What do you get when you mix a Brit, two Mexicans and a Spaniard, add a dash of salsa, some pop, a blast of ska and some flamenco? A fairly unusual recipe at the best of times but ten years after Londoner Jenny Ball walked into a Madrid club and met Mexican guitarist Alfonso "Pantera" Acosta and his fellow Morelense, musician Luis 'Icho' Diaz, the resulting mashup - now performing as Jenny and the Mexicats - is gaining audiences across two continents and playing a series of special gigs in the UK this week to mark the release of their fourth album, Fiesta Ancestral.
For those not familiar with their trademark jaunty, latin-flavoured-with-a-sprinkling-of-pop tunes, The Mexicats can sound a bit like old skool Madness mixed with the final album from the late Kirsty MacColl - another singer who fell in love with Mexico - with a bit of Juan Luis Guerra thrown in.
Nor are they averse to slipping in an underlying cumbia beat - very much in evidence in La Oportunidad, one of the tracks on the new album which really showcases Ball's talent on the trumpet - not surprising as she has been playing since her schooldays when she was a member of the local youth music ensemble in London. Following their last UK appearance in 2017 promoting album number three, Mar Abierta, the Mexicats will be hoping for a similar reception at The Garage this Friday when they will treat fans to a preview of the new album including songs such as Sonido de tu Voz, Thinkers and Misfits and the new single Bailando con las Farolas, featuring the Spanish vocalist El Kanka.
It takes a lot of cojones to up sticks and move to a new country but Lambeth-born Jenny has upped sticks twice, most recently to Mexico (following the band's formation in 2008 in Spain where they were first known and played their earliest gigs at open mic nights as Pachucos y la Princesa) where the band's first single held the top spot for nine weeks. Along with David Gonzalez Barragan on double bass, the Mexicats are seasoned members of the touring circuit. "Life is pretty hectic now," says Ball as we attempted a WhatsApp audio interview while the band drove to Barcelona to perform the final date on their Spanish tour earlier this week.
It seems a long way from their first English gig at the Wonderland Festival.
Having squashed up to play for NPR's fabled Tiny Desk sessions - cult internet viewing for music lovers - a while back, Ball is looking forward to a bit more room to play her trademark trumpet and also pick up her guitar which she admits she doesn't get to play as much as she's like.
She's also looking forward to a few hours catching up with her family who still live in Beckenham, South London - and meeting her brother's baby daughter on whom she clearly dotes.
"I'm going to be the crazy Auntie," Ball tells me in a hilarious series of audio messages we exchange after WhatsApp fails for the third time.
"I'll talk to my niece in Spanish," she promises, something that bilingual audiences in the US - where the Mexicats' raucous and cheeky songs slickly weave between both languages - really understand. It was this that no doubt helped them seal the gig at one of the best know US festivals - SXSW - and helped boost their profile even further with online viewings of their videos now running into the millions.
And then it will be back home to Mexico City to see the Mexidogs, Ball's beloved pet hounds, Sacha and Esteban Reyes who will be accompanying Ball to her post touring refuge on a beach "somewhere in Oaxaca but I couldn't possibly tell you where" for the next few weeks while she decompresses. Downtime has clearly been in short supply over the past few months so she's looking forward to getting into the ocean - "I really love swimming, I've always been a bit of a fish," and playing around with a couple of side hustles, "a reggae project and a jazz -fusion project" when she'll finally have an opportunity to play a bit more guitar.
Following a run in with immigration a few years ago, Ball might not risk returning to Mexico with the "proper sausages and Branston baked beans" she misses when she's in Mexico but she'll no doubt be carrying enough Jaffa Cakes and digestive biscuits to prompt authorities to ask if they are all for personal consumption.
After months on the road the Mexicats (once they've found Ball's stash of Ribena) look as though they are ending on a high.
