Soul Is Rasta: EMPRESARIOS-SABOR TROPICAL(2011)

Sabor Tropical offers a variety musical styles gathered around an overarching Latin influenced sound. The album will be released on January 11, 2011 on the Washington DC based Fort Knox Recordings, it marks the first full length album by the DC based Empresarios.

What you hear on Sabor Tropical is a mixture of funk, dub, soul, reggaeton, cumbia, salsa, and South Asian sounds. The individual influences are apparent on most tracks, yet the flow from one to the next is very smooth. Part of this comes from the fact that the tracks will use a particular element, say a reggaeton bass line, without trying to reproduce the formulaic song version of the genre it comes from. The other part of this must certainly be that apart from the instruments they play, each of the five members of Empresarios is also a producer. It takes a lot skill to use what many would consider disparate elements and make them work together well. Thankfully these guys have what it takes to pull it off.

The album contains fifteen tracks with a mix of songs and instrumentals. Of the songs, "Sabor Tropical" has a salsa rhythm and is the most up tempo piece on the album. "Pereo Intenso" and "La Negrita" have reggaeton influences, and work well as dance tracks. Empresarios keep the reggaeton elements under control, avoiding cliches. With the exception of "Cumbia" which lives up to the title, the other instrumental tracks are offer dubby beats with a variety of different elements like congas, Asian strings, funk horns, each spicing up the tracks. "Siesta" could work in the soundtrack to Shaft, while "Sohl" could easily be playing at a Mumbai night club. "Pensamiento" features hypnotic congas. I could go on about every cut this way. The sophisticated production shines through in all the tracks.

TRACKLIST