Ottawa Guitarist TERRY GOMES Releases Debut Single “Tego Agogo,” A Sun-Drenched Blast Of Go-Go Satire And Vintage Groove
Terry Gomes – Ottawa-based composer, guitarist, and one of the capital’s most inventive musical voices – today releases “Tego Agogo,” the first single from his vibrant new EP ‘2 Open 3 Closed,’ out now. Brimming with cha-cha rhythm, vintage rock energy, and a gleeful sense of its own ridiculousness, the track is part satire, part tribute, and entirely fun – an invitation to stop thinking and start moving that arrives wrapped in some of the most infectious grooves Gomes has ever committed to tape.
The title itself tells you everything you need to know about Gomes’s spirit. “TEGO” is a blended word – “Te” from Terry, “go” from his last name, initial “A” from Anthony his middle name, and “Go-Go” of course refers to the clubs and dancers of the 1960s. The result is a word that is simultaneously a self-portrait and a love letter to an era. “You want a banger you can dance to? / One to really shake your pants to / And groove along right in a trance too,” Gomes sings, before the track pivots into a roll call of 1960s dances – the Watusi, the Frug, the Swim, the Mashed Potatoes, the Peppermint Twist, the Stroll, the Jerk – each delivered with the comedic timing of a man who has been waiting his whole life to make this particular song.
Musically, “Tego Agogo” is a study in deliberate collision. Gomes intentionally fused cha-cha and rock elements to reflect the dual streams of his musical identity – the Latin and Caribbean influences of his Guyanese heritage running headlong into the 60s rock and roll he has loved for just as long. The track features percussionist Arien Villegas on drums and timbale, giving the rhythm section exactly the kind of bilingual authority the song demands, alongside Alex Mastronardi on bass and Nick Dyson on trumpet. The whole thing was recorded and mixed at Audio Valley Studio by Ottawa Faces award-winning engineer Steve Foley and mastered by Jason Fee at Conduction Mastering.
The accompanying music video – a month in the making, involving all the footage, creative decisions, and editing Gomes could throw at it – features the composer himself dancing. “The dancing was a blast to do but took some practice before it was shot,” he admits. That willingness to be genuinely, unguardedly playful is characteristic of an artist who spent 26 years as an elementary school teacher before fully committing to music – and who brings to everything he makes both the discipline of a lifelong craftsman and the irreverence of someone who knows that fun is its own kind of art form.
“Tego Agogo” opens ‘2 Open 3 Closed,’ a five-track EP whose title refers simply to the fact that two pieces are sung and three are instrumentals – a ratio that reflects Gomes’s long career as a primarily instrumental composer. Having earned an Honours Music degree at the University of Ottawa in classical guitar and composition, he went on to release three singer-songwriter albums before pivoting in 2012 into the intricate, evocative instrumental music that has since earned him airplay on CBC across Canada, steady rotation on Stingray’s Smooth Jazz and JAZZ.FM91, and positive press in Exclaim!, Cashbox Canada, The Whole Note, The Daily Vault, and FYI/Billboard. “Tego Agogo” marks his first vocal recording in 14 years – and he sounds like he never stopped.
Hi, Terry! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
Hello! Nice to meet you as well. Well, I’m primarily known as a genre-jumping instrumental composer and guitarist whose music floats somewhere between Latin, jazz and rock. However, I have been known to move outside of these as well.
“Tego Agogo” is literally named after you. At what point did you decide, “Yes, this is the song where I become the title”?
I’m fond of blended word titles, combining parts of words into something new. Also, when titling a piece, I do a Google search to avoid commonly used and boring titles. I mean, who needs another “Baby, I Love You” or “Stairway to Heaven?” The other plus is that a unique title will only lead back to my work. Try a Google search for “Tego Agogo” and you’ll see what I mean. As for why I used parts of my name, it flowed nicely paired with “Gogo” and sounded memorable, so I went with it.
You fuse cha-cha rhythms with 60s rock energy. What does that collision say about your musical identity?
That I’m willing to try almost any combination as long I feel that it works and my musical “voice” can still be recognized. People who know my music, regardless of what musical language I use, can often still hear that it’s me.
After years focused on instrumental work, what drew you back to vocals for the first time in over a decade?
I had a couple of songs that I felt needed lyrics. After writing them, I decided that I couldn’t hear anyone else sing them as they were so specific to me. However, I don’t consider myself a singer. It was simply born out of necessity for the two tracks on this EP. Thankfully, listeners have not complained.
“Tego Agogo” invites people to stop thinking and just move. In a world that can feel heavy, how important is that kind of joy in your work?
This is something that is always important but it feels even more pressing now. The world has changed a lot in a short time and people need fun distractions to help cope with everything going on around them. If my tune, “Tego Agogo” accomplishes this, then that is very gratifying.