Blog
Latin American funk – Part 1
Written by Mexico City - Chio
Funk has to be one of my favourite music genres. Even on a crap day, it has an undeniable uplifting power.
There are a lot of examples of great Latin American funk bands (or bands that partially cover this genre), so I thought I’d go through them one at a time. By far, one of the best examples is Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas. Long name for a 2-man band formed by Argentinians Dante Spinetta and Emmanuel Horvilleur. Their style has always been debated; acid jazz, soul, funk, and even fusion rock, with obvious elements of hip-hop. They are probably a bit of everything, given their music kept evolving. Prince, Jamiroquai, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Michael Jackson are some of their most commonly noted influences.
The album that made them famous in 1995, “Chaco”, has some of their best songs, such as “Abarajame”
and “Jaguar House”
I remember the first time I listened to them… their music was so different from everything else. They were aggressive, irreverent and a bit mental. I could not understand a lot of their lyrics (I assumed at the time it was an Argentian vs Mexican slang issue, but later realised their lyrics are a bit haphazard, to say the least. I still don’t understand a few songs!). Quite a lot of their songs were partially censored in Mexican radio, which only made them more popular.
“Versus” (1997) sees them turning towards soul and funk with tunes like “Jugo”
“Coolo” (one of those songs that gets me in a really good mood!)
and “Jennifer del Estero” (which refers to Jennifer Lopez’s big assets)
were the two biggest singles from their 1999 Grammy-nominated album “Leche”. These two songs accurately reflect the band’s massively irreverent, and therefore fun, point of view (if you can understand Spanish, just listen to the lyrics!)