New York-based singer, songwriter, and film composer Aurelio Valle is best known for his work with experimental rock group Calla, which he formed in 1997. Raised in Kingsville, Texas by Mexican immigrant parents, Valle's musical influences range from the mariachi and ranchera styles he heard as a child to the skate rock and punk he discovered as a teenager which first drew him into playing guitar. The roots of Calla began in Denton, Texas, when Valle and future Calla members Wayne Magruder and Peter Gannon formed the band the Factory Press. The group relocated to New York in 1995 but disbanded in 1997, regrouping that same year with a similar lineup as a recording project known as Calla. With Valle at the helm, the group's first record was released by Brussels-based label Sub Rosa in 1999 to much critical acclaim. Their blend of wild sonic experimentation, electronics, and cinematic nods to Ennio Morricone would continue to evolve over the coming years as they became a live act and began releasing quality records through a variety of small labels like Swans frontman Michael Gira's Young God Records and Rough Trade/WEA imprint Blanco y Negro Records. Following their seventh album, 2007's Strength in Numbers, the band split amicably and Valle retreated from performing, apprenticing as a motorcycle mechanic and working in a tailor shop while occasionally composing music for various films, including the revered 2009 German film Zarte Parasiten. Over the next several years he slowly began to develop new songs, experimenting and recording in his noisy Brooklyn apartment beneath an elevated subway line. Taking his time, he slowly assembled the dark, textural pop songs that would eventually become his first solo album, Acme Power Transmission, which was named after his landlord's auto parts store. He released the album in March 2014 on his own Nuevo Leon label. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi