With the success of the MXTX album (Six Degrees Records) and live premieres underway, the Austin, Texas-based nonprofit Golden Hornet is releasing the entire MXTX open source sample library; the unconditional gift of thousands of beats, drops, loops, notations, melodic fragments and soundscapes from a carefully curated group of DJs and composers including Camilo Lara (Mexican Institute of Sound), Adrian Quesada (Black Pumas), Mabe Fratti, Toy Selectah, and many others. These are the original sample sources used in the creation of the studio album MXTX: A Cross-Border Exchange, which the Austin Chronicle calls:
“…a whole damn vibe, crossing Nortec Collective glitchy flavor with Thievery Corporation groove and atmosphere while bringing a small army of collaborators from both sides of the Texas-Mexico border into the fun.”
During 2020 and despite a global pandemic, Golden Hornet Artist Director Graham Reynolds, well known for his original scores to Richard Linklater films, along with three other extraordinary co-curators, invited 40 musical artists from both sides of the Rio Grande/Bravo to participate in the first phase of MXTX; the build-out of the open source sample library.
The curators included Orión García, founder of the Austin, Texas-based Latinx DJ/Producer/Artist collective Peligrosa; from Monterrey, México, arts entrepreneur Coka Treviño, the founder of The Projecto; and the highly-acclaimed Felipe Pérez Santiago of Mexico City – composer, conductor, sound artist and current Artist in Residence at California’s SETI Institute.
What Is MXTX: A Cross-Border Exchange?
The second phase of the project, the MXTX: A Cross-Border Exchange studio album, consists of thirteen full gender-balanced works and one bonus track that builds upon many of the elements from the MXTX Sample Library but deconstructed and reconstructed in combination with parts composed and arranged for a chamber ensemble plus electronics.
Stream and Purchase The Whole Album Here
Highlights include a collaboration between Cafe Tacvba’s Rubén Albarrán and Nortec Collective’s Ramón Amezcua “Bostich” and a David Lynch-esque track from Gabriela Ortiz, Latin Grammy nominee and recipient of Mexico’s National Prize for Arts & Literature.
With the release of the entire sample library and the continued intent to forge borderless musical bonds worldwide, the idea is for creatives to take their approach to the MXTX project by utilizing the library for original compositions or remixes.
Mexico City-based Pahua (Paulina Sotomayor) did just that with the upcoming release of “Impermanencia Involuntaria,” premiering exclusively here at Magnetic Magazine and out on all digital platforms tomorrow, August 24th. Her take on Alina Maldonado’s original digs deeply into the MXTX sample library to create a track that ebbs and flows with Sotomayor’s style while keeping the original vibe intact.
Pahua explains:
“It was a lot of fun working on this new interpretation. I took the backbone of the song, which is the trombone. I worked it with a lo-fi beat to make it like a lo-fi Mariachi version, meaning a regional Mexican sound that has spun for generations between the bohemian and traditional. It is a very fresh and dark version and has mystery wrapped between its layers.”
Learn More About Pahua’s Remix Here
Grammy Award-winning producer/guitarist Adrian Quesada of the Black Pumas is the first highlighted sample pack in the library. Adrian goes on to state:
“The most influential art form in my life by far has been hip-hop, and its process of reimagining and repurposing is something I love… For MXTX I gathered a cross-section of sounds, feels, and genres to inspire someone to run with it as they wish, with no preconceived instructions.” Graham Reynolds adds, “The first phases of MXTX focused on two creative communities, from Mexico and Texas, making an artistic statement together. This next phase sees the release of our 24 gigabyte sample library to the world, free for anyone to use. We can’t wait to hear what innovation is yet to come!”
Access the entire MXTX Sample Library Right Here
UPCOMING MXTX LIVE SHOWS:
September 4 – Marfa, TX @ Marfa Lights Festival
September 9 – Mexico City, MX @ Ex Teresa Arte Actual
September 10 – Mexico City, MX @ Museo Universitario del Chopo
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