioneer in a new era of musically-innovative, socially-charged Latino music.
Background;
At first sight, the desert streets of El Paso, TX – which overlook the river that creates the U.S.-Mexico border – don't seem to offer much. This west Texas town shares the river with Ciudad Juarez, one of Mexico's most notorious and industrialized northern cities. El Paso became the pit stop for factory workers and farm workers on their way up north. It is the reported birthplace of 1930's Pachucos and was a popular resting stop for Pancho Villa during the Mexican revolution. These days, the only news coming from the border region deal with horror stories of violence, murder, and treacherous immigrant crossings.
It was in this environment in 2000 that a group of young, working-class El Pasoans formed a musical project to express the angst and frustration they experienced in their personal lives and community organizing efforts fighting against joblessness and violence. They took the name FUGA! after a popular barrio slang word meaning "heads up" or "it's time to go" and began performing in backyards and community meetings. Little did they know that their project would turn into a political and cultural force that would embody the sentiments, sounds, and life of the border region and lead to an original style of music impossible to replicate.
Latin: Merengue