Not sure about you, but every once in a while, amidst all the great avant garde music I listen to, I have this need to take it back to the basics and hear some gritty, blues inspired, garage rock.
You know that mood when you just have to listen to something that wows you with it’s bare simplicity, be it a something from John Lee Hooker, Little Richard or even the Cramps.
Lucky for me there are more and more bands in Spain and Latin America making raw, crunchy, and straight ahead bluesy, rock-n-roll.
There’s Davila 666 from Puerto Rico, Prietto viaja al cosmos con Mariano from Argentina, and then my personal favs from Úbedain Jaén, Andaluciá, Guadalupe Plata.
Pedro de Dios Barceló, Carlos Jimena & Paco Luis Martos comprise this tenaciously loud 3 piece, who take their name from their town’s iconic Virgen de Guadalupe that is surrounded by an aura of Silver.
And then subvert the imagery by producing some of the darkest, rotten blues in Spanish that penetrate your core as if you were standing in front of a guitar amp spitting out killer, bone crushing feedback.
It’s a dark sound with riffs self-described as, “coming from some of the most savage places of their minds.” and reminds me of that dirty feeling you get when watching early works of Tarantino.
Yet it’s hypnotizing and at the same time conjures up slight guilt that you might be listening to that record your parents told you not to listen to when you were younger because of its bold sensuality.
STREAM “Boogie de la Muerte” below and DOWNLOAD it here.
Guadalupe Plata – Boogie de la Muerte from Rollo & Grady Sessions on Vimeo.
To date they have 3 self-titled offerings, two of which are still available as free downloads on their Bandcamp page.
They all include heavy influences of Blues, Rockabilly, Boogie-Woogie mixed with the twang of Western Swing, creating a dangerously alluring, tap your foot, rhythmic delight.
GP, have been going strong in the bar circuit around Spain and have been able to garner the attention of plenty aficionados here across the pond. In 2012, they were the highlight of the Sounds from Spain showcase that is always brimming with great talent at SXSW. And this year they are among the dozens of bands from all over the world, performing at Mexico’s muilti-day, Coachella type festival, Vive Latino.