Biography
Lorelle Meets the Obsolete, a Mexican ensemble, pulls from nearly every variety of 1960s psychedelic music, spanning jangling folk-rock through rough-edged biker rock, while folding in 1990s noise rock textures and, over time, avant-garde electronics. Working at first as a duo, they produced dense, swirling textures on releases such as 2013’s Corruptible Faces that mirrored the cramped urban existence they experienced in Guadalajara and Mexico City. Once they settled in the calmer setting of Baja, their approach grew less conventionally psychedelic and more exploratory; 2019’s De Facto brought greater use of synthesizers, and 2023’s Datura explored sparse dub alongside industrial-tinged noise rock.
Alberto González and Lorena Quintanilla formed the project after their earlier psych rock outfit Soho Riots ended in the early 2010s. Remaining a duo, with Quintanilla on guitar and vocals and González handling the remaining instruments plus occasional guitar, the Guadalajara-based pair issued their debut, On Welfare, in May 2011 through Captcha Records. The following year they put out the single “Ghost Archives,” mastered by Bitchin Bajas keyboardist Cooper Crain, initiating an extended collaboration. By then the pair had moved to Mexico City; their home-recorded, Crain-mastered follow-up, Corruptible Faces, appeared on Captcha in early 2013. They toured extensively that year, augmented by bassist Francisco Lozano and drummer Carlos González. Their stage sound from this period was captured on the mid-2013 “Live in Mexico City” 12". Meanwhile they already had another album prepared, having entered Chicago’s MINBAL studio with Cooper Crain, Mikale de Graff, and Alex Narinskiy at the console. The resulting Chambers stood as their strongest work yet and gained further distinction when one of their heroes, Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom, handled mastering; Captcha and the U.K. label Sonic Cathedral released it in early 2014.
Around the same period the duo relocated to the quieter town of Ensenada, Baja California, to focus on music full-time and create a stronger base for U.S. touring, which they pursued throughout 2014. Highlights included a slot at Austin Psych Fest and a sold-out London performance later issued on vinyl in 2014 as Live in London by Sonic Cathedral. Their backing musicians then comprised drummer Dario Lucchesi and bassist Fernando Nuti of the Italian group the New Candys. After returning home, González and Quintanilla began their next album. Rather than the two days allotted for Chambers, they proceeded deliberately, even recording two versions of each song—one by each member—before choosing the stronger take or the one best suited to the intended mood. Cooper Crain mixed Balance, which Mikey Young mastered; Captcha and Sonic Cathedral issued it in September 2016.
Following tours supporting the album with a band that included Nuti, drummer Andrea Davi, and keyboardist José Orozco, the duo constructed a home-recording space with Orozco’s assistance. While that project continued, Quintanilla issued the solo album Silente under the name J. Zunz in late 2017. Shortly afterward the group reconvened for another Lorelle album. Two key shifts involved adding Nuti and Davi to the recording process and capturing most tracks live with all musicians together. Within this method they developed many songs from jam sessions and open experimentation, frequently delaying guitar overdubs until later stages. The outcome, 2019’s De Facto, represented their most demanding music thus far, scaling back layered guitar noise in favor of an angular style frequently supported by keyboards. Re-Facto, a companion EP containing two non-album tracks and remixes by Pye Corner Audio and Crain, surfaced in early 2020 while the band toured the United States. They became stranded in upstate New York when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and turned to crowdfunding to finance their return. Once home they paused activities; Quintanilla released another J. Zunz album, Hibiscus, later that year, and the group resumed in 2021. Their initial step was to revisit earlier material by filming updated performances of past songs. This nostalgic exercise prompted fresh writing and recording, soon bringing them back into the home studio with Nuti and Davi. They tracked an urgent, minimal collection of songs drawing from no wave, industrial hip-hop, and avant-garde electronic music, keeping the arrangements mostly free of overdubs and centered on synthesizers. Concurrently Quintanilla worked on the third J. Zunz album, Del Aire, whose experimental electronic textures also influenced the band. Mixed by Jace Lasek of the Besnard Lakes, the finished album Datura appeared in June 2023 on their longtime label Sonic Cathedral.
Alberto González and Lorena Quintanilla formed the project after their earlier psych rock outfit Soho Riots ended in the early 2010s. Remaining a duo, with Quintanilla on guitar and vocals and González handling the remaining instruments plus occasional guitar, the Guadalajara-based pair issued their debut, On Welfare, in May 2011 through Captcha Records. The following year they put out the single “Ghost Archives,” mastered by Bitchin Bajas keyboardist Cooper Crain, initiating an extended collaboration. By then the pair had moved to Mexico City; their home-recorded, Crain-mastered follow-up, Corruptible Faces, appeared on Captcha in early 2013. They toured extensively that year, augmented by bassist Francisco Lozano and drummer Carlos González. Their stage sound from this period was captured on the mid-2013 “Live in Mexico City” 12". Meanwhile they already had another album prepared, having entered Chicago’s MINBAL studio with Cooper Crain, Mikale de Graff, and Alex Narinskiy at the console. The resulting Chambers stood as their strongest work yet and gained further distinction when one of their heroes, Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom, handled mastering; Captcha and the U.K. label Sonic Cathedral released it in early 2014.
Around the same period the duo relocated to the quieter town of Ensenada, Baja California, to focus on music full-time and create a stronger base for U.S. touring, which they pursued throughout 2014. Highlights included a slot at Austin Psych Fest and a sold-out London performance later issued on vinyl in 2014 as Live in London by Sonic Cathedral. Their backing musicians then comprised drummer Dario Lucchesi and bassist Fernando Nuti of the Italian group the New Candys. After returning home, González and Quintanilla began their next album. Rather than the two days allotted for Chambers, they proceeded deliberately, even recording two versions of each song—one by each member—before choosing the stronger take or the one best suited to the intended mood. Cooper Crain mixed Balance, which Mikey Young mastered; Captcha and Sonic Cathedral issued it in September 2016.
Following tours supporting the album with a band that included Nuti, drummer Andrea Davi, and keyboardist José Orozco, the duo constructed a home-recording space with Orozco’s assistance. While that project continued, Quintanilla issued the solo album Silente under the name J. Zunz in late 2017. Shortly afterward the group reconvened for another Lorelle album. Two key shifts involved adding Nuti and Davi to the recording process and capturing most tracks live with all musicians together. Within this method they developed many songs from jam sessions and open experimentation, frequently delaying guitar overdubs until later stages. The outcome, 2019’s De Facto, represented their most demanding music thus far, scaling back layered guitar noise in favor of an angular style frequently supported by keyboards. Re-Facto, a companion EP containing two non-album tracks and remixes by Pye Corner Audio and Crain, surfaced in early 2020 while the band toured the United States. They became stranded in upstate New York when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and turned to crowdfunding to finance their return. Once home they paused activities; Quintanilla released another J. Zunz album, Hibiscus, later that year, and the group resumed in 2021. Their initial step was to revisit earlier material by filming updated performances of past songs. This nostalgic exercise prompted fresh writing and recording, soon bringing them back into the home studio with Nuti and Davi. They tracked an urgent, minimal collection of songs drawing from no wave, industrial hip-hop, and avant-garde electronic music, keeping the arrangements mostly free of overdubs and centered on synthesizers. Concurrently Quintanilla worked on the third J. Zunz album, Del Aire, whose experimental electronic textures also influenced the band. Mixed by Jace Lasek of the Besnard Lakes, the finished album Datura appeared in June 2023 on their longtime label Sonic Cathedral.
Albums
Singles
