Music Review: Corazon Latino - Desde Barranquilla

Corazon Latino is a partnership of musicians from Colombia and Switzerland. Desde Barranquilla is their second album and it brings listeners the sound of the Colombian coast using a rich mix of traditional instruments, infectious rhythms and original songs composed by the group. This acoustic album is a breath of fresh, infectious music as good as the aroma of just-brewed Colombian coffee.

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As much great music as there is coming out of Colombia these days, not much of it really resounds with the native sounds of the country or uses indigenous Colombian instruments - with the notable of exception of Carlos Vives and Aterciopelados. That makes it doubly rewarding to review an album like Desde Barranquilla which is full of these elements.

Corazon Latino is the brainchild of Andy Bopp, a Swiss musician who has brought together talent from both Colombia and Switzerland to form the group. Bopp has enlisted the help of Einar Escal, straight from Carlos Vives' group, to co-produce. The vocals feature Sebastian Enrique and Gloria Velandia; the instrumental mix includes tres, bombardino, gaita and a host of native percussion.

With this background of traditional Colombian instrumentation, the songs are new, written by founder Bopp and members of the group. A mix of cumbia, son, boleros and other rhythms, the songs are fresh and approachable.

In this age of overproduced, synthetic and electronic music, Desde Baranquilla is acoustic, with rich, folkloric coros and a breezy, coastal flavor. If you close your eyes, you can almost feel yourself sitting in a Colombian cafe, savoring your coffee as you are serenaded by a great local group.

By the way, Desde Barranquilla is the group's 2nd album; if you like the CD as much as I do, you might take a look at their first album, a compilation of covers of familiar latin songs.

Corazon Latino (#1)