When you’ve got Prince’s seal of approval, little else matters. Austinites Grupo Fantasma have long been the Purple One’s band du jour, logging a two-month residency at his Las Vegas nightclub 3121, a Golden Globes after party performance that saw the band joined by Prince as well as emcees Talib Kweli and Will.i.am, Mary J. Blige, and Marc Anthony, and other performances alongside the icon in London, Miami and the Capital City itself.
Sonidos Gold is the best document of Grupo's cumbia-salsa-funk fusion to date. Led by guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada, the Grupo orchestra is in fine form on the dozen tracks that make up Sonidos, and give, as the title would suggest, a golden performance. (Too hard to avoid that one…)
Whether it’s the Grupo horn section of Gilbert Elorreaga (trumpet), Joshua Levy (saxophones), and Leo Gauana (trombone) leading the way, as on opening jam “El Sabio Soy Yo,” or the percussive force of Johnny Lopez (drums), Matthew Holmes (congas) and quasi-frontman Jose Galeano (timbales) moving and shaking the rhythm, as on “Arroz con Frijoles,” Grupo Fantasma is above all tight, operating as a cohesive unit, always in-tune with each other.
Speaking of which, “Arroz” is all but a drummer’s wet dream – loads of percussion (timbales, congas, cowbells, shakers, handclaps and whistles) all layered on top of one another make for one of the most exciting drum breaks ever. Fania All-Stars arranger Larry Harlow lends his hands to “Rumba y Guaguanaco” along with Parliament Funkadelic vet Greg Boyer. “Bacalao Con Pan” shows signs of Grupo side-project Brownout, combining breakbeat funk with Latin soul a la Eddie Palmieri. Rounding out the guest appearances is the legendary Maceo Parker, whose saxophone lights up “Gimme Some,” a stick-up anthem that finds that band singing in English for a change.
The production is perfect and exactly what the band requires. The excitement and raw energy of their live shows is translated brilliantly to record, with little if any post-production fluff. Go see Grupo Fantasma live and it’ll sound a lot like this record. The horns carry all the necessary punch, drums speak to the soul on a spiritual level, vocals are just about all that carry any signs of post-production, with reverb adding psychedelic air to Quesada and Galaeno’s words.
Grupo Fantasma turns in an inspired performance on Sonidos Gold. Truer to the tradition than West Coast contemporaries Ozomatli, Grupo are one the most exciting bands out there right now – just ask Prince.
mp3: "Bacalao con Pan"
myspace: www.myspace.com/fantasmatics
video: Grupo Fantasma performing "Mentiras" on Austin City Limits
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