{"id":5964,"date":"2023-06-05T13:10:14","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T18:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=5964"},"modified":"2023-06-13T21:44:59","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T02:44:59","slug":"clouser-mexico-city-experiment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/clouser-mexico-city-experiment\/","title":{"rendered":"Conduit : A Conversation with Todd Clouser on The Mexico City Experiment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The fifth outing in Ropeadope\u2019s Experiment<\/em> series is markedly different from its predecessors. While all releases to date adopt a general ethos of giving maximum freedom to its participants, an ad hoc collection of those from the host city, prior output has primarily emphasized a particular native subsect of music. The Philadelphia Experiment<\/em> (Ropeadope, 2001) underscored Philly soul and R&B, while The Detroit Experiment <\/em>hammered home the Motor City\u2019s electronic leanings. In some sense, guitarist Todd Clouser\u2019s The Mexico City Experiment <\/em>(Ropeadope, 2023) builds upon the City of Palaces\u2019 history of avant-garde exploration. But, to be more accurate, the work drops listeners off in North America\u2019s second-largest metropolis with only a sonic map for navigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The album capitalizes on the fact that, as the first Experiment<\/em> to go overseas, listeners may initially find themselves a bit disoriented. Its music turns listeners down one calle to encounter the calls of street vendors (\u201cBored Folks\u201d). Down another, a parade (\u201cInterludio\u201d). And, throughout, bustling traffic (\u201cJarocho Street\u201d). Sure, there are stylistic benchmarks along the route. \u201cDe Buche\u201d is a funk tune at heart while \u201cTalking Mexico City\u201d exhibits screeches and free blowing by Mexican free jazz legend Germ\u00e1n Bringas. But the album uses genre precepts primarily to provide texture rather than force the music into limiting categories. The flexible use of stylistic notions also reflects Mexico City\u2019s role as a cultural melting pot where influences from indigenous cultures, Africa, and Europe – particularly Spain – often merge and blur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The blending of musical approaches is also inherently in line with Clouser\u2019s prior works. With his group, A Love Electric, Clouser has removed bifurcating lines between rock, jazz, blues, and spoken word. He\u2019s also worked with compatriots – including John Lurie and John Zorn – similarly untethered to genre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clouser\u2019s relationship with Mexico City also provides an additional depth to The Mexico City Experiment<\/em> lacking in prior Experiments<\/em>. Christian McBride and ?uestlove were Philly-born and raised. Same with Greg Spero and the Windy City<\/a>. But Clouser spent the early years of his life over two thousand miles away from his city of choice. Some may be quick to write off his perspectives, as a transplant, on Mexico City, but this is short-sighted. Sometimes one can find new insights in the stories of one who chose to abandon the familiarity of home out of love for another locale. In a way, one can see Clouser as a musical Tocquevellian for South of the Border. As such, he reveals the beauty and wonder of a megalopolis far too overlooked by many Americans in discussions of the great international jazz hubs. We sat down with Clouser to discuss his ties to Mexico, the birth of The Experiment<\/em>, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PostGenre: You are originally from Minnesota.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Todd Clouser: Mm-hmm. Yeah.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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PG: But you ended up moving to Mexico to teach.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TC: Yep, that’s kind of how it started. A long time ago, I went on a tour that brought me to Mexico to perform. I was only supposed to stay in Mexico for a short while but I met a few musicians, and a teaching job came up at a school in Los Cabos. The teaching job was kind of the anchor that got me to Mexico. I taught for a few years in Los Cabos as I built my thing in Mexico City. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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PG: What do you feel most sets the Mexico City area apart from, say, Minneapolis musically?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TC: Minneapolis is beautiful and a great American city, but Mexico City is massive. Over 21 million people live here. It’s chaotic and unordered in a way that is simultaneously inspiring, liberating, exciting, and surreal. Moving there was a big shift for me, and it continues to be incredibly exciting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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