TURNTABLE LAB

the lab review

Lab Exclusivo! Chico Mann insider Tkat got his paws on some of these hand spray-painted copies of Marcos Garcia's new album which has previously only been available at live shows. Analog Drift is the long-awaited follow up to the 2006 Manifest Tone Vol. 1 album and it does not disappoint. The same foundation of Afrobeat guitar arrangements, Cuban coros, Casio melodies, and Electro drum programming remains, while Garcia's New Jersey (by way of Cuba, Dominican Republic, NYC, and Puerto Rico) roots become more prominent as Freestyle synth lines start to infiltrate the sound and the BPMs begin approaching a place where the Cover Girls and Lisa Lisa start feeling comfy on stage with Fela and Arsenio Rodriguez. Check "Anima(1)," "All That is Rising(2)," and "Ya Yo Se(3)" for the evidence of evolution. I also suggest reclining with a tall Cuba Libre and bumping "Harmonia(4)," "Guardalo(5)," and "Ilusion de Ti(6)" in your best pair of vintage audiophile headphones. The Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime(7)" gets re-imagined in a Chico stylee, and solidifies the fact that NOTHING sounds like this right now. Just as Dam Funk is defining the future of West Coast funk and boogie, Chico Mann continues to push the East Coast modern funk movement to a land where Gitmo has been re-opened as an environmentally sustainable youth artist collective in the newly founded Kalakuta Republic of Jersey City. The movement is being supported by Rich Medina, Spinna, Bobbito, and is landing Chico on bills with diverse musical pioneers from Trouble Funk to the Budos Band to Cubic Zirconia. It's time to become a Chico Fann! Recommended.

reviewed by the mgmnt 09/03/2009

• lab recommended