Catalogue

The eleventh edition of NRMAL took place on Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Mexico City. Juana Molina’s performance at the festival was a definite moment. She tore the stage. A female Latin American artist closed the festival in one of the most emblematic performances in the festival's history.

Photos from left to right: Juana Molina, NRMAL community, Bush Tetras, Byetone, BEA1991, Wand, and Ruiseñor.

NRMAL: X years celebrating the freshest of the underground. The festival celebrated a decade-long reuniting emerging talents from Latin America with worldwide underground legends.

Spiritualized, one of the acts of 2019's edition and a band with an important history in music, specifically in the space rock scene, presented a celestial experience. The band led by the talented Jason Pierce is characterized by its emotional performances, creating atmospheres that no other live act is capable of matching.

Other performances like Death Grips, who played in Mexico for the first time in 2019, are considered one of the most important hip-hop acts of the decade.

Photos from left to right: NRMAL X, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Canalón de Timbiquí, Michelle Blades & Los Machetes, Sinjin Hawke & Zora Jones, Rubio, Mathilde Fernández, Mazzy Star, Spiritualized, Musikplatz, Death Grips, and art installation.

For this edition, the annual festival celebrated one of the most memorable editions with new music proposals and cult acts.

The Canadian artist and songwriter Mac DeMarco has risen to higher reaches of indie rock. His popularity grew after his international touring and consistent musical output. In 2020, he had his first album to appear in the top ten on the USA Billboard number 10. His first appearance at the festival was for the 2013 edition in Monterrey, but after 5 years he came back to celebrate a sold-out audience in Mexico City.

Photos from left to right: MULA, Of Montreal, Cornelius, Felix Kubin, NRMAL 2018 artwork, Pelada, and Mac DeMarco.

Because NRMAL once a year is not enough, in 2017 we added beach vibes to the experience and presented the first edition of NRMAL Baja: a celebration of new music and gastronomy, by the sea.

Photos from left to right: NRMAL Baja at Rosarito beach, Stage, Cuco, Jessy Lanza, TAYHANA, Holy Wave, NRMAL, Ethics.

British experimental pioneers Psychic TV got weird in Mexico City, their first-ever show not only in the country but also in Latin America. The festival hosted two jam-packed days of music discovery with global acts such as Tortoise and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Artists like Girl Ultra, Jesse Baez, and Camila Moreno were among the acts that played for the first time at the festival.

Photos from left to right: Art by Mauro Bonillo and Disciplina, Porches, NRMAL, Psychic TV, vibes, Psychic TV, Clubz, Dorit Chrysler, Circuit des Yeux, The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Slowdive, Deerhunter, and Battles were set to headline the festival, while Latin American acts such as Coiffeur, Los Wálters, and Los Pirañas
hit the stages early on. Empress Of and Föllakzoid, left the audience with high energy for the rest of the day. Other dynamic sets included artists like Ela Minus and Grenda.

From Japan, Acid Mothers Temple left the NRMAL crowd exhausted and in a state of euphoria.

Photos from left to right: Slowdive, A Place to Bury Strangers, Low, Battles, Los Wálters, Jaakko Eino Kalevi, Acid Mothers Temple, Ela Minus.

Following the success of 2014 album Singles, the American synthpop band, Future Islands, not only had “Seasons (Waiting on You)” named the best song by Pitchfork, but also it catapulted them into viral stardom. The band played for the first time in Mexico in one of the most anticipated acts. Also, Swans, one of the most influential American noise rock bands, played a 2-hour set as one of the most epic and crazy acts in the festival's history.

As for the Latin American acts, from Brazilian psych-rockers Boogarins, Meridian Brothers to Buscabulla,

Photos from left to right: Boogarins, NRMAL vibes, The Black Angels, Juan Wauters, Rebolledo, Simpson Ahuevo, Kirin J Callinan, Mariel Mariel.

Festival NRMAL was back again for 2014 with a multi-day festival in Monterrey (from March 5 - 9). It is known to be one of the most memorable editions not only because of the curated week-long experience, but also from its unique artists' appearances.

Photos from left to right: Hidrogenesse, Los Blenders, Clubz, María y José, Little Jesus, BFlecha, Kelela, Erez Avissar, No Zu, Los Románticos de Zacatecas, Matías Aguayo, NRMAL vibes, Rashad & Dj Spinn, NRMAL art, Sergios, NRMAL art, 5th anniversary cake with psychedelics.

After five years, the festival expands to Mexico City for the first time. The Mexico City concert featured Blood Orange, Silver Apples, Destroyer, Anika, Wolf Eyes, Merchandise, Pional and more.

