Funkadelic touring the vast Caribbean coastline of Venezuela, together with Afrosound and Grupo Bota, with endless supplies of Aguardiente and other substances, in a “Back to the future” setting.
Lola's Dice's debut album is the result of a radical musical transmutation, marked by the phenomenon of massive Venezuelan emigration. The songs contained in "Pura maldad" expose the current point of that process with amazing detail. Rhythms that were considered exclusively "traditional" and almost untouchable back home (Tamborera, Gaita) get twisted, stretched and pushed beyond any imaginary limit, while being combined with healthy doses of Disco, Funk, Electro, Techno and their Caribbean counterparts, Merengue, Salsa and Compass.
Having taken their first steps in the key of Funk-Rock, things first took a turn after the leader Javier Bohorquez met Venezuelan producer Alex Figueira (Fumaça Preta, Conjunto Papa Upa, etc) at a show and he handed him a business card. The tropical psychedelic sound Figueira was specialized on spoke immediately to Javier, as it did combine many of the crazy and groovy elements he loved from the most "out there" Funk (a la Funkadelic), with the countless Caribbean rhythms he had been exposed to, having grown up in Venezuela.
After the first EP "Viaje al centro del ritmo", where everything acquired a decisive tropical tone, a further eccentric exploration of the music of their homeland became inevitable. The subsequent single "Cacri 'e Playa / Sr Cartujo" clearly showed where things were moving towards.
“Pura Maldad” is a true tropical lysergic trip, and while you see vibrant colors and things move in very strange ways, the sun never seizes to shine. Despite its profoundly experimental character, the album proves very useful to anyone in need of getting a party started, maintained or fully blown up, depending at what point of the evening it’s played.
Artwork by Colombian artist Kevin Simón Mancera.
Produced by Alex Figueira at Heat Too Hot, Amsterdam.
Edition of 500 copies.
Comes with download code and insert.
credits
released June 9, 2023
Pedro Luis Navarro: guitar and backing vocals
Alex Figueira: Drums, percussion, electric bass and backing vocals
Javier Bohorquez: Vocals, synths and keyboards
Hernan Labbe: Electric bass in "Guisando Pasos"
Ibelisse Guardia F.: Vocals in "Nos Vemos en la Pista"
La Gallera Social Club: Backing vocals in "Yelito" and "Guisando Pasos"
Recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Alex Figueira at Heat Too Hot, Amsterdam 2022
The obsessive searching (in all the best ways) and crate digging pay off once again for the Analog Africa crew! This compilation is a veritable gold mine of crazy good funky riffs with horns aplenty. As with most AA offerings, the music appears to originate from various sources and time periods but the underlying quality of all the tracks is undeniable. Drop the needle and get ready to be enthralled!! blixa00