Bleep

Commissioned in the spring of 2011, this project for Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label, had Mala travel to Cuba and collaborate with some of the island's local musicians. Here, the results are realised, balancing Mala's signature 'bass weight' with some of the most skilled and evocative Afro-Latin and Afro Caribbean musicianship. Perfect examples of this marriage can be heard in tracks such as 'The Tourist' and 'The Tunnel'; the indigenous rhythms of the former are respectfully fashioned into a subtle stepper, this is polarised in the former by truncated percussion folded delicately around Mala's growling bass. The likes of 'Mulata' and 'Tribal' bear the character of vintage Digital Mystikz productions using the most meticulous source material. These lead the way to one of the most flamboyant release on this expansive, 14 track album, 'Calle F' which has all contributors expressing what they can do best, from spiralling melody, to intricate polyrhythms.