Grupo Fantasma
NewMusicForOldFolks says …
We all learned from the first R.E.M. album that you didn't have to actually be able to understand the words to like a song. The problem there was Michael Stipe's mumbling — at least for the first couple of albums, he became understandable later on. The issue here (at least for some of us) is that the lyrics are in Spanish. But that's not really an issue if you like the Latin beats and the funky bass. In fact, if you like music at all there's something for you here. Austin, Texas, based Grupo Fantasma is a lot of fun, even if you have no idea what they're singing about.
Artist's Info
Website: grupofantasma.com
See them live: Tour dates
Record company: Blue Corn Music
Genre: Latin, Funk
Bio (From the artist's webpage)
Grupo Fantasma has been praised as one of the most important independent acts in the Latin genre and has continually defied expectations to create one of the most unique musical voices to come out of the United States in the last decade. In 2011, they garnered further acclaim by winning a Grammy(their second such nomination) for their self–produced release El Existential on Nat Geo Music which the Wall Street Journal called “Latin music both new and traditional…vibrant fusions that transcend easy classification.” (more)
Spotify sampler
Recordings
Most Recent
PROBLEMAS (2015): Grupo Fantasma's raucous, good-time mix of Funk, Cumbia and Soul emerged from the clubs of Austin at the start of the century, bringing with it a fresh sensibility for Tejano music. Now, the band faces a challenge: How do you make that great idea even better? Problemas answers the challenge with Grupo Fantasma's best songs yet. The album doesn't break away from the way the group does things normally; it's another danceable record, with lots of musicianship in its grooves. But there's something about the way Grupo Fantasma pulls it off. Everything seems to come to the band with ease, as genres burst apart in the most organic possible ways.
Others
Grupo Fantasma (2002)
Movimiento Popular (2004)
Comes Alive (2006)
Sonidos Gold (2008)
El Existential (2010)
