El Guincho

"Kalise"

BY Cam LindsayPublished Feb 20, 2008

Happy accidents – you gotta love ’em. Barcelonian Pablo Díaz-Reixa (aka el Guincho) set out to make a "space age-exotica kind of record” and what he ended up with was one of the most colourful and ornate records I’ve heard in… well… years.

Originally from the Canary Islands but now based out of Spain, Díaz-Reixa is also in a band called Coconot, who sound like Animal Collective, which makes complete sense considering this solo project sounds a helluva lot like the underwater pop symphonies of Panda Bear (which so far is following him around like a lovely aroma). By way of Os Mutantes’ Tropicalia punk parade. And maybe a little bit of the oddball showman we call Gonzales.

Released by modest (read: unknown) indie label Discoteca Océano, Alegranza is a magical kaleidoscope of carefully accumulated found sounds and instrumentation looped to perfection and marinated in shrill chants and tropical harmonies right from the sun itself. In a nutshell, he’s crafted the essential beach record for loopy dudes who try and dance on hammocks and can’t say no to a fifth Tinto de Verano - and most of its up streaming to hear on his MySpace page.

"Kalise” is a full-on trance cut that works for your sweat with its thrusting repetition, collective drones and colossal waves of pounding polyrhythms. It’s fitting then that a nice escort comes in the lo-fi windsurfing wipe-out reel serving as its video.

el Guincho "Kalise”

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