Mezklah

It was during 1997 that Angel Garcia and Greg Hernandez first connected, bound by a shared drive to conquer the alternative rock landscape via their band Circa. Laden with guitar-rock material in the vein of Jane's Addiction, they circulated through Los Angeles's open-mike venues. Within two years the alternative-rock tide had receded, leaving their work without an audience, though the pair retained a potent creative chemistry. Garcia, a Mexican-American whose ancestry tied him closely to the culture and music of Michoacan, Mexico, carried an urgent and distinctive voice eager for expression. Hernandez, raised in southern California, drew from a range of sources—'70s R&B, U.K. punk, and P-Funk—that had yet to surface in his playing. Seeking a different direction, the duo pursued new collaborators, and Garcia encountered British/Nigerian electronica producer Eric Alatan. The three began shaping an original sound under the name Mezklah, chosen to evoke their improbable fusion of idioms. Blending funk, reggae, trip-hop, and Afro-Cuban elements, Mezklah completed their debut full-length Spider Monkey in 2004. Sustained touring across Mexico and the United States has since positioned the group at the forefront of what they describe as Latin alternative.