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The Mud Howlers Timeliness Something magical happens when you mix a love of the desert, all things trippy, and a philosopher's soul with a fearless love of heavy guitars, blues, classic metal, and psychedelic rock. You get the Mud Howlers, who are bringing their unique brand of shake-a-delic-rock straight from the Desert of Sonora in Hermosillo, Mexico. The foursome - brothers Nathan Larrinaga (vocals/guitar) and Norberto "Norbi" Larrinaga (bass), along with Felipe Garcia (guitar/keyboards) and Carlos "Charlie" Molina (drums) - recently moved to Los Angeles with their debut, fulllength album, Timeliness, in hand and a rapidly growing fan base that includes members of the Arctic Monkeys, Kinky, and Molotov. The 10-track album, which was produced by Latin Grammy Awardswinners Tito Fuentes of Mexico's answer to Rage Against the Machine, Molotov, and his production collaborator Argentinean producer/composer Camilo Froideval, is already garnering rave reviews, such as this one by Wanting Wave: "[The album] makes you see everything with a sepia filter, transports you into the wilderness of Hermosillo, where they originate, and you imagine having a duel or drinking a good drink in a tavern with swinging doors." Vice magazine's Noisey [sic] Music by Vice blog applauds the band for their "powerful riffs with distorted guitars, psychedelic inflections on vocals, and a clear sense of rock. [It's] music to follow the coyote deep into the desert while the truck leaves a dust trail far behind, like 'Riders on the Storm' by the Doors, but from Hermosillo." It's not surprising that critics find it hard to describe the Mud Howlers music without connoting such vivid images and scenes - the music is as much inspired by such influences as Muddy Waters, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beatles, as it is by the unique landscape that birthed the band. "I'm very inspired by the desert and nature and how the world is really a magical place. The story of this album is about the life of the band in this past year because we're always tripping about life and really thinking about where we are and where we want to go," says Nathan. "Dust," which features a Western-style music video shot in the band's hometown as part of the documentary series, Around the World in 80 Music Videos, is a perfect example of the singer/songwriter's thought-process and inspirations. "It's all about the life cycle and recreation," he explains. "It talks about the wind and the trees and the sun and all these natural things, and the process of living. And, then you realize you're going to die and you start wondering, where do you go when you die? Well, we're going to be the breeze, and we're going to be the sun, and we're going to be the light." Recording Timeliness at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas (where Yeah, Yeah Yeahs, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Band of Horses, Jenny Lewis, and others have recorded) provided further inspiration musically and vibewise, and was the perfect setting to help the band expand their sound. The fivestudio residential recording complex houses an impressive array of analogue and vintage equipment and is set in the middle of 2,000+ acres of pecan orchards boarding the Rio Grande and Old Mexico. "Tito and Camilo have worked at Sonic Ranch a bunch of times to record Molotov and other Mexican projects, so they know the place very well," says Charlie. "They read us very well on knew we'd be really comfortable and also be inspired with the ranch vibe." On working with Tito and Camilo, Charlie adds, "Camilo's more like the George Martin [a.k.a., "The Fifth Beatle"] type producer. He's more about the vibe and the sound, and had the vision for the mood for this album. And also he taught us to try new set ups and instruments and new ways to play." And, Tito, adds Felipe, pushed the band to record live and without a metronome so they could capture their raw, live sound better. "We recorded with real organs with tubes and stuff, and helped us think of new ways of using equipment and instruments," says Filipe. "The effect you hear on 'Dust' is a tape delay that he manipulated as we were playing, which gave it this psychedelic sound. We added live saxophone to 'Dust' to but it's played in a fun, psychedelic way too. And, we put microphones in different places too." For "Alchemist Gold," the band headed into the woods among the pecan trees at the Ranch. "The plan was to record a guitar part for the song outdoors to try to catch the natural reverb of the outside environments of the ranch," explains Nathan. "We placed the microphone far away from the amplifier and it ended up catching the sound of frogs and crickets due to the use of the condenser microphone. All of this happened during the beautiful pitch dark night and silence of the ranch." "It's my favorite song on the record," he continues. "Alchemists tried to find gold in every chemical reaction. For us, what the term alchemist gold means is it's the things that soothe your soul. Playing music, that's the alchemist gold. Alchemist gold is in freedom. It's in being yourself. It's in nurturing your soul." "Magic Place," which Nofm Radio chose as their "Darling of the Week," was inspired by a camping trip. "We used to camp a lot in a little town in Mexico called San Pedro Tlanixco, which was paradise to us," says Nathan. "The song has a bit of an Adam and Eve theme, but the forbidden fruit for us is knowledge, and people and systems and governments that don't want you to have knowledge. But, also we just need to realize we live in paradise and we need to take care of this place." The Mud Howlers have come a long way from their origins in 2012 as duo of just Nathan and Charlie, longtime childhood friends, who were born in Tucson, Arizona but raised in Hermosillo. Their name is a combination of two of their favorite blues artists, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. "Charlie and I were listening to Muddy Waters' Electric Mud and some of Howlin' Wolf's classic hits. We started saying to each other, 'Hey Muddy, how you doing?' And, he'd answer, 'I'm just howling.' And the name the Mud Howlers started." Realizing a duo wasn't enough to deliver the sonic assault they aimed for, the band added the singer's brother, Norbi on bass and Felipe (who was born and raised in Hermosillo) on guitar six months later and released their debut EP, R.R.R., featuring the title track produced by Fuentes, in 2014. Of R.R.R., BuzzbandsLA raved, "It has the heft of a lot of the greats, like Zep and Sabbath," while BrightYoungThings.com called it a "Technicolor spectrum of fuzzy psychedelic rock that sounds both refreshingly unique and disarmingly seductive." The band has gained much momentum since the release of their EP, landing opening slots for Molotov, Kinky, and Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner's side-project, The Last Shadow Puppets. The band has also performed at many festivals, including being picked by Nylon magazine as one of the 10 bands "you can't miss" at the All My Friends festival in Baja California, as well as South by Southwest, Hellow Fest, Monterrey City Fest, Guanajuato International Film Festival, Festival del Pitic, and others. BMI Music Publishing chose the band as their Pick of the Month showcase for the group's unique blend of "heavy, deserttinged blend of bluesy, psychedelic rock." Trading the Mexican desert for the SoCal desert, the Mud Howlers have come to America to take their magical blend of dirty rock to the masses.