Calexico‘s Joey Burns and John Convertino return in 2022 with their 10th studio album, El Mirador, to be released on April 8th via City Slang. Today the band have shared the first single and title-track from the record, along with an animated video by video by director Elefanto and MERO ESTUDIO.
The title track “El Mirador” conjures images of a lighthouse, beckoning to lost souls in the night with hypnotic bass lines and cascading percussion. Listen to “El Mirador” and watch the video for it below:
Convening at longtime bandmate Sergio Mendoza‘s home studio in Tucson, Arizona, El Mirador was recorded throughout the summer of 2021. Convertino, who now resides in El Paso, and Burns, who relocated to Boise in 2020. “El Mirador is dedicated to family, friends and community,” says Burns; singer, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of Calexico. “The pandemic highlighted all the ways we need each other, and music happens to be my way of building bridges and encouraging inclusiveness and positivity. That comes along with sadness and melancholy, but music sparks change and movement.”
“El Mirador” features gossamer vocals from Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno, while Spanish rocker Jairo Zavala brings his signature bravado to “Cumbia Peninsula.” By working with friends and recurring collaborators, Calexico also highlights the unique social and linguistic intersections at the US-Mexico border and the magnificent possibilities of a borderless world. “The album is trying to convey openness,” adds Burns. “Look around you. If you’re in the North, you need a South to live in balance. We’re all breathing together.”
“I’ve been playing with Calexico for about 15 years, and I admire Joey and John’s constant search for new sounds,” reflects Mendoza, who’s newly built home studio became a refuge for the band and reduced pandemic risks while fostering a more organic creative process. “After so many albums,” he adds, “I’m really proud we were able to achieve something so fresh together.”
El Mirador artwork & tracklist:
1. El Mirador
2. Harness The Wind
3. Cumbia Peninsula
4. Then You Might See
5. Cumbia Del Polvo
6. El Paso
7. The El Burro Song
8. Liberada
9. Turquoise
10. Constellation
11. Rancho Azul
12. Caldera
The band will also be touring throughout Europe this Spring for the first time since 2018 with headline shows in the UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany/Austria/Switzerland and Italy.
See Calexico live:
23 Apr 2022 – AT Linz Posthof
24 Apr 2022 – DE Munich Neue Theaterfabrik
26 Apr 2022 – IT Rome Auditorium Parco Della Musica
27 Apr 2022 – IT Milan Alcatraz
29 Apr 2022 – CH Zürich Xtra
30 Apr 2022 – AT Vienna Museumsquartier
1 May 2022 – DE Leipzig Felsenkeller
3 May 2022 – NL Nijmegen Doornroosje
5 May 2022 – DE Dortmund Konzerthaus
6 May 2022 – DE Berlin Tempodrom
7 May 2022 – DE Cologne E-Werk
8 May 2022 – DE Hamburg Fabrik
10 May 2022 – NL Amsterdam Paradiso
11 May 2022 – Lux Den Atelier
12 May 2022 – FR Paris Le Trianon
13 May 2022 – BE Brussels Ancienne Belgique
14 May 2022 – UK London O2 Forum Kentish Town