Vancouver Latin Fusion Group Los Duendes Release New Single “Coleslaw”
Vancouver psych Latin fusion group Los Duendes are pleased to announce the release of their new single “Coleslaw” out now on all digital streaming platforms.
“Coleslaw” is the lead single from Los Duendes’ debut album Me Recuerdas, which is set for release on November 24th. It’s a vibrant, upbeat track that showcases the band’s masterful musicianship and is the perfect example of the way they combine different influences to create original and captivating music.
“This song was originally born out of a rhythm based on 16th notes grouped in 19,” says guitarist Seb Chamney. “Once the rhythm was mastered by the band, the other sections of the song were composed based on melodies characteristic of classic 1960s Chilean Cumbia.”
Vocalist Sangito Bigelow adds:
“Seb showed up one day with this odd meter rhythm played by the bass and guitar as a unison melody travelling in opposite directions. This compositional device was cleverly designed to build tension, bringing the song to its inevitable boiling point. And then Seb, live in studio and in one single clinical take, delivers a spectacular guitar solo to the bewilderment of everyone in the room. This vocal hook had come to me while driving home one day, and over the instrumental it’s almost sinister sounding, calling out to grab your hat and come work in the fields as Toto Berriel sings folkloric improvised pregónes. The song as a whole is frankly just nasty, like chopped cabbage slathered in mayonnaise.”
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Sangito Bigelow, I am an artist and musician living in Vancouver, BC. I’m also a band leader. I started our group Los Duendes 8 years ago as a way to connect with the Latin music that I love.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
Our most recent release, Coleslaw, is the first recorded song that features the current members of our group. We received grant funding from the Canada Council at the end of summer 2022 to conceptualize, compose, and record an album. In September, we began writing new music and exactly one year later we are releasing the first song off of that album. Coleslaw is a unique fusion of many personal styles and influences that each individual band member brings to the group in the compositional process. Styles including Salsa, Funk, Metal, Cuban Son, Jazz, Fusion, Cumbia. This, along with our other new compositions, reflects our band members’ ability to improvise over complex harmony and feel interesting poly-rhythms. The music is more complex and exciting as we work through different influences and styles in one more extended composition. This music will still get people up and dancing but will be equally exciting for the wallflowers. The mix of styles and genres is risky but by smoothly transitioning between them, they can add interest and variety to the project and further define our unique place within the national music community. We are taking some traditional rhythms and song structures and blending them with heavy guitars and electronic sounds and instruments. This is presenting traditional ideas in a new way that is compelling to a younger audience.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
Our first upcoming public show is in Vancouver on November 3rd for Dia De Los Muertos, a Day of the Dead show we are playing with two other Latin bands. It’s at a super secret location, so watch our socials to find out where it is. We will play at Guilt and Co. in Vancouver on November 24th, which happens to be the release date of our album. We are also working on organizing an official release party on December 1st, either at the Wise Hall or at a new underground venue called House of Brella.
If given the chance, which Canadian artist would you love to work with in the future?
We feel very grateful to have been able to collaborate with some amazing Canadian artists on our new album such as Dawn Pemberton, Darryl Jahnke, and Colin Sankey. We can’t think of better collaborators than those aforementioned. However, we would love to pursue artistic development with a percussionist living in Toronto named Luis Elpana to compose new songs and study new rhythms. We would also like to compose a cumbia that features the sound of the clarinet as a throwback to Columbian cumbia and feature one of our instructors from VCC named Francois Houle.
What’s your goal for 2024?
Goals for 2024 are to continue to compose and perform new material. To release the new album both digitally and on CD and Vinyl and to go on tour, performing the new album both locally and internationally with potential tours in Mexico and Colombia for 2024. Ultimately, we want to use the release of the new album to greatly advance our artistic practice, leading us to new opportunities for live performance.