Sonido Gallo Negro

This nine piece Mexican ensemble, whose name means Black Rooster Sound, combine 1960s Peruavian cumbia-aka chicha-with surf music, spaguetti western soundtracks, psych rock ande ven dub. The whole swirling mess tick-tocks along, organs and theremin cooing and whistling as the guitars clang and the percusión clatters and thumps.
Cumbia is a sort of junkyard music, a stew that continuously bubbles and absorbs whatever’s thrown into it, and while Sonido Gallo Negro don’t add much that’s never been present before, their work has a haunted house quality that hints at the struggle between existential darkness and raucous vitality that animates much Mexican art and culture.
This is music meant for dancing, not seated listening –there are few solos, just brief 1960s –style instrumental breaks, and the beat never stop sor fluctuates. Track titles like “Inca-a-Delic” and “Vírgenes Del Sol” enter into the realm of parody, but at just 35 minutes, slathered in fuzz and distortion, this album is a blast, a perfect soundtrack to mixed company, hard alcohol, late hours and high volume.
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Sonido Gallo Negro, "Sendero Mistico" (Glitterbeat)
A nine-piece instrumental band from Mexico City that specializes in a surreal blend of music including old-school South American cumbia, Peruvian chicha and Mexican boogaloo, Sonido Gallo Negro (translated as "Black Rooster Sound") makes work that's simultaneously vintage and ultra-modern.
The group's second album (and first international release), "Sendero Mistico," floats through its 35-minute, 10-song span with rolling rhumba momentum and eerie, psychedelic flourishes. Rising from the city's eastern Aragon neighborhood, Sonido Gallo Negro often performs clad in monk robes or matching red outfits, and live footage confirms a band obsessed with resurrecting buried sounds and turning them into something completely new. - Los Angeles Times

Our radio hosts in the know tip us off about Mexican psychedelia and French protest jazz.
MEXICO

SONIDO GALLO NEGRO - SENDERO MISTICO

Latin America is well known for its expressions of magical realism and lively street culture, giving it an edge that's attracting and vibrant, macabre and intoxicating.

Mexico City’s Mercado de Sonora is a prominent source that feeds these idiosyncrasies. It's a place you visit when you need to solve problems about love, money, fortune and health matters with the help of a little witchcraft. This is a place where you can buy amazing flowers, amulets, power candles and black market animals to sacrifice. It's a foul place and yet very picturesque.

Mexico City’s Sonido Gallo Negro take these folkloric vibes and soundscapes and add even more complexity with esoteric pop culture and paranormal references – from Mexican Lucha Libre to UFO abductions to Amazonian headhunters.

On their 2012 debut album, Cumbia Salvaje, they unearthed a mixture of psychedelic Peruvian Chicha and hybridized it with local surf and rockabilly.

On their next album, Sendero Místico, the nine-piece combo went even further along the path of rediscovering the '70s Chicha spirit. Supplemented by the spooky visuals of design wizard Dr Alderete, their live shows are a mesmerizing display of collective hypnosis.

Recommended by Claudia Jiménez – Panamérika - Chris Parkin

Sonido Gallo Negro deleita con su cumbia salvaje
Notimex

Periódico La Jornada
Domingo 15 de diciembre de 2013, p. 7
A ritmo de cumbia salvaje y sicodelia, el grupo Sonido Gallo Negro puso a bailar anoche a los asistentes al Plaza Condesa, donde deleitó con los temas de su nueva producción discográfica, titulada Sendero místico.

Leticia, La patrona y El ventarrón fueron algunos de las canciones iniciales con los que la banda comenzó esta fiesta, que incluyó sonidos de guitarras eléctricas, órgano farfisa, tambores, teclados, güiro y theremin.

Buenas noches, gracias por venir a bailar, expresaron los integrantes de la formación musical cientos de sus seguidores. Después siguió Serenata guajira y Vírgenes del sol.

Un ambiente místico se respiró durante la primera parte del espectáculo, pues en principio los músicos tocaron sus instrumentos luciendo una capucha y con una escenografía que incluyó breves videos y dos figuras demoniacas que flotaron.

Sacaron brillo a la pista

Mientras pasaba la velada, los ánimos de los asistentes iban en aumento; en principio se limitaron a hacer leves movimientos, pero fue con temas como Alfonso graña, Tzantza soul y Valicha con los que se animaron a pasar a la pista con sus parejas para bailar.

