Troker is a Jazz/Psychedelic band from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Mexico’s Troker would be the soundtrack to a Salvador Dali heist movie. Their music oscillates between the sublime, the dangerous, and can change from complex and precise to wild and free. The six-piece band has created a mix of the composed, and the improvised. Metal riffage is combined with powerhouse funk drumming, DJ scratching, and horn lines draw from jazz and the mariachi tradition. Troker is a modern expression of Mexican music and exports its art to the rest of the world. Troker was conceived as an attempt to do things differently. It is a laboratory for new ideas and fun. Frankie and Samo, a drummer and bassist, met halfway between Zamora and Salamanca in the Conservatory de Las Rosas. But their journey together began in 1996 when they decided to abandon their classical training and explore other genres. They start Evamalva, a rock band that is already infused with jazz dyes and armed with old instruments. Contrary to what you might expect from a first band the compositions they recorded for their album Blue Paradiso are worth a shout out. They moved to Guadalajara, Mexico in 2003. It has a great music scene, but it was difficult to live as a rock band. So they changed plans and began performing jazz covers. After a few weeks, they started writing their own compositions. Troker started by playing in Guadalajara’s bars and restaurants every night for three years. Troker, the name of a powerful truck, was born from a clear artistic need: to be an instrumentalist and guide by jazz but not in a traditional way; to play something more dirty and greasy and to be heard by truck drivers. They began with bass, drums and turntables. Soon, the band had a full lineup that included trumpet and keyboards. Then, they used jazz to create compositions and mix it with other genres like progressive, funk and hip hop, which attracted people from all over the globe. Troker’s debut album, Jazz Vinyl (2007), was not just a pair of friends. They became a group of creative musicians. They shared the stage with some of the most respected international jazz bands, including Medeski and Martin, with only a few compositions.