Photos from left to right: NRMAL vibes, Blood Orange, stages, Silver Apples, Barn Owl, Pablo Martínez, No Zu, Merchandise, Kelela, Matías Aguayo X Mostro, NRMAL art, Anika, NRMAL vibes, Pional, NRMAL art, Extraperlo.

The festival celebrated a full week of showcases prior the festival with an international and national line-up, always with the main goal of presenting emerging talents with those already established in the global and Latin American scene. During this edition, other genres were included as part of the music curation including metal bands.

Photos from left to right: Art installation, Sky Ferreira, festival at night, Panamérika stage, Mac DeMarco, Mykki Blanco, Sky Ferreira on stage, Lulú, Capullo, Mercadito, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, DJ Sliink, Algodón Egipcio, Mac DeMarco on stage

This edition consisted of three stages (Nrmal, MtyMx, and Panamérika) and presented over 50 international bands, with the MtyMx stage curated by collaborator Todd P.

One of the best memories of this year's edition is when Claire Boucher (Grimes) played her first time in Mexico at the festival, but after missing her gear she played with borrowed instruments to deliver one of the most wild and commemorated moments in the festival's history.

Photos from left to right: Javelin, Widowspeak, Juan Cirerol, skate ramp, Grimes, Bruno Darío, DIIV, Dani Shivers, Juan Cirerol, Astro, Festival Nrmal, Total Freedom, Gatekeeper, Girls, Mentira Mentira.

Photos from left to right: festival crew, Thee Oh Sees, Juan Cirerol, Silje Nes, Goma, Chikita Violenta, Los Macuanos, 3Ball MTY, Frikstailers.

In 2010 when the first edition of the music festival was held, the city was in the midst of an unprecedented drug war, thus resulting in a turning point for the local scene, a cultural shift. The first edition of Festival NRMAL began as a space for music and contemporary art, under a curatorship that reflected a combination of well-known projects from the independent scene with emerging proposals on the way to becoming the next big thing.

From early beginnings, NRMAL has been more than a festival, it is a community that transcends borders and dogmas, that seeks new ways to feel and connect, and is proud to have music as a catalyst for diversity.

The art line up was made up of key collaborators:

- Nuria Mora

- MANO4814

- SIXE

- ELTONO

- Los Contratistas: Fidencio, Huizar, Screw

- Pablo Moreno (PM!)

- Carlos Olvera

- Colectivo Zezontle: Blast, Dose, Sanez

- Project Projections

Photos by Molly, LaPola, Rika & crew, Atti and Manu.

Conferences, networking and free entry showcases.

Illustration by J. Demsky.

Second edition of #NODO, a platform that invites reflection, professionalization and the development of the musical circuit between agents from Mexico and Latin America in the global context. It also seeks to be a forum to analyze and develop proposals to make visible the positive impact of music in the cities and environments in which it develops and, thus, generate collective actions that address the areas of opportunity detected.

#NODO is a work, exchange and coexistence tool for music agents and related disciplines, artists and audiences. With activities open to the public and work and reflection sessions for professionals and agents, the Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico was the place to be if you love music. Independent promoters, musicians, distributors, sponsors, institutions, international agents and other innovative spirits were all welcomed.

Music, conferences, networking, workshops, and interviews for all ages.

The MusicMakers Hacklab_DF arrived in Mexico City following the theme of "Máquinas que sintonizan" of the CTM Festival, where it was created, and was developed as a collaborative week-long laboratory, facilitated by Nicolas Collins, Marco Donnarumma and Peter Kirn.

Norte Sonoro is a multimedia project that seeks, through sound experimentation, to explore the sounds of Northern Mexico. It includes a series of residences and a music festival. For its second edition, it was held in Tijuana, Mexico.

Cardopusher (Venezuela/Spain), DJ/Rupture (USA), Los Macuanos (Mexico), Poirier (Canada), Psilosamples (Brazil), Sun Araw (USA), and Venus X (USA) were the invited artists for this second edition (November 2012). They worked in Tijuana using characteristic sounds of northwestern Mexico such as the Altered Movement, Corrido Sierreño, Cantos Indígenas, and the Sinaloense Band, performed by Grupo Estrella Brillante, Fuerza Nueva, and Banda Agua Caliente.

"The idea behind Norte Sonoro: bring a half-dozen international producers to Mexico to work with several regional musicians, culminating in a free fiesta and keeping the energy afloat by releasing a free EP of the collaborative works a few months later", says DJ/Rupture.

Cover photo and images by John Francis Peters.

