EL GUINCHO - ALEGRANZA | FLY

El Guincho (aka Pablo Díaz-Reixa) is from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and now lives in Barcelona, Spain. His Alegranza album is very much a ‘Young Turk’ of an album that is thick with Afrobeat, tropicália hip-hop and rock influences; think of a punk version of Prefuse 73 stuck in a loop problem; perhaps?

The album kicks off with the single ‘Palmitos Park’ that’s got a ‘Happy Days’ theme and whilst his uses samples throughout the album, it’s not really representive and not the best of the bunch. Sometimes the use of repitition makes tracks a bit of a hard listen but when it works, like the King Sunny Afro style of ‘Antillas’, you can really get into the groove.

‘Fata Morgana’ and ‘Kalise’ are similar to ‘Antillas’ but with a Caribbean steel pan feel and ‘Cuando Maavilla Fui’ gets Rachid Taha in Bollywood.

The psychedelic Beck one is ‘Buenos Matrimonios Ahí Fuera’ and at the other extreme, for the 100mph dancers, its ‘Costa Paraiso’ (current favourite this one and on his myspace site, see links below). Just to prove this guy can mess with your mind, somewhere between the two is ‘Prez Lagarto’.

El Guincho is also a member of the band Coconot but he’s on tour this month in the UK with American indie-Afro-poppers, Vampire Weekend who are causing their own stir as their self-titled debut album was released in January this year on XL Recordings. Looks like all dates are sold out so suggest you get there early with dancing shoes, an open mind and you’ll be impressed.

Forthcoming Tour dates with Vampire Weekend
20 Oct 2008 - Birmingham Academy
21 Oct 2008 - Manchester Academy
22 Oct 2008 - Sheffield Academy
24 Oct 2008 - London Forum
25 Oct 2008 - London Forum
26 Oct 2008 - London Forum
28 Oct 2008 - Newcastle Academy
29 Oct 2008 - Glasgow Barrowlands
30 Oct 2008 - Liverpool Academy
31 Oct 2008 - Bristol Academy

Hectic Mix nominations: ‘Antillas’, ‘Costa Paraiso’, ‘Cuando Maavilla Fui’, ‘Buenos Matrimonios Ahí Fuera’

Alegranza means something like ‘happiness’ or ‘good news’

Reviewed: El Guicho - Alegranza (Young Turks) Release date: 6th October 2008
1. Palmitos Park (2:32)
2. Antillas (5:31)
3. Fata Morgana (3:37)
4. Kalise (5:10)
5. Polca Mazurca (3:40)
6. Cuando Maavilla Fui (3:37)
7. Buenos Matrimonios Ahí Fuera (6:44)
8. Costa Paraiso (5:47)
9. Prez Lagarto (3:56)

Links
www.myspace.com/elguincho
www.theyoungturks.co.uk
myspace.com/turkishdelights
vampireweekend.com
www.myspace.com/coconot

EL GUINCHO WITH SUPPORT FROM THE XX AND ARCH M

THURSDAY 23RD OCTOBER 2008
LIVE AT PLASTIC PEOPLE, 147-149 CURTAIN ROAD, LONDON EC2A 3QE - 8PM - 2AM, FREE

Following the release this week of his brilliant debut album ‘Alegranza’ (Young Turks), El Guincho (aka 24 year old Pablo Diaz-Reixa) is pleased to announce a London headline show on Thursday 23rd October. Support on the night will come from The XX and Arch M. Meanwhile El Guincho will also support Vampire Weekend on their forthcoming sold out UK tour which kicks off in Birmingham on Monday 20th October.

Born in the Canary Islands but now based in Barcelona, El Guincho has produced one of the year’s most exciting debuts. A modern reboot of world music, Alegranza sees El Guincho feeding traditional island song, African rhythms and sampled psychedelics through an MPC sampler to create something entirely new. He might be named after a bird from the Canaries that always flies alone, but El Guincho’s music finds common ground in the global transfusions of MIA and CSS, the gypsy spirit of Gogol Bordello and the ice cream layering of Four Tet and Animal Collective. Yet his music is also thick with the surf’s up happiness of the Beach Boys, the whizz bang thrills and spills of tropicalistas like Os Mutantes, and the magic realism that inspired Pablo’s literature, bringing musical ghosts to life in the eternal sunshine of the present.

EL GUINCHO PRESS QUOTES:

“Mesmerising” - The Guardian
“Heady, hypnotic escapism” - The Times
“A tropical soundclash of spiralling steel drums, looped, gnarled local songs and untrammelled joy” - Observer Music Monthly
“A frantic mix of MIA, Panda Bear, Tropicalia and Canary Islands folk music, it’s mighty exciting!” - Uncut
“A one man carnival” - The Observer
“As groovy a bookend to MIA’s ‘Kala’ as you could wish for” - Time Out
“Music that makes you feel like you’ve entered a higher state of consciousness” - Dazed & Confused
“While Alegranza is a tropical-warm MIA-doing-Lilt-adverts treat, Pablo’s live show is infinitely more thrilling” - NME
“Having created something of a stir during this summer’s Spanish festival season, 24 year old one man band Pablo Diaz-Reixa’s heady mix of percussive Latin dance and Afro-pop melody proves just as dynamic on record” - Q
“A Midas touch of gold, sparkly textures” - Clash
“A tropical, psychedelic stew” - Mixmag

http://www.myspace.com/ELGUINCHO