CD Review: India - Soy Diferente

After a four year hiatus, La India is back in great vocal form with an album sure to please her long awaiting fans, salsa aficionados and almost anyone who needs a lift after a gray so-so day. The music is infectious, sometimes unexpected and sure to get you up out of that chair.

Nuyorican salsa singer India is back with Soy Diferente (I’m Different). I don’t know whether that’s a personal sentiment or an album description. But there’s no doubt some of the songs on the album are different.

For die-hard India fans, a lot of the album is filled with her tried and true salsa tunes, featuring big band sounds and compelling rhythms There’s no mistaking that voice, and La India’s voice still dominates every song on the CD.

The first part of the album is basically straight salsa: smooth, energetic and enjoyable, especially her duet with Ivy Queen on “Cuando Hieres A Una Mujer”. It’s just not particularly memorable. Sort of like the roast chicken you have every Sunday night; you always enjoy it but don’t really remember it much.

The difference comes from the incorporation of the currently popular Reggaeton sound. In fact, almost all the songs on the latter half of the CD incorporate Reggaeton to one degree or another.

Interestingly, India has coined a new term “salsaton”, to describe the fusion of salsa and reggaeton on the first version of “Soy Diferente”, followed later on the album with a straight Reggaeton version. Listening to the two versions side by side,India’s salsaton is less electronic, the percussion adding to (rather than dominating) the music. There’s still plenty of wonderful salsa brass and keyboards.

“Salsaton” – a sound fusion that I’d like to hear more of.