By John C. Tripp
As Ocote Soul Sounds, Adrian Quesada and Martin Perna, respective bandleaders of famed ensembles Grupo Fantasma and Antibalas create desert- and sun-soaked psychedelic funk that entwines the grit and funk of the gridlocked NYC streets, with the voices and rhythms of the dusty streets of Latin America.
On “Coconut Rock” their third album, the slipped effortlessly into their trademark psychedelic afro-latin funk groove. From the Latin breakbeat rhythms of album lead-off ‘The Revolt of the Cockroach People’ to the cumbia bounce of ‘Tu Fin, Mi Comienzo’ to the easy guitar soundscapes of ‘Vendendo Saude e Fe’ featuring Brazilian songstress Tita Lima, ‘Coconut Rock’ is the third chapter in Ocote Soul Sounds’ unparalleled journey through sonic realms beyond.
The duo of Perna and Quesada developed their musical paths in eerily similar parallel universes. Though Quesada grew up in the Texas border-town of Laredo, and Perna came up in Philadelphia (later New York), both musicians straddled borders literally and artistically. Growing up on hip hop and the jazz and funk it was built on; both taught themselves to play multiple instruments; both had founded game-changing, booty-shaking big bands; and both were deeply moved by a powerful spirit of social and political activism, the spirit that was to become Ocote.
A chance biodiesel breakdown, which left Martin stranded in Austin, led to the two playing around with some song ideas together, hitting the studio and ultimately resulted in their 2005 debut ‘El Nino Y El Sol’. Four years and three albums down the line, they have evolved into a seven-piece live outfit.
