Review EL GUINCHO - Alegranza! 91%

El Guincho is the one-man project of Spanish musician Pablo Díaz-Reixa, a man deeply ensconced in a variety of influences ranging from sun-splashed 60’s harmonies and Afrobeat to Tropicália, dub, exotica and Bhangra, just to name a few. What’s fascinating about Alegranza! though, is how these varying influences are shaken and stirred into a drink of its own unique flavor.

The album kicks off perfectly with the celebratory island anthem “Palmitos Park”. A refreshing burst of tropical delight, the track utilizes a very Martin Denny-esque sample of “oohs” to great effect, creating the most inviting prelude in recent memory. The jubilant “Antillas” quickly follows, keeping the tempo up high in order to reel you in for the far more interesting core of the album; one that many critics have compared to last year’s brilliant Person Pitch LP by Panda Bear. And the similarities indeed exist, particularly the dramatic use of repetition throughout.

Alegranza! is a wildly colorful collage of sample loops, tribal chants, and tropical percussion that plays out like a mind-jangling dream that, at times, numbs the brain into a whimsical trance, but in fleeting moments successfully harnesses a sense of profoundness. The nine-track, 40-minute album is hugely infectious, which is impressive considering how truly bizarre it is. The disc slips further and further into a carnival of sounds and sonic chaos, but somehow remains utterly rhythmic and gorgeous.

On “Kalise”, a steel drum loop queues off a deep tribal beat and an array of repetitious Spanish chants, which ultimately builds up into a constellation of infectious grooves. “Buenos Matrimonios Ahi Fuera” begins with children chanting an innocent lament before sidling up to a jangly mix of percussion. A couple minutes in, the track seamlessly diverts into a strange, but hypnotizing sort of downtempo dub jam. And on tracks like “Costa Paraiso” and “Prez Legarto” the heart of this circus comes a little closer, as Díaz-Reixa reveals a voice that excels in live-looping, a contribution that could easily be overlooked in the barrage of sounds that are at work here.

In all its colorful beauty, Alegranza! is El Guincho’s unmistakable love letter to his birth-land of the Canary Islands. In fact, the title literally refers to a location in the Spanish territory. Though now based in Barcelona, Díaz-Reixa is clearly a romantic for the beautiful locale of his youth, as this is the explosive expression of one man’s unique upbringing in “paradise”.
-Scot Bowman

Originally published at kevchino.com.

ReviewQUIET VILLAGE - Silent Movie 81%

The duo that comprises Quiet Village are Joel Martin and Matt Edwards, the latter of which is also known in the dance world as Radio Slave. The pair met while attending Sir Dunstan’s College in South East London back in the early 90’s. One night Joel and Matt shared a car, en route to a drum ‘n’ bass club, and got to talking about music–particularly house and disco–and their mutual love of record shopping. A creative bond was formed. Now, nearly fifteen years later, that bond has spawned the ambitious debut LP, Silent Movie.

The name Quiet Village fittingly references Martin Denny’s groundbreaking 1959 exotica album of the same name. Denny’s influence here is magnum, as the duo freely admit that they “make the old sound new”, which is a perfect summation of their style. From the opening strings of “Victoria’s Secret”, a gorgeous aria to the sea, complete with the sound of crashing waves and crying seagulls, things sound familiar. Many of the songs on Silent Movie sound of another time, one where everything is laid-back, slow and easy.

With the exception of “Circus of Horror”, an uptempo psychedelic jam, the disc plays out like the soundtrack to a beachside cocktail party. Not unlike a “chill” DJ compilation, samples are a monumental ingredient to these tracks. Italo disco, contemporary house, and Mediterranean/Belaric Island sounds are interwoven throughout the original compositions, as recognizable hooks saunter in and out at just the right moments. Perhaps the finest example of this interplay is found on “Too High To Move”, an ode to the late 90’s downtempo lounge era, which features a slowed-down sample of Janis Ian’s 1979 hit “Fly to High”.

The second half of the disc descends into total ambience, with “Gold Rush”, a hypnotic interlude, utilizing a psychedelic guitar loop and a hauntingly echoed vocal to transport you to, say, an acid trip in the California desert circa 1968. On tracks “Singing Sand” and “Utopia” you are transported once again, though this time the environment is more like a vacation day spa.

Following largely in the footsteps of The Avalanches’ Since I Left You LP (2000), Quiet Village aren’t exactly doing anything new on Silent Movie, but the production is quite admirable. In fact, you could say this is 2008’s answer to Air’s Moon Safari-the ultimate chill out record, though at times it can border on easy listening elevator music.

-originally published at kevchino.com.