These days, it is not often that you come across a band so deeply in love with music as Hello Mex- ico. Beautifully atmospheric, but yet progressive and melodic, the band pack an instrumental force to be reckoned with, citing Sigur Rós as a
significant influence - perhaps unsurprising with an Icelandic member on board.
WOLF spent a rainy Autumn afternoon eating pizza in Hampstead with the boys to find out more about their experiments in sound...
How, where and when did Hello Mexico begin?
Nick Brown, 23, guitars: Nick and John were in a band before. We’re kind of a mix of two of our old bands. Oliver Rae, 20, drums: Yeah, we were all in different bands at different times. John Martinelli, 23, bass and vocals: We all knew each other (apart from Gulli), and we started just jamming, writing some ideas and that’s how it came together. OR: We were going to be an instrumental band – me, Nick and John but then decided to use a vocalist.
Nick Calafato, 23, guitars: That was the idea, then you (Oli) started the band and decided it would be separate from that.
Are any of you professionally musically trained? Gulli Gunnarsson, 24, piano and vocals: On piano, grade… something? JM: Grade something? GG: I played for nine years, I guess. JM: We all blag it.
WOLF: Self-taught then? JM: Yeah, we invented blagging. NC: I had a few lessons when I was younger, for about a year maybe, but all I did was learn riffs. OR: Yeah, I was taught the drums by my Dad who’s been playing for 25 years. Then I had some lessons with a Mexican man who shout- ed at me a lot, so I left and stopped. I only
63
had three lessons with him. He used to terrify me, he was really camp as well and just used to scream at me. Told me that I was rubbish at drumming and that I should give up now. NC: Was that his way of motivating you? Didn’t work. OR: I guess so, yeah.
What were your aims when you started the band, do you think these have changed with time? ALL: Definitely. JM: Definitely, yeah. Our music has com- pletely changed, so our ideas and goals have definitely changed. NC: Our influences have completely changed as well. I think over the past year, a lot of us
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149