Sound Carta Y Su Orquesta - 'Nos Fuimos' EP Review

Nos Fuimos is the name of the first album released by the New York-based band Sound Carta Y Su Orquesta. This 6-track EP features an eclectic combination of Salsa music with Hip-hop vibes. The following is an overview of this funky release.

In order to better understand and enjoy the music behind Nos Fuimos, it is important to mention a couple of things about the band. Sound Carta Y Su Orquesta is a 10-piece orchestra coming from Brooklyn. The name of this band is centered around its lead singer Sound Carta, a well-known rapper known as Soundboy Cartagena responsible for injecting this album with exhilarating Spanglish flows and a unique personality.

The band is the result of Sound Carta's vision of bringing together Salsa and Hip-hop. Ultimately, the band's main goal is that of creating a new wave of real music different from the commercial stuff that surrounds genres such as Latin Pop and Hip-hop today.

Sound Carta Y Su Orquesta is made of well-educated and successful Jazz-trained musicians. In the words of Wes Reid, drummer and producer for the band, Nos Fuimos is an album aimed at "reinvigorating Salsa and Afro-Cuban rhythms back into the current generations by infusing them with Hip-hop, Rock and Pop".

Nos Fuimos is a perfect hybrid that stands in the middle of Salsa and Hip-hop. People who embrace these two music styles will probably like this EP. The album finds a good compromise between these two genres and that is why its music moves between songs that are heavily influenced by Salsa and tracks that are mostly defined by Rap and Hip-Hop.

Considering the above, your own musical preferences will lead you to find your favorite tracks on this album. For instance, my favorite songs are tracks like "We Got Sazon" and "Spanglish Carta," which are closer to the Afro-Cuban rhythms I like. The single "Spanglish Carta" reminds me a little bit of some of the stuff that Orishas produced at the beginning of their career.

On the other hand, singles such as "Inseparable" and "Valla Wassup" are mostly defined by Hip-hop beats. These tracks will please you if your music preferences belong to the Latin Urban realm.

"Bori Swag" is the second track on this album. This is my favorite song on the entire EP. There are several things I love about this single. First of all, I like its funky sound, which is enhanced by Sound Carta's creative and invigorating flow. I also think, the brass sections are extremely classy in this track. Finally, I also believe this song captures better than any other the whole spirit of Nos Fuimos.

Nos Fuimos is definitely a fun album to listen to. Considering one of the main ideas that defined the musical foundation of Sound Carta Y Su Orquesta was that of bringing together the sounds of Salsa and Hip-hop, this album responds to that concept in a perfect way. Sound Carta y Su Orquesta delivered a nice debut album.

'Nos Fuimos' - Best Tracks

• "We Got Sazon"
• "Bori Swag"
• "Spanglish Carta"