In celebration of the 191st Mexican Independence Day on Friday, September 16, Smirnoff Sound Collective has partnered up with Mexico City-based music collective NAAFI to create its second installment in the highly inclusive and expressive TRIBES series. Back in January, the Collective visited Mexico City where all-female DJ label and booking platform Discwoman held specially curated events in an effort to highlight and uplift the women responsible for some of the most innovative sounds in the Latin American circuit. Now, the crew has returned to the city to showcase a fellow DJing organization that seeks to redefine the stereotypes surrounding the Latin American representation in underground music culture.
The 8-minute documentary features sister collectives HiedraH (Argentina), Salviatek (Uruguay) and Svntv Mverte (USA) alongside NAAFI, displaying the deeply held convictions and ideas that bind creators from different countries together in pursuit of a clear mission. The group of DJs and producers have evolved their sound and increased the presence in the city ever since their founding in 2010, and have emerged as a platform dedicated to representing music from almost strictly Latin American backgrounds.
“Music is a huge part of Mexican culture. When you take electronic music and add in a Latin American sound, the result is different than anything you’ve ever heard before and it’s our goal to continue to collaborate with new artists across the world so we can further spread the sound and style of our culture.”
In the film, the co-founders of NAAFI speak out on the purpose of their collective and the present state of cultural and societal affairs in Mexico as they relate to their own goals. The result is a visually stunning and highly engaging look at one of the most exciting and forward thinking movements currently happening in electronic music.
Watch the full documentary in the player below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mzLaVIeThk
In honor of the documentary’s official release, NAAFI was also brought to the Mixmag x Smirnoff Sound Collective Lab in Brooklyn, New York to perform an exclusive live set following a live screening of the film on Wednesday, September 14. Footage from the diverse array of live sets can be found below.
