Mexican Institute of Sound

• Genre: Latin Rock

About

Camilo Lara may be the best dual-identity superhero in Mexico these days. His day job is no joke: he's the managing director of EMI Mexico. But when the sun goes down, this obsessive record collector becomes a DJ and producer (known as the Mexican Institute of Sound) who has released two well-received albums since 2006. The first, 2006's Mejico Maxico, collected songs that Lara had crafted over the course of many years as he was learning digital technology; he shared the songs on mix tapes he gave to friends. The album was a sonic pastiche dedicated to cataloguing the sounds of a country where cumbia and the Ramones can comfortably coexist. His 2007 follow-up, Pinata, was a more refined and original effort that featured emcees and slightly more discernible song structures.

- Sarah Bardeen