A Night in Nepantla. an earworm of musical custom and the long run
I’m sitting at my desk listening to easter church bells from the iglesia parroquial within the village and “Nepantla” from Las Cafeteras’ new album A Night in Nepantla.- the “area between two worlds”, as described by the cultural theorist Gloria Anzaldúa. And that is precisely what the album, and the band, is about – the cultural area and the fixed transferring between the traditions of Mexico and their US dwelling.
A Night in Nepantla. ranges from cumbia, to a candy Son Jarocho arpa (harp) to rap, to echoing melodic lyrics, to the complicated Huastecan rhythms and the tapestry created with the jarana, requinto, leona, and arpa – all rigorously produced with the lightest of contact manufacturing results. Their music could echo an earlier time, however the manufacturing is full 21st century with electrified conventional devices.
The album, which is all Spanish besides one tune and a few rap lyrics in two others, kicks off with “Cumbia in Mi Barrio”, a cumbia like you’ve got by no means heard before- nearly spooky with Hector Flores speaking on to us in his deep, out of this world voice.
In “Esta Noche”, the muheres dominate with Denise Carlos’ distinctive bell-clear and really private vocals over the requinto and percussion punctuated by a hooky refrain. From there we transfer to “ElCamino” carried out by Las Cafeteras, QVLN, and Xocoyotzin Moraza, a mix of joyful Son Jarocho, enjoyable rap in English and a earworm melody and refrain that say I’m having enjoyable.
“Caravana” with Latin Grammy-nominee Amalia Mondragon is a danceable, storytelling pleased mixture of a refrain, requinto, foot-tapping beats and the deep conversational vocals Las Caf is known for. This one will stick in your head.
“Vivos Nos Queremos” (We Wish to Stay) with Las Cafeteras, Grammy-nominated Alih Jey and Jazmine Lopez pulls your heartstrings and hits you within the intestine with its urgency and energy. A cry for freedom, dignity and life. Wow.
“Extra of You”, the one English tune on the album strikes alongside lyrics of affection with a deep acoustic guitar, whistling, and delicate coronary heart. It should make you sway and hit replay.
“Morena Morena” (Brown Brown) my favourite tune on the album, encompasses a great distinction between the female vocals in Spanish and the male vocals in English accented with a flute, and motivated with the percussion of the quijada de burro (donkey jawbone).
“Tia Lucha” with Jazmine Lopez begins out with violins and strikes to rock-infused 4/4 beat and swoops and soars and talks and musically moonwalks by way of your ears whereas it bundles your nerve endings collectively for pure pleasure. Complicated, easy, addictive. That is Las Caf at its experimental greatest.
“Nepantla” wraps up the album, with its aching lyrics of straddling two worlds and never being absolutely in both one. The beat is hypnotic, the lyrics pull at your coronary heart, even for those who don’t get the Spanish, you recognize what they’re saying. The entire bands sings on this one, a gaggle cry for a house, a world of their very own.
Night in Nepantla is unique, acquainted, pleasant, welcoming, passionate, pressing – all of the qualities that La Cafeteras has been bringing to music since 2008. There mixture of the standard and the fashionable, the romantic and activist are distinctive and all the time enjoyable and welcome. Stream Night in Nepantla on all main platforms.
Patrick O’Heffernan
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