ALI X (ex Azari & III) and XIMENA (Controlla) are a powerhouse duo whose risky Spanglish techno-rap out of Mexico City cuts raw, rugged barrio/street juice with laser-sharp cultural rhetoric, radiated by a dominant visual element. The unique artist duo, as multi-instrumentalist musicians, have a lot to offer. Deeply influenced by the techno and electro French scene, they love the intimacy of a studio session, working hard with other producers and musicians to discover new forms of music. Now they come back, and they do it by premiering their first LP together, to be released on their own Controlla label.

The three volumes of remixes that precede the LP bring together a dream team of collaborators, such as Diaz Tech (SXDNS089), Double Meaning, Fausto (SXDNS064), Mijo and Shubostar (SXDNS042), just to name a few. The remix of “Patitos” we chose to review, provided by Double Meaning – a partnership between Los Angeles-based Suli Velasco and San Luis-based KW’ITOL –, is a beautiful groovy house-ish interpretation. The original is an ode to distortions and deformities, but Double Meaning decided to have a different approach, stripping off many of the main elements from Ali X X Ximena’s track in order to deliver a “clean” and fresh version, with a throbbing bassline, a rhythmic synth layer and a very-short-but-ominous drop as highlights. Don’t fool yourself: Their remix is far from being cute and fluffy, it is definitely daring and bold, and we liked it.

Special credits to AXM Audio for the mastering.

You can find (and buy) this and other music pearls on the Bandcamp page of the label.

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