M.A.K.U. Soundsystem – Mezcla (Glitterbeat Records, 2016)
Done your stretches? Done your deep breathing exercises? Well, you’re going to need them when you get an earful of the eight-member, New York City based group M.A.K.U. Soundsystem’s Mezcla set for release on May 27th on the Glitterbeat Records label.
With a ferocious sound that comes with a bite and a message with an even bigger bite, M.A.K.U. Soundsystem whips up a mix of Colombian and Afro-Colombian with dashes of funk, Afrobeat, jazz and hip-hop thrown in for good measure. Savagely kickass, Mezcla rips the bindings of polite recordings in favor a live sounding recording all the while examining the immigrant experience.
The group’s bassist and singer Juan Ospina explains, “They’re putting their lives at risk to come to El Norte, but the borders they cross have all been created by man. Look down from space and you won’t see them.”
This message is apparent as Mezcla’s liner notes dedicate the album to “The Everyday People of all races and backgrounds, [e]specially to those who find within their spirit the strength to outgrow the hardship inside themselves to promote a positive life for all amidst the wickedness of the few who constantly rule this world to turmoil and despair.”
So, take that, tyrants!
Filling out M.A.K.U. Soundsystem is drummer and backing vocalist Andres Jimenez; electric guitarist and backing vocalist Camilo Rodriguez; keyboardist and synth player Felipe Quiroz; clarinetist and saxophonist Isaiah Richardson Jr.; electric bassist and lead vocalist Juan Ospina; tambora and maracon player, percussionist and lead vocalist Liliana Conde; tambor alegre player, percussionist and backing vocalist Moris Canate; and trombonist Robert Stringer.
Thrilling and electrifying fans from the opening “Agua” with its sizzling blend of percussion, brass and keyboards, M.A.K.U. Soundsystem makes short work of drawing listeners in with offerings like the uninhibitedly wild “Thank You Thank You,” the savagely cool Afro-Colombian percussion of “Let It Go” and the sultry “Positivo.”
Some reviewers have called the music “raw” and “gritty,” but for those looking for an authentic, non-overproduced recording Mezcla is the real deal. That often sought after live performance energy comes across loud and clear on Mezcla. Other goodies include the fun filled “La Inevitable,” the sassy bright “La Haitiana” and infectiously danceable “Happy Hour.”
Mr. Ospina says, “We try to keep it human, to give people something they can relate to.”
The brightly colored music of M.A.K.U. Soundsystem’s Mezcla is savagely hip and restlessly sharp so you still have time to build up your stamina before May 27th.
Buy Mezcla in North America
Buy Mezcla in Europe
Author: TJ Nelson
TJ Nelson is a regular CD reviewer and editor at World Music Central. She is also a fiction writer. Check out her latest book, Chasing Athena’s Shadow.
Set in Pineboro, North Carolina, Chasing Athena’s Shadow follows the adventures of Grace, an adult literacy teacher, as she seeks to solve a long forgotten family mystery. Her charmingly dysfunctional family is of little help in her quest. Along with her best friends, an attractive Mexican teacher and an amiable gay chef, Grace must find the one fading memory that holds the key to why Grace’s great-grandmother, Athena, shot her husband on the courthouse steps in 1931.
Traversing the line between the Old South and New South, Grace will have to dig into the past to uncover Athena’s true crime.
