La Chiva Gantiva / Pelao / Crammed Discs

Clarinet-laden Colombian Funk. Or, perhaps more appropriately, World Music that encapsulates a broad range of sound. Lyrics are in Spanish and French. Apparent musical influences that can be heard are: James Brown, Fela Kuti, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Funkadelic.

Recommended: 1, 6, 7, 10, 11


1. Por Eso Canto (4:31)
Begins with a nice guitar riff, followed by percussion and horns, which lead into a slow, funky afrobeat groove. Spanish vocals are spit with a semi rap flow.


2. La Chiva (4:59)
Intro has a very original sound. Main groove begins at 1:16, with a traditional rock and roll bounce, accented by an assortment of Latin rhythms and vocal chants in Spanish. At 2:42, the groove changes into a breakdown, solidified by a driving bass riff that builds up toward a frantic conclusion.

3. Cosmeticos (4:08)
An uptempo drum break sets the mood off, paving the way for a fast paced rap (in Spanish) at 1:07. Nice syncopation throughout. Everything gets very loud at the end.

4. Pa Ke Gozen? (4:38)
Music sounds like a merging of South African and South American rhythms. Lyrics are rapped in both Spanish and French with heartfelt intensity.

5. Chofer (2:21)
Opens with a nice guitar riff, quickly followed by intricate drumming and horn arrangement. Spanish vocals with James Brown-ish inflections, that lead into an all-out rap flow. Ends abruptly at 2:21.

6. Pink Flamingo (1:38)
Not a long song, but a strong one. Watch the beginning, as it does not come in loudly. In fact, no music is heard until 6 seconds in. A low hi-hat ride introduces the drum kick and rim shot, to start the song off. This jam consists of a rock guitar solo with echo effects, throughout.

7. Pelao (2:57)
Funky groove, with a nice French rap. Worthy of being the title track of the album. Captures the band's flair perfectly.

8. Llora (3:30)
Celebratory jam, fit for a happy gathering. Call and response session between lead rap and background vocalists at 2:20. Busy horns, with the clarinet standing out, as the most pronounced.

9. Apretao (3:55)
More guitar funk, with Spanish chanting that leads into more rhythmic rapping, with skillfuly timed syncopation.

10. Cumbiaje (1:05)
Shortest, but most musically pleasant cut. Smoothed out, mellow groove, with clarinet, drums, guitar and sax exquisitely accenting the mix, like a perfectly blended soup. Mixes right into the next track, so it would definitely be cool to play the two together.

11. Pa Q' Ca (4:31)
A continuation of track 10's jam session. This time, the lyrics (rapped in French) are approached with a more suave sensibility. Nice end to a unique and thoughtful project.

Librae Jackson