Norte Sonoro is a multimedia project that seeks, through sound experimentation, to explore the sounds of Northern Mexico. It includes a series of residences and a music festival in Monterrey, Mexico.

Algodón Egipcio (Venezuela), Chancha Vía Circuito (Argentina), DJ/Rupture (USA), Helado Negro (Ecuador/USA), Mumdance (United Kingdom), and White Rainbow (USA) were the invited artists in the first edition (November 2011 ). They worked in Toy Selectah's studio (Mexico) and used sounds of cumbia, cardenche singing, and variants of norteño music as raw material to compose. The national musicians who recorded these sounds were Javier Villarreal (Bronco guitarist), Los Cardencheros de Sapioriz, Grupo Esencias, and Osvaldo Lizcano with Enlace Vallenato.

Collaboration with Hoco Fest, a boutique festival held annually at the historic Hotel Congress in the heart of downtown Tucson.

Photos from left to right: Flyer, Sgt. Papers, Silent, Myuné, Jackie Mendoza.

Photos from left to right: Par Ásito, Margaritas Podridas, Myuné, Carrion Kids, Los Esplifs.

Photo by Daniel Patlán.

Reberveration stage in collaboration with Levitation for Festival NRMAL 2017.

A meeting and exchange space with some of the artists of #NRMAL 2017 and all kinds of creative agents who keep our great community alive, interesting and diverse.

Festival NRMAL teamed with the Ace Hotel up for two weekends of curated music at Desert Gold. The multi-day event was all about featuring up and coming artists from Mexico and other parts of Latin America. 

Festival Internacional de Cultura Digital and part of Forum Universal de las Culturas at Parque Fundidora.

We finally got together to do what we love the most: blow our minds with artists you never imagined seeing together.

A rarity called Escapology A/V: Cool if you've already heard the Kode9 album, but the deep journey is in its live audiovisual format. There are no videos, there are no photos, you just have to experience it live. This was his only date in Latin America, to celebrate the return of NRMAL.

The fans of Lore Quintanilla (J.Zunz, Lorelle Meets the Obsolete) know that she doesn't usually perform very often. "A fully immersive and rounded sonic experience, that needs to be heard to be believed" they wrote in The Sleeping Shaman and we agree.

Also, DJ FRACAZOTOTAL joined the lineup. Unrestricted sensitivity that goes from pop to the hardest experimental, in hypnotic and ignited mixes that made us dance, think, and feel from beginning to end. 

Photos from left to right: J.Zunz at Supremo, Kode9, J.Zunz and visuals, crowd dancing.

Music:

- Algodón Egipcio - 'El Escapismo (Versión #LLC10)' / (MEX)

- Beak - 'Oh Know' / (CAN/US)

- Dorit Chrysler - 'electric storm' / (CHE)

- Hidrogenesse - 'Brujerías Jotas (en casa)' / (SPA)

- Holy Wave - 'Hell Bastards' / (USA)

- Los Wálters - 'Ríe' and 'Pop sin ti' / (USA)

Editor & Design:

- Julio Horta / Frilans

Music:

- Camila Fuchs - 'Pool of Wax' / (POR)

- Margaritas Podridas - 'Ceremonia' / MEX)

- Mint Field - 'Delicadeza' / (MEX)

- No sé a quién matar - 'Me has jodido' / (SPA)

- Spicy D - 'Tiran y Tiran' / (MEX)

Bumpers:

- Arancha Mora for Animasivo

- Iglú

Editing:

- Julio Horta / Frilans

Music:

- Clubz - 'Áfrika' / (MEX)

- N4NO - 'Buen Plan' / (MEX)

- Shiro Schwarz - 'Something About You (Mini Jam Session)' / (MEX)

- Stereo Guy - 'Amor Amarillo' / (MEX)

- Yin Yang, Luz y Obscuridad / (MEX)

Bumpers:

- Mel Arranz and Santiago Moyao for Animasivo

Editing/Design:

- Julio Horta / Frilans

Music:

- Fryturama - 'Hechizo Contra el Miedo' / (MEX)

- Irepelusa - "Aguacero (Intro)" y "Pan con Miel" / (VEN)

- Los Románticos de Zacatecas - 'Lo que nos gustaba' / (MEX)

- Margarita Siempre Viva - "Gracias mi Amigo, Pt. 1" / (COL)

- Mateo Kingman - 'Lúmina' / (ECU)

- Petite Amie - 'El Delirio' / (MEX)

Bumpers/Visuals:

- David Silva for Animasivo 

- Iglú

- Martha Maya for Animasivo 

Editing:

- Julio Horta / Frilans

Music curation for F-A-M-A, one of the most relevant art fairs in Monterrey, with the support of Kickstarter.

