«Gabo Lora présente ses particules bien particulières» is the title of a latest (and compelling) evaluate of Dominican-born musician and artist Gabo Lora by Jonathan Le Monnier (for La Face B). The article highlights Lora’s musical trajectory with specific consideration (no pun supposed) to 2 of his latest EPs Partículas and Pop. Le Monnier writes:
France is teeming with multicultural abilities borne by influences from right here, there, and elsewhere: poetry, languages, and (his)tales that intermingle and proceed feeding into each other. This richness typically yields stunning, surprising, and modern outcomes. That is the case, once more, with Gabo Lora and his two EPs, launched a couple of months aside, to our listening delight.
Having grown up within the Dominican Republic, Gabo was rocked by all of the Caribbean tradition and music from merengue to songs from Latin American telenovelas. Nevertheless it was with the group Rita Indiana y los Misterios, within the 2000s, that he started to see the right way to reinvent this island musicality and to include it into different genres. Throughout this era, he created his first digital music label Stereoptico. After dwelling in New York, he settled completely in France, collaborating in a large number of typically rock however particularly electro music initiatives. With this logic, he created (with Alex Mart) Papaya, a label that represents many DJs in Europe and Latin America. Returning to extra private music mixing types, Pop emerged on the finish of 2022.
With this three-track EP, Gabo laid the foundations for what offers this sound such a particular taste. “Luna” appears to be an introduction to this new period, the place he takes the time to rearrange all his substances in a circle round this new entity. Over delicate electro bases, sounds and wandering melodies are successively added, creating the house and depth essential for the expression of a benevolent power that’s each dreamy and evanescent.
This observe depicts the psychological map of this EP, borrowed from the primary emotions of freedom in a Dominican panorama surrounded by sand, and providing itself to the 2 infinities which are the sky and the ocean. Eponymous observe “Pop” continues this introspection with the deep wishes of the musicians as a visceral promise to the music that animates it. With the rhythm of a bass like a heartbeat, this highly effective track propels, with emotion, a way of willpower. A powerful piece that offers wings; a profitable takeoff that pierces the horizon. These impressions of youth clearly additionally dialogue with different extra distressing ones, comparable to in “Cascabel,” however are simply as necessary, as a result of what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
Along with these two founding stones which are Latin tradition and electro, Gabo Lora has strongly imbued himself with a psychedelic pop-rock midway between Radio Head, MGMT, and even Vangelis, which provides him each a melodious writing of the texts and transgressive instrumental freedom—the
complete forming a cocktail the place everybody will discover a taste, a scent of memory.
This month (January 2023) the artist provides us 4 extra titles with the identical skill to meander between genres. Partículas establishes a rhythmic and fluid electro pop identification. Fluid just like the spirit that, in response to the opposing or rising winds, submits to, or tries to withstand the [changing] environments. Due to this fact, this second EP dives into an interior, existential journey that faces the world, the gang, and music.
Basses and synths kind the dynamic duo—a basis on which this natural music rests. Guitars and choruses lengthen the focal lengths; melodic buildings fill the sails. With out ever totally understanding the character of the power that pushes us, we let ourselves slide into this swish spiral, just like the piece “Partículas,” the place we deconstruct right down to the atom to higher grow to be a part of the common. One should give a particular point out for the final title, “Gamma,” which mixes all the perfect of this artist: rhythm in waves, scintillating solos, and a peaceful and highly effective vitality on the similar time.
These are two notably inventive EPs, a combination of genres and types which are not often heard, briefly, a really promising expertise that we’ll observe intently.
Translated by Ivette Romero. For the unique article, in French, please go to https://www.danstafaceb.com/gabo-lora-pop-particulas/
Additionally see https://www.stereoptico.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/gaboloramusic/?hl=en