Think of One - Trafico

Name: Think of One
Album: Trafico
Year: 2006
Style: Afro Beat, Funk, Samba, Jazz
Similar Bands: Stereolab, Kid Creole & the Coconuts, Sergio Mendez
"One-Word" Review: Energetic Jazzy Big World Band
Based Out Of: Antwerp, Belgium
Label: Crammed Discs, Ryko

Cover, Back & Fold Out

Inner Pics, CD Tray, CD, Liner Notes, Booklet Cover and Back

Lyrics

Lyrics

Lyrics

Lyrics

Lyrics

Trafico (2006)

1. Essa Mesa 4:55 (single)
2. Samba Belga 4:47
3. Tirar Onda 3:35
4. Trafico 4:08
5. Tahina 4:39
6. Aai 4:59 (single)
7. Maria Chegou 4:39
8. Flor d'Agua 4:13
9. Feira de Mangaio 4:17
10. Maracatu Misterioso 6:10
11. Coracao de Papel 4:16
12. Tirar Onda (Chorinho) 3:14

Album Rating (1-10): 7.5

Members & Other Bands:

• David Bovee - Guitar, Vox, Keys, Producer, Photos (Flat Earth Society, SWAN, Ansatz Der Maschine, DAAU, Fes, Josse De Pauw, Orquestra Frevo do Mundo)
• Eric Morel - Sax (Flat Earth Society, Shakara United, Virginia Woolf, D'Stephanie, Zita Swoon, Arno, Fes, Josse De Pauw, Arno, Crayon Sun, Rise & Fall of an Individual, DJ Aldolino)
• Roel Poriau - Trumpet, Bugle, Producer, Recording Engineer, Recording, Editing, Mixing (Antwerp Gipsy Ska Orkesrtra, Flat Earth Society, Flowers for Breakfast, Flemming, Daau, Myrddin, Lady Angelina, Les Blauw, Rum Baristas, Gansan)
• Tomas De Smet - Bass, Keys, Photos (Front Cafe Band, King Dalton, Les Blauw, Moondog Jr, Zita Swoon, Broken Circle Breakdown Bluegrass Band, Kiss My Jazz, Magnus, Myrddin, dEUS, Het Zesde Metaal, Birds that Change Colour, Crayon Sun, 
• Dona Cils do Coco - Vox
• Hugo Carranca - Drums, Percussion (Sheik Tosado)
• Peter Vanderberg - Hammond Organ (Alain Cupper Quartet, Caca, Flat Earth Society, Monsoon, Orchestra Exotica, Shakara United, Too Noisy Fish, Universe Zero, X-Legged Sally, nAncy, Sharko, Pierre Vervloesem, FES, Payskens & Van Hoeck, Josse De Pauw, Katja Vandl, My TV is Dead, Bruno Vansina, Goudi, Das Kapital, 
• Bruno Van Sina - Baritone Sax
• Marc Meeuwissen - Trombone (Flat Earth Society, Monza, Marie Dauine, FES, Belgian Afro beat Association, Peter Vermeersch, The National, Shakara United)
• Stefaan Blancke - Trombone  (Bar8, Capsule, Flat Earth Society, Sharaka United, Chitlin Fooks, Arno, Josse De Pauw, Jempy En Bongo, Franco Saint De Bakker, Antwerp Gipsy Ska Orkestra)
• Michael Weilacher - Marimba, Vibraphone (Ictus, MDuo, Karel Goeyvaerts, Paulo Chagas, Champ D'Action, Volker Staub, Bherman, Vanishing Pictures, Guy De Bievre, Dirk Wachtelaer, COIN, Kris Dane, Heaven And, Riccardo Nova, Luciano Berio, Mike PattonJonathan Harvey, Mark Andre, Automat, Warble, Somnambulist)
• Ricardo Lourenco - Violao 
• Sergio Lemos - Cuica (Linda Martini)
• Fernanda Boechat - Vox 
• Sheyla Vidal - Vox
• Ale Oliviera - Vox, Photos 
• Carolina de Renesse - Vox
• Lucie de Renesse - Vox
• Pitcho Bovee - Sounds
• Bert Van Roy - Recording Engineer, Mixing
• Yann Arnaud - Mixing
• Chris Harrison - Mixing
• Andre Oliveira - Mixing
• Vincent Kenis - Mixing, Mastering
• Karel De Backer - Mastering
• Tom Hautekiet - Artwork
• Rob Walbers - Photos
• Mary Gatis - Photos
• Hannah Gorjaczkowska - Art Direction

Unknown-ness: Never heard of them when i got this, and i'm not even that sure when i got it...it might have been at a Tower Records listening booth and i liked it, but i don't remember the circumstances. For the longest time, i thought the band name & album title were reversed, and that they were a Hispanic / Mexican band from So Cal. But based on the liner notes, i don't think that's true at all.

