Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada's The Alchemist Manifesto emerges two years after the cult success of their debut album El Niño y el Sol . Musician/ producers Martin Perna (aka Ocote Soul Sounds) and Adrian Quesada put their heads together for another journey deeper into their trademark tropical psychedelic sound.
The Alchemist Manifesto defiantly leaps borders and contradictions. The sound is organic and electric, dark and hopeful, fierce and gentle. From the epic Afro-jazz intro "The Grand Elixir" featuring friend and collaborator Todd Simon (Breakestra, Dakah, Connie Price & The Keystones) on brass to the anthemic "La Reja," denouncing the 21st century apartheid walls on both the Rio Grande and in biblical lands, to the hazy electro version of the Afro-Colombian classic "Pescador," the music captures the sound of the moment—people, rhythms, and realities from the global South colliding with the 21st century.
As with "El Niño y El Sol," "The Alchemist Manifesto" was created under extraordinary circumstances, with whatever musical and recording instruments were available at the time, from 4-track cassette decks to laptops, bamboo flutes, gourds, and synthesizers. It was finished over a period from 2005 to 2007, during which Quesada and Perna were immersed in the cycles of birth, death, and upheaval. The process of making music together during that time turned the stress of these profound experiences into something redemptive and ultimately transformative.
Their individual talents speak for themselves. Adrian Quesada is a founding member of Latin music powerhouse Grupo Fantasma, who spent much of 2007 backing Prince, and recently recorded with Fania All-Star pianist and composer Larry Harlow. Martin Perna is the founder of Antibalas and an original member of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. His flute and saxophone work is featured on acclaimed albums by TV on the Radio and Scarlett Johansson.
Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada deliver once again--a funky new elixir far greater and magical than the sum of its parts. Close your eyes, open your ears, and let The Alchemist Manifesto transform you.