Photos from left to right: Mabe Fratti, Kirnbauer, Proceso Inútil.

Music:

- Cerrero - 'Todo te lo llevaste' / (COL)

- Dardd - 'Garua' / (MEX)

- Foudeqush - 'Makin Money' / (MEX)

- Los Blenders - 'Eres un Malviaje' y 'Perdidos en Pantitlán' / (MEX)

- Morita Vargas - 'Paitice' / (ARG)

- vaiapraia - 'Tenho Fome' / (POR)

Bumpers:

- Canek Zapata for Animasivo

- Iglú

Editor:

- Julio Horta / Frilans

Music:

- Better Person - 'True Love' / (CAN)

- Blue Hawaii - 'Not My Boss' / (CAN)

- El irreal Veintiuno - 'No estaba en condiciones' / (MEX)

- Extraperrestre - 'Waltz' / (MEX)

- Joaquina Mertz - 'Eterno' / (MEX)

- Orlando Fernández - 'Chop Suey' (System of a Down) / (MEX)

- Pepe Pecas - 'Lo Que Vales (Para Mí) -  Versión Rebajada' / (MEX)

Bumpers:

- Iglú

Editing:

- Julio Horta / Frilans

Music:

- Fransia - 'Salto Cuántico' (ARG) (Video by Federico Klotz)

- Inés Pacheco - 'Can't Feel My Body' / (MEX) (With support of: Salvador Elizarrarás & Washi Hana)

- Marineros - 'Todo a la Vez' / (CHL)(Recording: Israel Roa)

- Mercedes Nasta - 'artclubdiscotheque' / (MEX) (Album Jardín de Planetas)

- Mitú - 'Me Recordarás' / (COL)

- Santi Casillas - 'Jackass Theme' / (MEX) (Original song: Minutemen - 'Corona' / Creative Direction: Maria Fernández)

- Una canción de Los Èsplifs / (USA)

- Vuelveteloca - 'Ciudades Subterráneas' / (SPA & CHL)

Bumpers:

- Ana Blizzard & Ed Lafuente

- Comilona

- Iglú

Editor:

- Julio Horta / Frilans

Music:

- Ale Hop - "Augury" / (GER)

- Kirnbauer - "No Estamos Bien" / (MEX)

- Mabe Fratti - "Aire" / (MEX)

- MULA - "Agua Que Quema" / (DOM)

- Santiago Mijares - "Twin Peaks Theme" / (MEX) (Original song: Angelo Badalamenti - "Laura Palmer's Theme")

- Shao - "Solo Tú" / (MEX)

- SUPERSILVERHAZE - "Mugre, Pelos, Sangre, Muerte" / (MEX)

Bumpers/Visuals:

- Comilona

- Ed Lafuente & Ana Blizzard

- Iglú

- Nika Milano

Editor:

- Julio Horta / Frilans

Music:

- Gibrana Cervantes - "The Simpsons Theme" / (MEX) (Original song by: Danny Elfman - The Simpsons Theme)

- Juan Wauters - "Yendo", "Rubia", "Yendo" / (USA)

- Los Mundos - "Sistemas" / (MEX)

- Lucia Tacchetti - "El Magnetismo" / (ARG)

- Luisa Almaguer - "Básica" / (MEX)

- Películas Geniales - "Toda la Noche" / ()

- Rubio - "Pájaro Azul" / (CHL)

- Trillones - "Rupturas" / (MEX)

Bumpers:

- Ana Blizzard 

- Comilona 

- Magaly Ugarte de Pablo

Editor:

- Julio Horta / Frilans

Three of our favorite female acts reunited for a music showcase that is part of our eleventh year activities.

Pelada is a duo formed by Chris Vargas and Tobias Rochman, together they put together an energetic and intense show, just like it happens in raves. Their spirit is rebellious and their music is a catharsis of electronic and repetitive sounds. Myuné is Amor Amezcua that on this occasion presents his solo project, a mixture of trip-hop, dark pop and mystical psych that form magical landscapes, while Kirnbauer reflects a project with rhythms ranging from electropop to the chill sound of dreampop.

Photos by Bere Rivera.

"Domingo NRMAL" is one of the best ways to close an amazing festival weekend.

The classic party after the festival featuring a curated line up of dance music for those who want to keep up the good vibes.

One of the world's largest psychedelic music festival, held annually in Austin, Texas, expands its lysergic vibes to Mexico City as part of the activities of Festival NRMAL.