Pan Caliente: ChocQuibTown

Summer is just around the corner and we have the perfect music for the heatwave that will surely hit Los Angeles… anytime now.

Truth be told we shied away from featuring this album when it was released in 2015, but alas it remains on our playlists and cannot be ignored any longer. We have seen the way!

Not quite Reggaeton and not quite the Alternative music we usually feature, ChocQuibTown has managed to forge an audience making music on the fringe of both genres.

I’d classify ChocQuibTown music more as world, rather than musica indie, but since there is really no platform for them in that genre either, we will feature them here.

Their previous efforts were good. But “El Mismo” is a banger front to back. Rarely do I listen to albums from start to finish anymore. In fact, the first time I streamed the album I encountered a long silence after 49 minutes and thought… “did I just listen to that whole album in one sitting?!” Hooked at first listen.

From the title track with it’s blaring horns to the sound system bumping, “El Arriendo,” ChocQuib is able to meld social critique with party-mode vibes.

“El Mismo” is catchy, well paced, dynamic and entertaining. “Desde el dia que te fuiste,” slows down the tempo and brings with it an emotional hip-hop/pop ballad that you wouldn’t expect from these guys. But then on “Una raza llamada sabor,” they pay tribute to the many cultures that make up and inspire Colombian music and ramp up the labor once again.

This week ChocQuibTown released of their brand new jam, “Hasta que amanezca,” which means more new music is on the way and we couldn’t be happier.

They still rep hard for Colombia on this new track, and prove that  they continue leading pack within their independent music scene with the likes of Bomba Estereo, and Diamante Electrico. #chevere