MOZAIK (vinyl)

Description

For many, the early years of 'La Cafetera Roja' were like 'L'auberge espagnole', the Klapisch film released in 2002, driven by the magnificent soundtrack by Nova's former programmer, Loic Dury. They were a hip-hop, festive rock collective, stage beasts, stage hogs, creators of a vibrant 'Eurorap' spiced with guitars and drums. A family chosen by ear, in Barcelona, in 2008, multi-generational, diverse, self-taught, a starry circle on an azure field, a European group. La Cafetera Roja refuses labels; they are not rock, not trip hop, not reggae, not chanson, not jazz, not Latino. Their hodgepodge has been simmering over time, 'sono mondiale' has joined in, and they've invented their own language. Today, they are as much 'hip hop - world' as 'rock-electro'. Leaving Barcelona, their Spanish transforms, mixing with French, German, English, creating their own Esperanto; their sound exudes the joy of playing together. Today, La Cafetera Roja is no longer the Spanish Inn; it is 'The Incredible Story of Rose Island', a new chapter in the group's history, the 1968 utopia of Giorgio Rosa, a 400 m² platform in international waters that the Italian engineer had recognized as an independent state. Their island for this album is virtual; the drums become percussion, then a sequence, then rhythmic again, oscillating with the wind from organic to electronic. 'Mozaik' is all these bits of sounds, stitched, unstitched, whistled, and re-stitched. A humanist work by uprooted global citizens, yet 'Full of Hope', songs steeped in love and freedom, sunny and sometimes nonchalant. One can discern West Coast influences from a Dr. Dre on 'I don't need you', and the creativity of Outkast on 'Walk like That'. The album opens with a moonlit rap in German, 'Moonlight', then a reminiscence of 90s English Trip hop, gently gliding towards electro gimmicks on 'One Eighty' to finally deliver its message of hope, 'C'est l'amour', a meeting of arpeggios, Spanish serenade, and reggae flow. We also encounter a Cumbia in English, 'Escucha Mi Son', and an UFO in Austrian dialect, 'Alter Schleger'. A 'Mozaik' breath to remember the joys of friendship, a warm breeze waltzing on a dress the color of time.