Mexican outfit CÓDICE — Carlos Torres (bajo quinto, backing vocals), Javier Cuen (vocals), Odandy Cuen (electric bass), Arturo García (accordion), Cristian Gutiérrez (drums) and Diego Gonzales (tuba) — features members, who have been performing and playing music at private events since they were all young boys. Since the band’s formation over a decade ago, they have recorded and released two live albums, a live album with a backing band, a studio album and two chirrin-style albums that have seen them establish their own take in Norteńo, a regional Mexican genre, most popular in Northern Mexico, that meshes local Mexican folk music with Austrian-Czech folk music that traces it origins back to the days of brief reign of Emperor Maximillian I and the Second Mexican Empire.

Based on the use of double and triple meter, the genre’s lyrics generally deal with socially conscious and relevant topics — although there are many beloved norteño love songs. Typically, the genre has arrangements featuring accordion and bajo sexto or bajo quinto. (I had to look this up but a bajo sexto is an acoustic guitar with 12 strings in six double courses. A bajo quinto is an acoustic guitar with 10 strings in five double courses. They sound a little different and are tuned a bit differently, but they’re open played kind of like a bass guitar.)

During CÒDICE’s decade-long career, they’ve been busy: They’ve recorded and released two live albums, a live album with a band, a studio album and two chirrin-style albums, all of which feature some of their most popular songs including “Me Gustas Mucho,” “Te Amare Más” and “Humilde de Abolengo.”

The Mexican norteño outfit recently signed to Fonovisa Records, an imprint of Universal Music Latin Entertainment/Universal Music Latino, who will be releasing their forthcoming album, which will feature “Las hazañas del güerito,” and their latest single “Don Alfredo.” “Don Alfredo” is a corrido, a narrative ballad — in this case, telling the tale of Don Alfredo, a local criminal boss, who gets double-crossed and ends up in jail. (Yes, it does sound a bit like a hip-hop song doesn’t it?) The song is built around the genre’s easy-going Austrian-Czech/German oompah groove paired with gorgeous vocals.

The accompanying video follows the tale of Don Alfredo, with the band acting as the omnipotent narrator of the tale.