EL GUINCHO "Alegranza" (Matador) eight / ten

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When Pablo Diaz-Reixa's mam called him for breakfast she must have been serving him up bowls of psychedelic tropicalia flavoured afrobeat nutty loops. How else can you explain this phantasmagorical sonic freak out of day-glo highlife rhythms, sun kissed vocal samples, and hypnotic voodoo batshit brews? Echoes of Animal Collective's weirdness ring aloud during Diaz-Riexa's (aka El Guincho) second album but here the overriding feeling is ass shaking fun as opposed to AC's immersive and occasionally meandering layered oddball tapestries. 'Antillas', 'Fara Morgana' and 'Kalise' are all propelled by infectious tribal beats, vocal loops and samples of lush, world music exotica.

The album is a whirligig of ideas and creative expression - imagine the soundtrack to a good-timey sacrifice where Panda Bear is getting tossed into a volcano, and Tito Puente is doing a back-to-back DJ set with Fela Kuti. Really try, and you might get close to recreating Alegranza.

Mark Keane
www.myspace.com/elguincho

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