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César Urbina, the Mexican musician who performs as Cubenx, makes music that sounds like there’s a rickety truck blaring house music just behind you, in your blind spot. Over tinny beats, sounds clang and echo until curiosity trumps the creepy feeling of not being able to shake them. Urbina will be performing at SonarSound Washington, a collaboration between the Spanish Embassy, the Mexican Cultural Institute, and Sónar, the venerable electronic festival in Barcelona. Urbina and his countryman Roberto Mendoza, a South of the Border musical pioneer who now performs as Panóptica, will collaborate with the Spanish electronic musician d.a.r.y.l. and a trio of Spanish hip-hoppers from the Del Palo label on something called a Reactable. Musicians position “pucks” on the table, drawing lines between them to make new sounds, which could sound like a cross-cultural conversation rich with backstory. Or a bunch of bleeps and bloops. A later show by d.a.r.y.l. at the 9:30 will start at the much more Spanish hour of 11:30.
SONARSOUND WASHINGTON TAKES PLACE FROM 7 to 11 P.M. AT THE MEXICAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE, 2829 16TH ST. NW. (202) 728-1647. $15 ($25 INCLUDES LATER PERFORMANCE AT 9:30 CLUB).