Acid Coco - Mucho Gusto

NEW. SEALED.

El Palmas Music

Acid Coco left Colombia many years ago, but it's never far away. Channeling cumbia, punk, champeta, reggaeton and other tropical rhythms with electronic sounds in recording sessions that doubled as therapy, the Colombian duo have created a work of visceral emotion that traverses musical landscapes. Love, Colombia, and memories of past lives are some of the sources that inspired the group in the process of writing and creating their debut album, Mucho Gusto. These tracks were recorded over two frenzied sessions in Geneva. Creation proved to be the panacea and Colombia the shelter, a place where they could rinse away their demons by evoking dreams of yore, both musically and spiritually. On Mucho Gusto, you will find rhythms that speak of the density and diversity of Colombia's music. These are styles of music made to make people dance, whether next to an ear-shattering picó sound system, a fanfare of brass, an accordion-led trio or even a family vitrola. On "Yo Bailo Sola" the cumbia beat is unmistakable, yet they break with the dogma of tradition (a recurring theme), the song's female protagonist telling her would-be dance partner to leave her be, she wants to dance alone. The Afro-Colombian party music of champeta takes hold on "Caminando Vas" and "La Chancla", which use the bargain-bin Casio SK-5 keyboard for a sound heard on picó sound systems up and down the Colombian coast. "El Amor de Mis Amores" continues the champeta love-in, its lyrics finding the duo in playful mood, speaking of "The Love of All Loves" who is instantly forgotten when the romance ends. There are tragedies both personal and national, speaking of a Colombia where, despite a peace agreement, activists and social leaders are still being killed on a regular basis. The scars across Colombia still have some way before they can heal, a theme that haunts the cumbia "El Lamento". "Sin Salida" is them at their most punk, transposing Suicide to the Caribbean coast with distorted bass and lo-fi beats, "Solo Estás Tu" brings techno merengue (a popular style from the '90s) bang up-to-date, and a softer side emerges on "Siempre En Mis Sueños", which fuses a ballad with a reggaeton beat. "Nuevo Día" has a pop influence which recalls the beginning of the Rock En Español movement in Latin America. Final track "Me Voy" pays tribute to son montuno, salsa being one of the main musical motors of these two Colombians.