I love what I heard (and felt) when I listened to San Francisco-based rock trio Mi Ami’s new single “Latin Lover.” And to make things even better, the band explained how touring unlocked their creativity and made them “near-telepathic” when writing their new album.
“Latin Lover” is a track from Mi Ami‘s new album Steal Your Face. The song is six triumphant minutes that fuses lo-fi rawk ‘n roll, funky African polyrhythms and psychedelic punk rock , an inspiring mix that made me instantly want to know more about their story.
Once “Latin Lover” had it’s way with me I took a look at what inspired the recording of Steal Your Face and knew right away that it was something I had to share with you.
So you can get the same feel of what I felt when I first encountered “Latin Lover,” I’ll share with you exactly what the press info said. It goes without saying that I rarely rely on just the press info to describe a band. But every so often what a band says about themselves speaks for itself and triggers a new fantastic train of thought.
That said, Mi Ami’s back story, as told below, gives us great insight in to what their live show might be like, and how touring might have made them emotionally and creatively telepathic.
Here’s a few snippets from the press release:
“…Mi Ami is committed to their own particular joyful noise, to the intersection of vicious high-energy playing with ebullient communal experience.
“…To this end, the live shows are about creating a vibrant emotional space in which waves of music/sound guide the band and audience through a psychic space marred with claustrophobia, paranoia and dread, yet emerging into the light of ecstatic being…”
“…Twelve weeks of touring in 2009 transformed the band from what friends described as a “fun time party band” into a lean, tight, near-telepathic unit, which remains fun…”
“…The relentless playing of the past spring, from California to Latvia and back, took the band to newfound depths of nuanced, pre-verbal communication and opened up new neural pathways where creativity had previously been kept from flowing. Upon returning home, confident in their abilities, Mi Ami set out to write the bulk of Steal Your Face…”
There’s a lot being said in that snippet about the power a band can experience when touring. And it’s very interesting to think that touring can make a band telepathic. I would assume that a band would get to know each other on an intimate level while touring, but to be sure we’ll have to do some more emotional experimenting to see if musical telepathy is truly created by constant touring.
But what I do know for sure is that Mi Ami has experienced the Mannish Boy/STSS process in reverse because Steal Your Face was inspired by “relentless” touring as the band gelled together to find a telepathic groove that truly worked.
And if their live show is anything like what I hear on “Latin Lover,” or read about in the press release, then seeing them play at The Hideout tonight in Chicago will give you a chance to check them out and put the recorded vibe of “Latin Lover” (mp3 below) to the test in a live setting.
Concert Details:
Show starts at 8pm
Tickets $8
Latin Lover mp3
[audio:http://christophercatania.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Mi_Ami-Latin_Lover.mp3|titles=Mi_Ami-Latin_Lover]Get more info about Mi Ami and download Steal Your Face on Thrill Jockey’s site.