Whoo, this is a bit special and very cool indeed; a veritable gumbo of stately jazz themes, Latin percussion grooves, mutant funk, avant electric storms, African chants and all kinds of unlikely or exotic toppings like the cello on the balladic title track. It also recalls classic 70s soundtracks and the freewheeling but majestic New York underground jazz vibe of that time. That’s sort of what it sounds like but who did it and how? Adrian Quesada is founder member of Latin maestros Grupo Fantasma and Brownout, has backed Prince recently and worked recently with Fania All-Stars pianist Larry Harlow. Martin Perna formed Antibalas and was an original member of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings [and can be heard playing flute on the new Scarlett Johansson album]. The pair met in 2003 at a brooklyn studio, recording debut album El Nino y El Sol which eventually got proper release in 2005 after they were discovered by Thievery Corporation. Using everything but the kitchen sink and trawling a gamut of personal experiences and emotions, the duo recorded this album between 2005-07, gradually creating something truly original and different simply by having two individual and prodigious talents bouncing off each other. This is how music progresses.
4 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
