Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 11/18/2008
Upon the American arrival of
El Baile Alemán, the first record from
Señor Coconut y su Conjunto, listeners were forced to contemplate the notion that a traditional Latin group from South America had organized a tribute album to Germany's favorite futurists,
Kraftwerk. Even given the comparatively close ties between the two regions ever since World War II, it's a ludicrous proposition and turns out to be the work of Frankfurt native
Uwe Schmidt, who has recorded his
Atom Heart material in Chile since 1997.
El Baile Alemán is that rare humor LP that succeeds on its musical merits as well. Beginning with a short vocal intro on which
Señor Coconut himself introduces the record with appropriately comic English,
El Baile Aleman presents remarkably faithful covers of
Kraftwerk classics (
"Showroom Dummies," "Trans Europe Express," "The Robots," "Autobahn," "Tour de France") with the stark percussion and effects of the originals replaced by just slightly less rigid Latin rhythm presets. Latin music can be a surprisingly precise genre of music, and
Schmidt walks the verge between Latin and techno with a special genius that would be practically impossible for other electronic producers. Far more than just a novelty record (though many will see it that way),
El Baile Alemán accomplishes an excellent Latin-electronic fusion. [A rerelease on
Nacional added two bonus tracks,
"Expo2000," a remix of
"Electrolatino," and the radio edit of
"Showroom Dummies."]
~John Bush, All Music Guide
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