When listening to the latest release from El Guincho, originally Pablo Díaz-Reixa and currently working from Barcelona, what came to mind was This seems too simple. There must be something up his sleeve. And I suppose there is. In the first volume of the upcoming series of EP’s under the name Piratas de Sudamérica, the core of the project’s intelligence seems to lie in the beauty of simplicity.
With its five tracks—all South American originals that have been rearranged into a somewhat more modern style—El Guincho mixes clever elements of electro/psychedelic/tropicália/rock charm (apparently, it can be done). The EP manages to be futuristic and nostalgic at the same time, a kind of throwback to Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but instead of Manhattan, we’re on a yacht somewhere, wearing a red dress instead of diamonds, a sort of new alternative classic; a mix of the Latin sexy with pretty, simple, musical innocence.
I think what must be said about Piratas is that it interested me—and I’m usually pretty stubborn, musically speaking. What also must be said is that this experimental sort of music isn’t for everyone, but then if it were, well, what’s the fun in that? El Guincho has the ability to fuse the old with the new, and hopefully the following chapters of the series will be equally, if not more, different and enchanting, because he definitely has the potential and the spark to create it.
You´ll find each song can fit a mood, a place, a scene in the movie of your daydream life—“Hindou” for the loungin’, “Cuerpo sin alma” for the daring, etc. A beautiful listen for the middle of summer, Piratas de Sudamérica, Vol. 1, sweats with air of exotic beaches and rhythmic comfort—ahhh, just what I needed. At least for now. I may not be playing it for the rest of the year, for every other season, but hey—there’s a magical charm in those songs or artists that are directly linked to a specific time of the year, and El Guincho could make summer glamour all his own.