Album Review: Apparently they are a nomad-like band, who travel to different places and cultures to absorb the music and work with musicians of that area to create multi-cultural albums, in this case, Brasil. Other cultures they studied were Moroccan, Inuit, and Congolese. They even toured around Europe in a van that could convert into a sound stage for outdoor or spurt-of-the-moment shows, and have won awards for best World / Boundary Crossing Music.

The songs contain a large amount of brass and jazzy swing. Most are very energetic songs to make you move, like a Samba. One quieter songs add a little reggae vibe, and another adds a jazzy french Stereolab sort of song (Aai)

Stand Out Track: Aai

Links:

Discogs

Allmusic

Crammed Discs
BBC

Spotify

Musica Brasileira

Joe "King" Carrasco & the Crowns - s/t

Name: Joe "King" Carrasco & the Crowns
Album: s/t
Year:1980
Style: Tex-Mex, New Wave, Oldies
Similar Bands: Quintron & Miss Pussycat, Werner Thomas, Buddy Holly, Fabulous Fondas, ? & the Mysterians, El Vez
"One-Word" Review: Chicken Dance New Wave
Based Out Of: Dumas/Austin TX
Label: Hannibal Records, Antilles Communications, Island Records

Cover, Record

Record, Back

Joe "King" Carrasco & the Crowns (1980)

1. Houston el Mover 2:00
2. One More Time 2:19
3. Caca de Vaca 2:45
4. Let's Get Pretty 3:03
5. Bad Bad Girls 2:13
6. Don't Bug Me Baby 3:12
7. Federales 2:43 /
8. Buena 3:12
9. Nervoused Out 2:36
10. Betty's World 3:20
11. I Get My Kicks on You 3:29
12. Party Doll 2:30
13. Gimme Sody, Judy 3:25

Album Rating (1-10): 6.5

Members & Other Bands:
Brad Kizer - Bass
Mike Navarro - Drums (Dino Lee, Hand of Glory)
Kris Cummings - Keys (Johnny Reno & Sax Maniacs, LeRoi Bros)
Joe 'King' Carrasco - Guitar, Vox (BP Fallon, Texas Tornados)
Eddie Solan - Engineer
John Wood - Engineer & Producer
Joe Nick Patoski - Executive Producer
Worthless Willy - Talent Co-Coordinator
Gretchen Barber - Talent Co-Coordinator
Huey P. Meaux - Talent Co-Coordinator
Karel Steiner - Cover Photo
Waring Abbot - Back Photos
John Morthland - Liner Notes
M&Co. NY - Design

Unknown-ness: I've never heard of this band. But between all the collaged advertisement artwork, i imagine this to be some wacky country-ish music.

Album Review: Although the "file under" note at the top right corner states Nuevo Wavo & Instrumental: Farfisa, the result is like a snotty Tex-Mex new wave playing their songs through a chicken dance effects pedal. There is the Farfisa organ, so there is a little Elvis Costello feel to some of the songs, but it is very light, and lacks any kind of punch most new wave acts possess. Labeled as new Wave Pop mixed with Latin Rhythms, the songs translate much better live with dance focused emphasis than on a record. They were one of the first american bands to be signed to the Stiff Records and guested on SNL on 1/24/81

Stand Out Track: Houston el Mover

Links:
Wiki
Discogs
Allmusic
Austin Chronicle
CD Baby
IMDB
Robert Christgau
website
Recovery Recordings

Malo - S/T

Name: Malo
Album: s/t
Year: 1972
Style: Latin Rock/Funk/Jazz
Similar Bands: Santana
"One-Word" Review:  RockSalsicJazz
Based Out Of: San Francisco
Label: Warner Bros.

Malo - Cover & Back

Malo - Gatefold Interior

Malo - Record



Malo - s/t (1972)

1. Pana 6:45
2. Just Say Goodbye 8:00
3. Cafe 7:21/
4. Nena 6:28
5. Suavecito 6:36
6. Peace 9:21

Album Rating (1-10): 5.5

Members & Other Bands:

Jorge Santana - Guitar (The Malibus)

Arcelio Garcia Jr. - Vox (The Malibus)

Richard Bean - Timbale, Vox (The Malibus, Sapo)

Pablo Tellez - Bass, Arrangements (The Malibus)

Abel Zarate - Arrangements, Guitar, Vox (Naked Lunch,  Zarate Pollace Project)

Roy Murray - (Naked Lunch)

