Martin Castillo

Martin Castillo is an American-born alternative corrido singer, songwriter, drummer, and producer, whose solo recordings have been hits on the Mexican Regional charts. He is widely known by fans as "the King of Corrido."

Castillo was born in 1980 in Los Angeles. His parents claim his first words were sung, not spoken, and he began playing pots and pans arranged like a drum kit when he was five. Castillo showed such an intense love for singing and rhythm that, when he was in the fifth grade, his parents enrolled him in a local music school, where he began formal studies of voice, drums, and trumpet. Due to a recommendation from an alumnus of his school, Castillo landed his first gig playing snare in Banda Azpericueta, where he remained until he was 16.

At 17 he co-founded and played drums in Sueño Norteño. His membership was short-lived, however, and at 19 he formed Los Dos Grandes de la Sierra, a band that eventually became an institution in Los Angeles. He attended high school during the day and pursued music by night. By the age of 19 he was making his living as a musician and supporting not only himself, but his family. Castillo was not merely relegated to the drum chair, however; he shared lead vocal duties with Regulo Cota. Los Dos Grandes de la Sierra first worked the Mexican circuit. Word of their incendiary live shows spread throughout the country and eventually reached their home turf in the U.S.

As the band's reputation spread so did Castillo's, due to his original singing style and passionate delivery. After recording ten albums with the band, Castillo decided on a solo career. Recording videos of his songs and posting them to YouTube and working social media, he began getting followers and gigs and issuing records independently. His songs, which were sprightly hardcore narcocorridos, made him popular among fans of the alternative corrido movement, though his own musical sophistication was not typical of the genre as it walked the tightrope between tradition and innovation.

His first offering, Empecherado y Adiamantado, appeared in 2010, followed by Autorizados and Seguimos de Frente, both in 2011. In 2012, Autorizados, Vol. 2, featuring the singles "El Campo 1" and the live "Al Lado del Peligro," amounted to his last independent recordings. His Sony debut, Poder y Respeto, was released in July of 2012 to massive critical acclaim and airplay, sending his ticket sales through the roof. His follow-up for the label, Mundo de Ilusiones, was issued in February of 2014.