Almas Conectadas

This is Quantic's second full-length release with Colombian singer Nidia Góngora (although they have been working together for over ten years) but it couldn't be more different.

Whereas their previous album, 2017's Curao, flitted between showcases of Góngora's Afro-Pacific heritage and Quantic's trademark dub and electronica productions, this one comes across as a long-lost Latin soul production, dripping with sumptuous strings, warm vocals and working through a litany of rhythms. ‘Balada Borracha’ is a hazy cumbia for all the drinkers out there, in no hurry to get to the finish line. ‘El Chiclan’ shifts between a soulful pre-verse that evokes Bobby Hebb's iconic ‘Sunny’ before diving into the clave; ‘Almas Conectadas’ is hard to classify, with gorgeous strings, insistent percussion and one of Góngora's most breezy vocals; while ‘Adorar la Sangre’ is almost Booker T & The MGs-esque with its driving, bluesy bassline. Throughout, oodles of fuzz and crackling guitar riffs, not to mention the melodious string arrangements that are now becoming a Quantic trademark, give the record the feel of those 60s and 70s pop and soul LPs, when it was still not out of the question to bring in an orchestra and a host of guest musicians to light up an album.