Música y Mórbido es muy bueno!!!

(Yes. Morbido 2012 drew to a close over a week ago but for this separate post I had to wait for one of the musical artists to return from a quick tour)

Normally we would not focus so much on music in a film. But, I came across two musicians at the Morbido Film Festival who are such polar opposites to each other on the musical spectrum that I wanted to take some time to highlight their work in music and more importantly in film. And were it not for the discovery of an old man playing Yellow Submarine on his accordion outside an entrance to the House of Eleven Courtyards either one of these gentlemen mentioned hereafter could have been tops on my list. There is just something about hearing The Beatles played on the accordion in the middle of Mexico that trumps all other musical discoveries in a given weekend. 

After the opening night ceremony we were treated to a musical act called Animalik by Mal'Akh. As Felipe Perez Santiago's band played their ethereal electronic rock fusion along with a selection of animated short films, I could not help but think of Canadian outfit Godspeed You Black Emperor. I took comfort in knowing that Santiago is also a fan of the group as well as some others like Sigur Ros. If he has some of the same musical tastes as I do, then he is alright by me. I will say though that a surprising number of animated short films featured penises and vajayjays; including one where characters broke their bigger ones off to beat another character whose penis was smaller. Just saying.

Felipe is currently planning Animalik 2 with new music and is on the lookout for new animated shorts. In a recent e-mail Felipe wrote, "The idea is that "Animalik" is a live project that is all the time showing new animation material".

Santiago has already worked on a number of films with some of Latin America's top and rising filmmakers throughout his career. He created original music for Postcards from Leningrad, Venezuela's submission for Best Foreign Film in 2007. He also worked with Carlos Cuarón- brother of Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también and Children of Men)- on two of his films, Rudo y Cursi and the upcoming Besos de Azúcar due out in 2013. Last year he worked on Jorge Michel Grau's (We Are What We Are and The ABCs of Death) short film 72.

Because of the quality of his work in two of these films Santiago has been a nominee in best music for an "Ariel" prize and for a "Diosa de Plata" (Silver Goddess) in Mexico.

Later that weekend, as if I was not already floored by the cinematic assault laid out by Adrián García Bogliano's Here Comes The Devil, the moment the closing credits started the song Terror by Mexican Death Metal band The Massacre Must Begin launched its audible assault. I stood in the small makeshift cinema at the end of the film, paid homage by raising my devil horns, and then I sought out more information about the song and the band. I would meet lead vocalist Lex Ortega at a party later that night at the House of Eleven Courtyards. I would also find out that his company, LSD - Loud Sound Design, was responsible for the sound design in Here Comes The Devil.

Ortega is also a short filmmaker in his own right and he gave me a disc of his shorts to bring back with me. He submitted his short T is for Tamales to The ABCs of Death competition. He also gave me three other short films, Devourment, a POV zombie short, Frio (Cold), further proof that if you do not store meat properly in the fridge it will spoil, and Atroz (Atrocious), a completely vicious, nearly unwatchable and ultra-violent torture short, not for the squeamish -- that is for damn sure.

But here is the real reason why Lex is important to you and your life right this very second. LSD is doing the sound design of... wait for it... Frankenstein's Army! Because of his work on Here Comes the Devil he was hired on to do the sound design on Richard Raaphorst's nazi zombie flick! He also did sound effects for an animated film called El Santos VS la Tetona Mendoza. There was a special advance screening of this film at Morbido but there were no subtitles. What I saw though, a Luchador wrestler beating up zombies, was funny. And it boasts a voice cast that includes Guillermo Del Torro, Cheech Marin and Héctor Jiménez (Nacho Libre and Gentlemen Broncos). But hell yeah, Frankenstein's Army.

So there you have it. Two musical acts with their rightful place in the film industry in Mexico also making a name for themselves abroad.

p.s. Lex! Amigo! I found a packet of Pizza Hut Chile Quebrado (Crushed Red Pepper) wedged between the case and cover of your short films. Do you need that back?