PALENKE SOULTRIBE RELEASES FREE 5-SONG EP ‘MAKAKO’ TO ADVANCE FULL-LENGTH ALBUM ‘PALENKE VS. PALENQUE’ OUT THIS NOVEMBER ON NAT GEO MUSIC
MUSIC VIDEO FOR “EL MAKAKO” OUT NOW
Afro-Columbian electronic music pioneers PALENKE SOULTRIBE have returned with a fresh collection of songs to get your body moving. Beginning today (9/17), the Columbia-born, Los Angeles-based duo is offering a free 5-song EP MAKAKO to advance their new full-length album PALENKE VS. PALENQUE, out this November on Nat Geo Music. To download the free EP–available for a limited time–go here now: http://palenkesoultribe.bandcamp.com.
The MAKAKO EP features four songs from the upcoming album PALENKE VS. PALENQUE, including the first single “El Makako.” The music video for the track–which can be seen here http://youtu.be/7PrV_Zsin_M–has been viewed over 7,000 times.
Both the EP and album are a tribute to the legendary Afro-Colombian label Palenque Records. PALENKE SOULTRIBE—JUAN DIEGO BORDA (Vocals, Sequencer, Bass) and ANDRES “POPA” ERAZO (Vocals, Synths, Gaita)–took several classic tracks from the label and layered new sounds over the original recordings to create a 21st century mash-up of yesterday’s funky Afro-Colombian beats and today’s EDM stylings. The result is a unique sound fashioned for dance floors all over the globe.
“El Makako” illustrates the album’s concept, layering new sounds over an original track by the late, legendary Batata y Su Rumba Palenkera. POPA explains “It features a traditional slow-paced ensemble (alegre, clarinet, tambora) and underneath we lay deep, thick synths. The chorus is an all-new part that lifts up the listener. The lyrics are sang in Spanish and in Palenque, which is the dialect still spoken in some of the villages today.”
Other highlights from the EP and LP include the track “Oh Mama!” For their version of the song, originally written by Enrique Martinez, the group updated the lyrics with contemporary audiences in mind, portraying a guy who asks his lover: “Why are you acting strange? Are you mad at me?”
“Afrika is the Mother of the Beat” samples “Apila el Arroz,” a funky groover from the group Son Palenque. PALENKE SOULTRIBE invited Ghanaian rapper Scrip to spit some rhymes celebrating the African origins of the music that the band loves. Additionally, “Move It” is an experiment with faster acid African-kuduro tempos, featuring L.A.-based singer Naada.
PALENKE VS. PALENQUE follows PALENKE SOULTRIBE’s critically acclaimed 2009 LP ORO which Los Angeles’ KCRW producer and tastemaker Ariana Morgenstern selected as one of the Top 10 Albums of 2009. Billboard raved: “seamlessly combines Colombian rhythms with Chemical Brothers-style beats to create its own joyous mix…packs together dance anthems, live funk and cumbia, with Colombian folk accordion and percussion…If you throw on Oro, the party will be good for the next hour.” (8/11/09) Elsewhere, AOL’s Spinner.com made note of the group’s “distinctive beat” and said, “Combining their Colombian flavor with rock and electronica, Palenke Soultribe is in a category all their own” (3/2/10) while MTV’s Tr3s noted, “Critically acclaimed LA based band Palenke Soultribe, has taken electronic music to new levels by deconstructing Afro-Colombian Rhythms by blending them with underground beats and exploratory synth sounds. PST represents a new generation of Colombian musicians ready to break all the rules.” (2009)
MAKAKO EP Track Listing:
1. El Makako ( feat. Batata ) 2. Afrika is the Mother of the Beat (feat. Scrip) 3. Oh Mama! ( La Negra) 4. Move It! (feat. Naada) 5. Palenke From The Jungle (Oro Remix)
http://www.palenkesoultribe.com http://www.facebook.com/palenkesoultribefanpage http://twitter.com/#!/palenke http://www.youtube.com/user/palenkesoultribe http://palenkesoultribe.bandcamp.com
