New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Things are not always as they appear, and it's up to us to approach this as a Reinterpretation instead of a MIS interpretation. This is the essence of illusion, which Miami based duo Afrobeta invites all to enter on their fourth new full-length album,
Illusion Motel, released today and available in digital and in a limited edition vinyl through their website.
A title initially inspired by an actual physical sign, its long-form development has rendered it symbolic, with songs and stories taking on new shapes as life and its time(line) became starkly unpredictable. Still, along the way, there was one constant to facilitate navigation - a vibrant 15-year artistic partnership between composer/producer Tony "Smurphio" Laurencio and vocalist/lyricist Cuci Amador that's landed them on some of the world's biggest stages at major international festivals, with unyielding support and ecstatic anticipation over what might come next.
Throughout
Illusion Motel, Smurphio's signature timbral tendencies are instantly identifiable; aqueous synth leads effortlessly navigate throughout rhythmic mazes of snapping & shuffling percussion, blanketed in painterly strokes of bass (this is Miami-made music, after all). Cuci's emotive vocal & lyrical lines provide a challenging counterpoint, creating a tension too complex for standard-issue pop - a welcome sensory distortion, easily memorable even after only one taste. While thirteen tracks might otherwise prove a laborious listen, Afrobeta's penchant for brevity, micro/macro sequencing and stylistic tourism leave no room for incidentals, coalescing into a tightly-curated affair.
Their recent and well-received lead single and video "Chancletazo", a Spanish-language track and a video that plays out like a quirky short film. In it, a young teenage boy is plagued by the chancletazo, which for the uninitiated-is a verb meaning "to smack with a chancleta, i.e., a flip flop sandal".
Visual concepts and artwork by longtime friend & collaborator
Mariana Mendoza further flesh out
Illusion Motel's themes through subtle manipulations blurring analog and digital forms, beckoning double- and triple-takes, again inviting REinterpretation.
