CD Review: Pacha Massive - All Good Things

Pacha Massive's debut album All Good Things reminds you of the melting pot that is New York. Mixing traditional and modern rhythms, Spanish and English, hip hop dance tracks with cumbia, electronic funk with a Caribbean sensibility. And like New York itself, the result is eclectic and irresistible.

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Pacha Massive is a collaboration between Dominican-born Nova and Colombian-born Maya. The pair met in New York, formed the band in 2005 and almost immediately got a gig opening for Aterciopelados at Madison Square Garden. They quickly followed up with top honors at the Latin Alternative Music Conference. Their opening track, "Don't Let Go" appeared on the La Mujer de Mi Hermano soundtrack as well as being featured on TV's Vegas.

The band's name comes from 'Pachamama' which means Mother Earth, the music comes from New York, with all the influences that make New York's Latin music scene different from any other. And really, a good way to describe their sound is that of a cross between funky, urban NY and a native, Caribbean Mother Earth.

Listening to "Don't Let Go", I thought the album was going to sound a lot like Yerba Buena, another great New York fusion group. But Pacha Massive's sound is all their own, more organic, more soulful with lots of dub, dembow and danceable tracks filling the grooves.I loved the language mix, with English and Spanish words rhymed together, a sentence starting in one language and ending with another.

Eclectic, moody, danceable and fun, this is an album that can fit both a dance party or an introspective evening alone. There aren't many albums you can say that about.