Calexico, the Tucson, Ariz.-based collective led by founding members Joey Burns and John Convertino, has long had a penchant for grandiose arrangements and genre-defying songwriting. But they’ve always gravitated toward the traditional music of their home in the American Southwest. And like the band, that region’s cultural heritage is inextricably linked with the music of Mexico.
So it may come as surprise that before their most recent album, the group had spent little time south of the border. The sessions that would become their new effort, Edge of the Sun, marked the first time in the band’s nearly 20-year history that they had taken the creative process abroad. Recorded in the Coyoacán neighborhood of Mexico City, Edge of the Sun is a sweeping 12-song effort that showcases a band seemingly reinvigorated by the change of scenery.
With dramatic landscapes in mind, opbmusic caught up with Calexico before a recent performance with The Decemberists at McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, Ore. There, the full seven-piece group performed songs in the vineyard at the nearby Edgefield Winery, including this track, “Falling from the Sky.”
SET LIST
- “Falling from the Sky”
Find more recordings from this session with Calexico at opbmusic.org.
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