Out in the Wild with Hunters of the Alps

By John Hood

Miami’s more and more becoming the place the world looks toward when it wants to hear what’s new and now in sound. While our town has long been renowned for what it did for Disco and the place it made for Bass, not to mention its homegrown clique of hip hop heavies (Rick Ross just entered the Billboard charts at #1 — for the third time), this Magic City’s position in indie and/or electronica seldom gets heard above the dizzy of DJs. With the likes of everyone from Surfer Blood to Panic Bomber making the kinda racket that wakes the whole wild world though, that generality is fast becoming an exception rather than the rule.

Hunters of the Alps is a large part of the why of that. Formed mere months ago after Bardot offered the twosome an opening slot with the uber hip Twin Shadow, Hunters is what the world’s destined to listen to once it fully pricks up its ears. Of course that one of the dynamic duo (Jorge Velazquez) behind said sound has been behind some of the most notorious music this town has experienced doesn’t hurt. Nor does the fact that the other (Mario Garibaldi) springs from the long-applauded Modernage and is intent on using a unique part of the past to make their way to tomorrow. Yes, we mean the Cacciatori delle Alpi, who Wiki calls “a special military corps created by Giuseppe Garibaldi in Cuneo on February 20, 1859 to help the regular Sardinian army to free the northern part of Italy in the SecondItalianWarofIndependence.”

If all that sounds a little, er, heighty to you, consider the stars one has to shoot for in order to truly make a way in this modern world. Better yet turn up at Product/81 this Second Saturday night and hear how high a band can get when they’re standing on the shoulders of giants and looking out from atop mountains.

Culture Designers asked Garibaldi a few quick Q’s in advance of this weekend’s showing. Here’s what he had to A.

Other shows besides Bardot with Twin Shadow & Tanlines?

Two shows at Ricochet Lounge, one at EVE and one on a Sunday night at Purdy Lounge, and just this Thursday at Soho Beach House.

Would you dig touring with either of the above?

Would love to. We relate musically and there is mutual respect. Both bands were class acts.

Speaking of which, what would be your dream tour?

HAHA. this is a loaded question. My dream tour would be with Kate Bush in 1982. Perhaps playing with Sinatra in the mid 80′s somewhere in Japan…. playing the festivals in Europe and us during the summer would make me very happy right about now.

Do you think Wynwood will be the next Williamsburg?

I hope not. I think Wynwood can be the first WYNWOOD. Learn from the mistakes of the burg.

Hunters of the Alps performs Second Saturday August 11 at Product/81.