Sun Gypsy

John Beltran: Sun Gypsy
Label: Ubiquity
This is a real nice release from Ubiquity, in which the fusion of electronics and Latin music is well-balanced and well-integrated. It’s not just congas slapped onto generic beats. Instead, Beltran seems to really explore the variety of Latin sounds: mellow bossa-nova, pounding samba, and Afro-Cuban jazz . He adds a few synths & organs and timely electronic samples & loops to make some very nice songs. Try: 2,4,6,8,10
1. ocean sounds, goes into bossa-nova
2. Latin-y disco w/ lots of congas, mellow synths, soft female vocals
3. funk-based guitar groove, chill synths, nice guitar solo too
4. this is cool - a jammin' guitar over some wild Latin percussion
5. bumpin' dance-y Latin-jazz house w/ a variety of percussion & whistles
6. rapid-fire samba percussion, vocal samples, electronic effects/breaks - very cool
7. love song - almost Iglesias style - good guitar playing
8. pounding samba beats & whistles, and somehow the elctronics really add to the intense dance rhythms
9. lounge-y little interlude
10. A more relaxed tune, w/ some mellow synths & beats & a tropical flair