Richard Spremich - Drums (Naked Lunch)

Richard Kermode - Piano, Organ

Luis Gasca - Trumpet, Flugal Horn, Vox, Arrangements

Ron Murray - Trumpet, Trombone, Flute, Sax

Forrest Buchtel, Jr. (Blood Sweat and Tears)

Leo "Pepe" Rosales

Raul Rekow

David Rubinson - Producer, Recording Engineer, Mixing

Fred Catero - Recording Engineer

Jerry Zatkin - Recording Engineer

Coke Escovedo - Timbales

Victor Pantoja - Congas, Bongos

Christopher R. Wong - Personal Management

Jesus Helguera - Front Cover Credit
Victor Aleman - Photography
John & Barbara Casado - Album Design

Chris Whorf - Art Direction

TM Fisher - Laughs & Good Vibes, Roadie

Unknown-ness:

I’ve never heard of this band. I was very curious with the Native American/Mayan/Aztec artwork and I like the reptilian-infused logo on the back. I figure this is going to be 70’s long-form jazzy-jam band songs, probably south-western / Latin influenced based on the amount of songs and the artwork. Based on the artwork, this is not my typical go-to music genre, but I wanted to see what music was represented by the cover.

Album Review: “Pana” begins with an island cha-cha sound (could be Salsa: I’m not good with dance genres). The music immediately creates a vision of a restaurant/bar full of men and women dripping sweat, dancing in low light, and having a great time. The start stop tempo, reminding me a little of TMBG’s Dr. Worm, enhanced with trumpets offers a great Latin American visual. The rolling percussion never lets the tempo stop. There are sections that feature instrument solos, like a bold electric guitar, that only feels out of place is you really listen out for it. The harmonic vocals are relaxing and urgent at the same time. The song feels like more than just a song, it feels like a defining snapshot of its music style, wile maintaining an alive, fresh and real vibe.
“Just Say Goodbye” starts quietly, and is only audible after the first 30 seconds or so. It sets a somber mood. After a minute thirty, the drums/percussion begins, along with a wah-wah funk guitar. The jazzy set up is added to with a crooning electric guitar. The whole time, the song grows louder and faster, intensifying and moving to a very organic rhythm. Only after the 4 min mark do vocals begin, but they only add “Ah-ah-ah’s” as another instrument rather than lyrically telling a story. 5:30 the fast section ends, and a harp whirls us around and sets us down in a candle lit dinner slow jam dance. Minimal instrumentation and a relaxing bongo beat are layered behind Spanish (I’m guessing) chanting which comes off as very relaxing and soothing.
“Café” is more of a slimy salsa song. The guitar reminds me of the terrible song “Smooth” that was Carlos Santana’s song with Rob Thomas. It is repetitive and simple in the vocals and short constant musical sections. It would be ok for a choreographed dance number, since it has no deviation from the singular rhythm layout. When the vocals come back after the instrumental break, they retread the exact same ground that was established uncreatively the first time around.

“Nena” is heavy on the bass and bongos in a short catchy loop as the song begins. The brass section notes the rise and fall of the rhythm with short bursting notes. Then they change into a loud and in your face catchy brass hook. The song reminds me of a Ween song, but I can’t figure out which one…maybe a slowed down “Stallion part 5.” There is a light fife/flute that ads a little disco quality to the song. The song feels like it should end after about 6 min, as it comes to a bombastic finale, but the song surprises you and comes back for the last 30 sec with some hard prog rock.

“Suavecito” is apparently the big hit of this record, and a very popular song overall for the genre. It is a gentle light and airy song that almost feels like a loungey version the Beatles “Should Have Known Better” or at least something from the softer side of “A Hard Day’s Night.” It feels like a romantic walk on the beach at dusk. It is dull, with a little touch of interesting.

“Peace” starts off with a bit of classic rock guitar hook, then it is suddenly shifted to jazzy psychedelic with an organ, urgent vocals and care free flowing music. The bass still carries with it a little funk. This is a genre bending freak-out song, spiritual in the sense that, when enhanced with drugs, I could see people feeling very free and letting loose when this was played out live. This is the song you’d play after the acid is kicking in. The song freezes and picks up with a dream sequence of cloud psychedelic floating. Like the dusty quiet section of Riders on the Storm. The song evolves a little into an Arabian music style. Then it pulls itself together, using the center of gravity that only classic rock can provide. It regroups and launches back into the initial tripped out free form melody. The dramatic, climactic end finishes abruptly just when you think there is one last note coming, the needle picks up and returns to its resting place.

Stand Out Track: Pana

Links:

Wiki
website
allmusic

serious oldies

Mark Guerrero

songfacts