Antes de Caballito nocturno y La danza de los jíbaros, una bailarina de danza africana robó las miradas de todos los asistentes.

La sorpresa llegó a la tarima con Alexis Ruiz, integrante de Paté de Fuá, quien tocó el vibráfono durante Bocanegra y Rimsky.

Después de una salida en falso, Sonido Gallo Negro regresó al escenario para cerrar su debut en este recinto con Cumbia amansa guapas y El mercado de los brujos.

Los teloneros de este concierto, que duró casi dos horas, fueron los integrantes de Matorralman, quienes tocaron temas como No lo c, Chica kamikaze y Operación dinamo.

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Sonido Gallo Negro: Sendero Mistico – album review
Posted on May 30, 2014 by Paul Scott-Bates

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Sonido Gallo Negro – Sendero Mistico (Glitterbeat)
LP/CD/DL
Out Now

8/10

Mexico’s instrumental vintage cumbia group, Sonido Gallo Negro, release their second album. Louder Than War’s Paul Scott-Bates reviews.

Hailing from Mexico City, Sonido Gallo Negro (roughly translating as Black Rooster Sound) are a nine-piece group playing instrumental tracks in a variety of happy-go-lucky styles.

On Sendero Mistico (Mystic Path), first released in Mexico in 2013, they blitz their way through psychedelic themes with the occasional ghostly shouting whilst playing a mix of spaghetti western and surf. It’s high energy from start to finish and executed with aplomb.

Following the release of their 2011 debut album, Cumbia Salvaje (Wild Cumbia) they rapidly appeared on national television and major festivals and have already performed in Europe. Their sound is exciting and brash, fusing traditional Latin and cha-cha sounds with those of indie and psychedelia and the end result is an album of highly polished madness.

Several of the tracks are introduced by soundbytes in a Spanish voice including La Patrona, a slow start to proceedings before El Ventarron picks up the pace which is then rarely lost. Hammond organs and congas aplenty.

Every track has a great hook, none more so than Alfonso Grana (Selvatica) which displays some great guitar work and bears resemblance in style to the wonderful Los Chinches. Tzantza Soul has a sublime dubbed-out intro I would have been intrigued to hear more of, but the favoured spaghetti/surf sound takes over.



The brilliantly titled Inca-A-Delic brings yet another unforgettable hook and album closer Mistery Of Zangbetos goes samba with electric guitars! It’s certainly an enjoyable album and one which succeeds at fusing several musical styles into one overflowing pot. Perhaps for the newcomer it may sound a little repetitive but continued listens (and there will be plenty) will ensure that it is enjoyed for the fun album that it is meant to be.

~
You can listen to more Sonido Gallo Negro on Soundcloud here. Follow them on Twitter here and like them on Facebook here.
All words by Paul Scott-Bates. More of Paul’s writing on Louder Than War can be found here. Paul’s website is hiapop Blog. Paul is working hard to save Radio Lancashire’s On The Wire, the BBCs longest running alternative music programme. Follow him on twitter as @saveonthewire for all On The Wire news or follow hiapop Blog on Twitter, @hiapop.



- See more at: http://louderthanwar.com/sonido-gallo-negro-sendero-mistico-album-review/#sthash.ftsftikh.dpuf - Louder than War

“If David Byrne were to select a quirky Mexican group to showcase on his Luaka Bop label, then Sonido Gallo Negro (or Black Rooster Sound to give them their English equivalent name) would surely be prime candidates and Berlin-based label Glitterbeat have beaten them to it. This is a joyous trip into Latin psychadelia with a deliberate nod to the 1970s and anyone who might criticise the group for being overly cheesy in the use of instrumentation is missing the point entirely: that is an essential ingredient of the band’s sound and a raw rootsy retro groove is precisely what the band are striving to achieve and doing it extremely well it has to be said…”
UKVibe - UK Vibe

Sonido Gallo Negro -Sendero Mistico
Glitterbeat GBCD 015. Retro 1960's instrumental Peruvian chicha-cumbia-huayno from Mexico City (where else?), wah,wah shades of farfisa, theremin, psycho surf guitar and sonic campling shot through with spaguetti-pulsing Latin percussion by the black rooster (gallo negro) boogaloo brothers from another planet. www.glitterbeat.com - fRoots