KINKY
Kinky spent years honing their highly original sound, a fusion of Latin Rhythms, Mexican regional music, electronica and rock\'n\'roll, in their hometown of Monterrey, in Northern Mexico. They gave Chris Allison, (Coldplay, Beta Band), a three song demo presented on a lovely cassette tape in the winter of 1999 while he was producing Plastilina Mosh. Six months later he signed them to his Sonic360 label and they were off and running. The five-man band - Gilberto Cerezo (vocals, guitar), Ulises Lozano (keyboards), Carlos Chairez (lead guitar), Cesar Pliego (bass) and Omar Gongora (drums) - exploded onto the international scene in the summer of 2000. Since 2002, the band has recorded three eclectic albums - Kinky (2002), Atlas (2003) and Reina (2006) - been nominated for three Grammy\'s® , composed music for films and played countless gigs all over the planet in front of hundreds of thousands, inducing dance floor hysteria and winning legions of enthusiastic fans.

"We love making records, writing songs and playing music," says singer Gilberto Cerezo. "Since there are five of us in the band and we do everything as a team, it\'s hard to make one record that shows off everything we can do. That\'s why we decided to put out Rarities. It\'s a little of this and a little of that: projects we\'ve been doing outside the albums, covers of songs by artists we admire, songs written for movies, people doing remixes and adding their flavor to the Kinky idea. There are also a few live tracks, because the live shows are the most important thing we do."

Rarities was originally put out in the UK as a limited edition of 750 hand numbered copies, just for Kinky\'s UK fans, but overwhelming positive feedback from the European press has prompted the band and Sonic360 to launch a new full scale release in the US and Canada on June 19th.

Like all their albums, Rarities blends sounds that are contemporary and traditional, dynamic and contemplative, innovative and yet strangely familiar. Gilberto Cerezo and Ulises Lozano provide a quick overview.

"‘Coqueta\' means flirty girl," Lozano says. "The Norteño band Intocable asked us to do that song, one of their big hits, for a tribute album honoring their long career. ‘Selva Lombardi\' was going to be on Atlas, but was left aside. When we went back and listened to it, we loved its funky dance groove." On "Canibal," a song they wrote for the soundtrack of LA HIJA DEL CANIBAL, Kinky collaborated with another hero, Lupe Esparza, singer of the legendary Norteño group Bronco. "We all fell in love for the first time listening to his lyrics," Cerezo explains. "It was bizarre and exciting to be working with him and directing him, but he just said, ‘Tell me what to do\' and he did it. It\'s one of the most pop songs we\'ve done. It even has a video.

"(Director) Renee Chabria asked us to write a song about a guy leaving Mexico to live in LA for her film SUEÑO," Cerezo continues. "She hadn\'t started filming yet, but when I played her ‘Aqui Es La Vida\' she said it fit perfectly with her vision. Director Tony Scott wanted a version of ‘Oye Come Va\' for MAN ON FIRE. It was a challenge because Tito Puente and Santana already have strong versions of the song. Our take is more electronic, more rock. We also included a chilled out Lazyboy remix of the song." Other remix artists on Rarities include: Money Mark ("Presidente"), Toy Selectah, a reggaeton innovator who brings a new energy to "Mas," and a mash up of "Soun Tha Mi Primer Amor" by Nortec Collective\'s Bostich that blends hip hop, house and Norteño flavours.

Rarities concludes with three live recordings "Más", "The Headphonist", and "Sol." "We recorded in the Napster studios to give fans a taste of the DVD we\'re working on," Lozano explains. "There was no crowd, but it was all live. We did older songs because music changes as you play it live; songs pick up other flavors after you\'ve played them a while."

While fans are enjoying Kinky\'s continually evolving sound on Rarities, the band itself will be busy touring. Cerezo: "We\'re on the road until the end of the year and we\'re making videos, doing more collaborations with other artists and writing tracks for the next album. We just finished writing and recording the theme song that Fox Sports will use for the MFL Soccer League\'s 2007 season. We live in a world that\'s always spinning faster and faster, with information coming in from everywhere and new sounds developing in every city. Our goal is to stay inspired, and keep listening for fresh flavors that can become part of Kinky music."