Daymé Arocena: Cubafonia
Author: Jane Cornwell
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
Dayme Arocena (v) |
Label: |
Brownswood |
Magazine Review Date: |
April/2017 |
RecordDate: |
2016 |
The strum of a tres. A crash of cymbals. Swelling horns. Spoken-word incantations. A revving rhythm section, soaring massed-voice choir and a bit of deep-voiced emoting from Arocena and we're off on the dramatic, white-knuckle Santeria road trip that is album opener, ‘Eleggua’ (who, as any Santo worth his salt knows, is the orisha who opens the way). And while the ensuing call-and-response and percussive piano backing appeals, it's ultimately all too much – a trope that continues throughout this patchy second album by the hyped young Afro-Cuban diva. The soft harmonies and body percussion of ‘La Rumba Me Llamo Yo’ morph into a tempo-changing maelstrom; vintage synths vie and blend with bass horns, finger-clicks and some impressive scatting on the funky ‘Mambo Na'Ma’, the album's first single. The best tracks are the ones that let Arocena's rich, beautiful voice fly free: the ballad ‘Todo Por Amor’, the quietly beautiful ‘Angel’ and ‘Valentine’, a quasi-traditional changui. For the most part, however, the pudding feels over-egged.
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