Mexican Institute of Sound

From the emerging Mexico City underground comes an unexpected record, Méjico Máxico. Mexican Institute of Sound (MIS) is a one-man project helmed by music industry tastemaker Camilo Lara. A true icon of the city, Lara spends his daytime working in one of those box-set offices within a city of 25 million souls. But when he steps out, he gets involved with the underground musica movement and begins his musical mission delivering electronic masterpieces with only the help of his computer, his nurturing imagination, and his awesome collection of vinyl.

Lara's genius is not his ability to hide behind a computer screen or immerse himself in the world of modern technology (in which he's admittedly quite a clumsy participant), but rather lies in his ability to carefully select and blend diverse musical references that will surprise and delight even the most discriminating listener. Camilo Lara has distinguished himself as a musical trendsetter among his circle of friends with his annual Christmas compilation of the year's best tracks and unreleased MIS tracks which has fast become a sought-after collector's item. This hobby led Lara to collaborate on remixes under the moniker of Mexican Institute of Sound for bands and friends like Placebo, Le Hammond Inferno, Gecko Turner, and Babasónicos.

Méjico Máxico is a carefully constructed collage featuring snippets of cumbia, cha cha chas, glimpses of Esquivel, poems by Juan Rulfo, electronica, dub and musical references spanning from the 1920s through the '60s which combine to reflect Mexican Institute of Sound's unique impression of life in bustling Mexico City.

— Courtesy Calabash Music