NAAFI, Mexico
Rating: 82
by Enrique Coyotzi
Ever since moving to Distrito Federal in June, the 20-year old prolific Marco Polo Gutiérrez, better known as Siete Catorce, went from being Mexicali’s best kept secret to Mexico’s most talked about producer. His arrival to the capital was a game changer—a crucial event which shook the local independent and electronic community. Throwing almost every weekend surpassing shows heavily charged by stamina, Gutiérrez logically attracted fast interest, instituting his arcane yet welcoming sound on the tongue of tastemakers, colleagues and newly-converted fans.
Ruidosón’s youngest exponent is an unstoppable, youthful prodigy. Simultaneously working on many completely opposite but just as relevant side projects (Den5hion, Sin Amigos, Ignxrnce, amongst others), the ingenious boy has enjoyed major success while embarking seriousness under the Siete Catorce pseudonym. Unlike his eerie but still highly upbeat first EP (which was backed by a unsettling tale of the artist murdering his entire family), Siete Catorce goes into gloomier, regularly depressive spaces in the sturdy EP2 (his strongest release so far, along with this year’s Un EP Irrelevante as Den5hion), whose progressive production manifests growth, vision and freakish craftsmanship through far reaching guapachoso rhythms mixed with avant-garde soundscapes.
The 6 tracks comprising EP2 are searing. Each of them effectively evokes a series of disturbingly high-strung emotions (from desperation, to anger, to fury) whilst properly injecting the listener the yearning of non-stop dancing. It may not result as immediately engaging as Siete's previous reference. However, repeated listens clearly define said assortment as a step forward into a more mature direction, where mental bad trips plus physical agitation operate as something natural. From its spacious introduction to its detonation into horror cumbia, the feverish opener “Flor de Lirio” sets the frenzied mood. Coincidentally (or intentionally?) clocking at 4:20, the marching, tribal-fueled, pill-appetizer “Roche Dos” atmospherically fucks the listener’s mind, affecting like a heavy THC hit. “Éter” and “Perdido” nervously trace Siete’s penetrating melancholic notes, acquiring abstruse emotional connection thanks to his instinctive talent for juxtaposing moody environments with full-blooded tempos. On the other hand, “Verdad,” with its Televisa-opening sample that progressively gets clearer, and “Somnolencia,” set across an enveloping build up that derives into nostalgic cognizance, bring out the EP’s sharp distressing angle.
Everything points that Siete Catorce’s career is destined to take off into even larger heights. Not only has he proven to be a one of a kind revelation, the skillful visionary’s also settled a standard of execution, idiosyncrasy and inventiveness pretty difficult to be matched. Fact is, it doesn’t seem crazy to state that with the prominent EP2, Gutiérrez (who's already preparing a third installment) has, for sure, dethroned Erick Rincón as Mexico’s youngest, smartest and most forward-thinking producer.