Although you probably didn’t get a personal calendar notification about it, today is in fact Public Radio Music Day. Admittedly, that may not sound as appealing as say…”Pet A Puppy September” or “Free Drugs Friday” but in its third commemoration, we’re celebrating unity among public radio music stations, artists, and fans to highlight the contributions of public radio to local and national noncommercial music. With that mouthful out of the way, let’s hear something brand new.
If you’re a fan of both Los Bitchos and Night Beats, this ought to pique your interest. Former Los Bitchos member/co-founder Carolina Faruolo and Night Beats frontman Danny Lee Blackwell recently linked up for a cross-continental partnership that they call Abraxas. Authentic to their handle, the power duo’s been building a mystic universe of World-inclusive psych-rock soundscapes. You’ll spot constellations of Anatolian-funk, first-wave reggae dub, tropicalia, soul, cumbía, doo-wop, and R&B throughout Abraxas’ horizon-spanning style, which soon descends out of orbit above Monte Carlo.
After a ton of transatlantic trading of ideas, this kaleidoscopic roulette of Latin-inspired psychedelia finally comes to streaming and vinyl this Friday. As magnificent as its namesake, Monte Carlo takes you on a globetrotting trek across a dozen originals, for a mountainous, dissociative experience like you’re peaking on some high-powered stuff…all within the confines of your mind and headphones. So get your set and setting in order before Friday, and get your bearings in Monte Carlo with the hazy vocal harmonies, brindle brass chords, and a gorgeous percussion gallop on the LP’s exotica-tinged tenth track, “Fuji”.
