British producers Jez Colin and Matt Cooper pulled together a diverse collection of seasoned vocalists and players to form The Latin Project in 2002. Since its inception, the Los Angeles-based group has delivered an iconic signature sound that fuses deep house, broken beat and hip hop with Afro polyrhythms and vocals to deliver a high-energy, danceable sound with electronic experimentation and virtuosic live players throwing down notable performances in equal measure. The sounds of Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico Guadalupe and Cape Verde ring through in The Latin Project's vibrant, cutting edge Latin-Electronica productions.
The Latin Project's first album, "Nueva Musica," rose to 1 on the Billboard dance chart, won the IDMA Award for Best Latin Dance Song and garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Remix Single. Now The Latin Project strikes back with a superb set of brand new songs AND a collection of remixes from A-List producers on its new release, "Musica De La Noche."
"With Musica De La Noche, we wanted to give our audience a chance to hear new original tracks back-to-back with some of the best remixes we've done between albums", says Colin . "Some of our most dynamic work over the last few years has emerged from collaborations with other artists in our community such as Bebel Gilberto ("Aganju") and Incognito".
Lonnie Jordan, from the seminal LA-based Latin crossover band WAR , appears on "Deliver the Word" to revisit the classic '70s track, Latin Project style. Remixes on Musica De La Noche include reworks by A-list producers Shawn Lee, Supreme Beings Of Leisure, Static Revenger and Morgan Page.
Influences on Musica De La Noche range from Reggaeton to Afro-Beat and Bossa Nova. "We're always trying to find different rhythmic genres as building blocks,"says Colin. "The last album was mainly house-music influenced, but this one stretches the musical expressions, lending the new material a more organic, dynamic feel." The result is an irresistible, head-nodding, foot-stomping party-vibe set with an aptly titled after dark feel.
Vocalists Freddie Crespo (erstwhile percussionist and vocalist for Tito Puente) , Debi Nova (also heard performing with Sergio Mendez, Mark Ronson and Ricky Martin) and Guadelupian Joel Virgil still pop at the top of the mix. Notable new additions to the lineup include Mitchell Long (collaborator with Jurassic 5, Ozomatli), and Kool Kojak (collaborator with Flo Rida and NASA) rapping in Portugese/Spanglish on "Legal".
A Los Angeles Times review captured the vibe of The Latin Project's live show with these words: "The act is meant to be heard, and seen, in person.the 75 minute set is an entrancing concoction of hypnotic beats, airy melodies and jazzy instrumentals. . . Singers Debi, Joel and Katia Moraes (from Brazilian act Sambaguru) fuse with percussion, keyboards, bass, guitar and flute/sax, to create a big, colorful experience."
The Latin Project's live show stands out from the work of its contemporaries because the group transforms the tightly produced Latin Electronica sound, heard on its highly polished recordings, into an exceedingly danceable, vibrant live musical experience that resonates long after the show ends. "We might do the occasional show with a DJ replacing the beats, but we could never swap our main live players with a sampler," says Colin. "We have way too much of a good time turning heads and moving bodies when we get into it on stage." Curious? Don't die wondering. Give video of the Latin Project's live show a look at www.thelatinproject.com.
