Charanga Cakewalk's "El Brown Recluse" on NPR's First Listen

El Brown Recluse is Michael Ramos' most fully realized expression of the Charanga Cakewalk concept he's been developing for half a dozen years. While that idea is now three albums old, he had me at 2006's Chicano Zen, which was not merely an album title, but something to aspire to. Chicano lounge, cumbia downtempo, accordion chillout — these unlikely cultural mash-ups don't do the music justice. There are elements of each and much more in Ramos' vision.Read the full story here.