africa, afro-pop, andelusia, bamako, barcelona, blues, brazil, catalan, colombia, flamenco, folk, french, fulfulde, funk, groove, highlife, hip hop, italian, latin pop, mali, mestizo, miami, mp3, nigeria, portuguese, puerto rico, reggae, rock, rock en español, rumba, songhay, spain, spanish, tamasheq, worldbeat






Sunday, 25 February 2007
When is the last time you heard an album open up with crickets and a donkey? Well, the latest record from Los Delinqüentes does! Recuerdos Garrapateros de la Flama y el Carril is a well done, spontaneous, and all-around fresh album to remind you of that crazy group of Spaniards you met by chance at that Andalusian beach town during your summer holiday. Cue up the hand-clapping rumbasticalism—the head-bopping beat, first cousins with reggae and hip-hop, yet distinctly Spanish. Take another look at the cover art…this is how the album sounds—colorful tunes in Technicolor (behind the green smoke, heh).
Miguel Benitez (“Gufi”) and Marcos Del Ojo Barroso (“el Canijo de Jerez”), who both play guitar, write the lyrics, and sing, have an interesting vocal range. What do you get when you mix a 16 year old pirate with a 80 year old gypsy and add a splash of the mischievous teenager who skips school to smoke weed and listen to old Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix albums? Answer: Miguel & Marcos singing!
“Que es mejor un polvo, un concierto o un porro? Sexo, drogas y rock’n roll, las tres cosas mucho mejor!”
Well, it’s been a lot of fun writing silly things about this album but you really have to hear it for yourself. It’s a fantastic album from start to finish—it’s been in “scorching-summer-sun” hot rotation for the past few weeks so considered yourself warned!
Artist: Los Delinqüentes
Album: Recuerdos Garrapateros de la Flama y el Carril
Label: EMI
Released: 2006
Buy this album from Amazon.com
Links:
Official site – Español
Official site – Español
MySpace fan page
Monday, 18 December 2006
The culture-clasher, Macaco does it up real nice with their fourth album “Ingravitto.” I always imagined Macaco like a giant walking the Earth—one foot in Spain, the other in Brazil. With each step leaving an imprint while taking a bit of everything with him as he travels. On Ingravitto, you’ll discover lyrics sung, spoken, rapped, and whispered in french, portuguese, english, italian, spanish, and catalan. If you wanted to tie them down to a genre in the record store, good luck—there’s reggae, hip hop, rock, funk, flamenco, folk, and who knows what else. One would think it impossible to mix so many elements into one thing and still be able to get a nice song out of it. Macaco does just that, always true to their own sound, defying the constraints of the average packaged cd.
There’s plenty of special guests on the album as well. Muchachito Bombo Infierno, Naz from Nação Zumbi, former Planet Hemp vocalist BNegão, Italian rapper Caparezza, Ms. Maiko, and La Mari from Chambao.
“Mama Tierra” has a bassline that’ll make it impossible not to bump your head back and forth—“Brasil 3000” has a similar effect but with the heavy drums from Brazil. “Crece La Voz” is frenetic, like speeding through traffic way too fast. “Somos Luz” is a dreamy breather.
“…La claridad me dice ya voy. La sombra me mató mi voz, sin ella estoy muda, se enfria, se enfria, se enfria el calor…”
Ingravitto isn’t an album to play in it’s entirety at a house party OR if you’re feeling like the walls of your tiny apartment are caving in on you. Instead, Macaco cuts through all the ups and downs of your day-to-day with a stroke of genius and lust for life.
Artist: Macaco
Album: Ingravitto
Label: Mundo Zurdo
Released: 2006
Buy this album from Amazon.com