'We're just being honest with what we like and what we've listened to,' says Andres Velasco, lead singer with Chikita Violenta. He says he was always more into the moody atmospherics of England's Radiohead and the buzzsaw noise of New York's Sonic Youth than the Mexico uber alles style of an older band like Maldita Vecindad or the proudly Chilango (Mexico City) punk-folklorico of Cafe Tacuba.

'Ninety percent of the music we've heard is rock music made outside of Mexico. And a couple of us come from American backgrounds, so it's always been natural to us,' Velasco continues. 'I don't think that I have to learn traditional music blended with rock. Hey, if I go to Sweden, does it have to be traditional Viking music blended with metal? Rock 'n' roll is a global thing.' So global, in fact, that Chikita Violenta's latest album, The Stars and Suns Sessions, was recorded in Toronto under the tutelage of producer David Newfeld, best-known for his work with Broken Social Scene, the Canadian band that includes Grammy nominee Feist. -popmatters.com