Zemog El Gallo Bueno – ¡Ya Tú Sabes! U All Reddy Noe (Pinch Records, 2025)
¡Ya Tú Sabes! (You Already Know) is the latest album by Zemog El Gallo Bueno. The New York–based Pan-Latin experimental ensemble again revolves around the work of unconventional bandleader, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Abraham Gómez-Delgado.
The album features a mix of quirky and danceable songs in Spanish, English, and Spanglish, and addresses immigration, indigenous ancestry, personal transformation, and rest. For this new project, Gómez-Delgado used what he calls “composing backwards,” sharing only minimal ideas such as key and rhythm with the band and allowing open improvisation. Gomez-Delgado explains. “The raw interactions of the live band and the vocabulary it had developed over time were there from the start.”
He then edited and collaged those sessions into finished pieces, aiming to preserve the energy of live interaction. Long-standing chemistry within the group also developed more fully scored works introduced shortly before the recording dates.
The upbeat first single, “Caso Por Casa,” moves between salsa, Cuban merensongo, and Brazilian funk. The track connects personal history with broader social issues, referencing Gómez-Delgado’s family roots in Saposoa, Peru and the Chachapoya region, the experience of homeless communities in the United States, migration from Puerto Rico, and contemporary immigration debates.
Other tracks include “Mania,” which examines tensions between individual kindness and support for harmful systems; “Taíno,” a plena-driven piece about indigenous heritage, generational trauma, and Puerto Rican identity; and “Pavera,” which celebrates humor and play as tools for survival.
Throughout the album, the idea of “home” functions as a unifying theme, with Gómez-Delgado using shared music-making with family, friends, and bandmates as a central place of belonging.
“Home, for me, is a room full of people making music. I’m not saying music alone solves everything. But it has always been a kind of spiritual guide—a home. Being with my family and friends, playing music that carries our history—that feels like home.”
Gómez-Delgado’s previous works include the 2018 YoYouMeTú trilogy, which explored the relationship between the individual and the collective.
Musicians: Abraham Gómez-Delgado, composer, vocals, guitar; Maria Christina Eisen on baritone saxophone, vocals, horn arrangement, vocals and co-lyricist on “La Memoria”; Jackie Coleman on trumpet, vocals; Stefan Zenuik on baritone saxophone, trompeta china; Juancho Herrera on electric guitar, vocals; Bryan Vargas on cuatro; Reinaldo DeJesús on congas, bongo, vocals; Chris Stromquist on drum kit, timbales; Bam Rodríguez on electric bass, vocals, electronics; Gabo Tomasini on seguidor and co-lyricist on Taino (Por Siento); Geovani “Pollito” Caldero on punteador, requinto, güícharo, pollito sounds on Taino (Por Siento);
Recorded and Mixed at Pinch Recording, Long Island City, NY by Scott Lindner
Produced by Abraham Gomez-Delgado.
Mastered at Blackler Mastering by Kevin Blackler.
Buy ¡Ya Tú Sabes! .
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.