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Senor Coconut: El Gran Baile
BY JAMES SUMNER
Between J-Lo and the California census, Latino influence on American culture has become undeniable and nearly ubiquitous. Germans who move to Chile and invent ridiculous alter-egos, however, are lamentably underrepresented on U.S. radio. Admittedly, this demographic consists of one individual, the prolific techno and ambient artist Uwe Schmidt, a.k.a.—among other aliases—Señor Coconut. El Gran Baile is the first release since the Frankfurt-born Schmidt set up shop in Santiago, grew a mustache, and started carrying around maracas.
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In light of which one would expect anything but the slick and eminently listenable album that El Gran Baile turns out to be. As much Shibuya as Santiago, the album aims for an eclecticism that stays intelligent without grating smugness and light-hearted without cloying kitsch. Rather than awkwardly grafting Alpert brass and congos onto synths and a drum machine, Herr Kokosnuß seamlessly blends the two, letting a single song slip imperceptibly between straight mambo and relentlessly busy electronica.
Schmidt's talent as a producer shines on "Upper Mambo/Lower Funk," which glides from a brass-drive poppiness to a Dust Brothers-style arrangement of sparse bleep-and-bloop funk, then overlays odd lyrics en español, and ends with an irresistibly exciting bit of Spanish scat. Some tracks, like the dreamy "La Noche Cool," capture a laid-back Latin groove without using any distinctly Latin elements. And only someone dangerously short on soul could fail to bounce his head to the "ba-ba-ba" boys' chorus on "Suavito." Though Schmidt's sense for variety and nuance keeps the album from being repetitive or predictable, listeners shouldn't expect any staggering depth: El Gran Baile is good after repeated listenings, but even better with a few cocktails in you. (Emperor Norton)
All materials © 2001 The Yale Herald, Inc., and its staff.
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