The Animeros
Psychedelic cumbia trio
The Animeros are Mauro Lopez on guitar, Nicolas Sánchez on bass, and Nick Tozzo on drums and percussion, and by the time they started the band each of them had spent more than a decade playing in Austin’s Latin music scene. What they shared was cumbia. Their version takes its cues from the psychedelic cumbia movement, puts Lopez’s guitar out front where an organ would usually sit, and folds in boleros, mambos, and touches of exotica and old movie soundtracks. The name refers to Colombian shamans who guide lost souls to peace, which Sánchez has translated for their purposes: “The way we think about it is we usher souls to the dancefloor.” Their second show ever was a rooftop set at SXSW. Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys heard the music drifting down, took a while to track them down, and signed them to his label, Easy Eye Sound.
He produced their debut album, ¡Qué Bárbaro!, at his studio in Nashville, where they cut everything live in the room, Tozzo on a kit built out with timbales plus congas, bongos, guacharaca, and güiro. Ten of the thirteen songs are theirs. The three covers include “La Camita,” a 1971 Traffic Sound song Auerbach pulled from his own 45s, and “Descarga Royal,” a Los Royals de Pucallpa song they play as an open jam to start their sets. The title is Spanish slang. It translates literally as “How barbaric,” and it means something closer to “that’s badass.” The album came out August 28, and the band heads out on West Coast dates in October.
I sent the band seven questions in August, through their publicist, and they answered in writing. Five of the answers are the three of them speaking together. Two, on the Moody venues and on where he actually eats and drinks, are Nick Tozzo’s alone, marked that way as they sent them. The answers are theirs, copy-edited for typos, capitalization, and punctuation and nothing else.
What do you make or do, in plain words?
The Animeros are a psychedelic cumbia/Latin band. When not playing music or touring, Nico manages a plant nursery, Mauro works in marketing, and Nick is a music teacher.
How did you land in Austin, and why did you stay?
All three of us came to Austin at different times, but truly the thing that kept us here was the incredible music scene and all the opportunities it afforded us to perform and record and work with other musicians in town.
What is the thing you have made or done here that you are proudest of?
We all really love Austin City Limits Music Fest, and we got invited to play ACL last year, which was really a great moment and something we’re all very proud to have done.
What is one opinion you hold about Austin that most people here would argue with?
Nick Tozzo: People, please. The Moody thing is NOT THAT COMPLICATED. The Theater is a theater. The Amphitheater is an outdoor amphitheater, it’s all exactly what it sounds like. The only thing you have to remember is that the Center is the giant arena. Google Maps has them all labeled correctly. Just look at the name on your ticket and go THERE!
Where do you actually eat, drink, or hang out? Name real places.
Nick Tozzo: I have a thing where after every show I attend at Radio/East, I have to go to Frazier’s for a drink and a burger and fries before going home. C-Boy’s is probably my favorite venue to hang and drink at. KG BBQ is the best barbecue in Austin, love eating there.
What would you tell someone who moved here last week?
Find some favorite music venues, as soon as you can. Go to a bunch, learn what they do, and then frequent them. You’ll see so much great music from artists in town who really love what they’re doing, and you will hear some really great songs.
What are you working on next?
After our album ¡Qué Bárbaro! comes out on August 28th, we are getting ready for some lengthy tours in the fall that we’re really excited about. We’re doing our first West Coast tour in October, and putting that together is something we’re working really hard on.
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