VRNS (Viernes) is an electronic musical project from Luis Cortes, leader of Mexican rock band Tolidos. The sound of VRNS is taken from post-punk, new wave, electronic and European pop music.
To find out more about VRNS, Al Borde talked to Luis Cortes a few days after his concert at La Fonda on Wilshire Boulevard, which was VRNS’ first live appearance in the U.S.
Luis told us that for their first concert as VRNS in the U.S., they were very excited to see all the music fans come out to the show and really get into their music.
“I have always been a fan of electronic music, especially ‘80s electronic music, and being in a rock band like Tolidos, there’s not much room for this type of electronic elements in a rock band setting” Luis stated.
He indicated that Tolidos was originally based in Ciudad Juarez, but because of the violence in the city, several members moved to different cities in Mexico, thus leading Luis to produce music for other people and working on his own music on his computer. “Being without the band, I began to compose with the tools I had, which was my computer and having had the fascination with electronic music, it was an easy transition.”
Luis was influenced by some of the classic electronic music bands like Depeche Mode, Joy Division, and New Order, and more currently, the Canadian duo, MSTRKRFT.
Being that VRNS (Friday in English) is a somewhat unusual name, we asked Luis what the idea behind the name was and he responded: “For this project I was very much influenced by what Friday represents, which is the end of the work week, party time, night life, dancing and having a good time, and these are the feelings that I wanted to convey with this project.”
The first album, called ‘Viernes’, was written, recorded and produced by Luis in Ciudad Juarez, Monterrey, and Mexico City with the final mixing at the famous Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas.
If you are a fan of electronic music, this album is a must for your collection and for any dance party.
The album can be downloaded on iTunes.
