Tovar: Tigre
Tigre is the very appropriate title of Tovar’s latest LP, released in 2008 worldwide by Nopal Beat Records. Like its namesake, this album is sexy, sleek, strong and captivating… and cannot be overlooked.
Nopal Beat Records is known for the creation of acid cabaret, their staple sound that has made its way around the world by interpreting the Latin identity through the technology, vision and creativity of electronic music, inspired by the Mexican underground nightlife. Tigre is the latest of the acid cabaret records and it shows how a concept that was believed to be perfectly defined is in fact open to reinterpretation and can sustain freshness and change with flying colors.
Fusion comes naturally to Rubén Miranda, the producer behind Tovar. He is an accomplished guitarist with a rock background and the use of analog elements is one of his many strong points. Throughout Tigre, we can hear analog percussions, like congas and timbales, as well as vocals which were recorded specifically for use in this production. True to his Tijuana origins, the juxtaposition of apparently distinct concepts and a constantly mutating identity are at the core of Tovar’s music.
Tigre is a well-rounded record, with some very fresh tracks. In “Raíces Latinas” there are musical references to the Cuban son, but they are in a cosmopolitan context, with a funky baseline and a guitar played much in the style of the armonico, an instrument invented by Compay Segundo. The original vocals sound as appropriate today as they might have fifty years ago, adding to the timeless quality of the record. “Cumbia Queens” has been proven to stir up any dancefloor, with its textured groove and exuberant sultry beats, and in the remix by Akufen included here, it is a lounge delight; “Latin the Box” is another sexy, seductive track which promises to provoke. Tovar’s range is clear in “Dulce Amor”, a sweet, romantic, touching piece with great crossover appeal. A remarkable sense of humor is present throughout the LP but is at the forefront of tracks like “Dirty María”, which manages a perfectly executed result without taking itself too seriously.
This latest release by Nopal Beat Records is quintessential acid cabaret and quintessential Tovar: fundamentally Latin but not in an overt or stereotypical way, and essentially danceable, up beat and friendly, with a deep undertone that allows it to escape the strictest confines of house music.
Acid Cabaret: Ida y Vuelta
In the late nineties, Guadalajara reached the world’s ears, thanks to Nopal Beat Records, an independent label with a clear mission: to create a distinctive sound, representative of a rich tradition as well as the ability of its producers. That is how acid cabaret came about, an intense mix of electronic and tropical music, a reinterpretation of the darkness inherent to urban nightlife, to everything that makes up the complex and contradictory Mexican character.
Double Helix, Sussie 4, Galápago, Shock Bukara, Sweet Electra, Tovar, Fat Naked Lady, Club Nova, God is my Name and Medina were among those who joined ranks in the experimentation and fusion of sounds, accents and rhythms. The result was as diverse and colorful as the label itself: from the ultimate dance-floor tracks to deep, introspective exercises. Everything held together by a common thread based on a shared identity.
Acid Cabaret: Ida y Vuelta is a collection of the quintessential tracks produced from 1998 to 2005, a period in which Nopal Beat Records leapt from an idea to being consolidated in the national and global scene. It represents seven years in which the label has evolved greatly without compromising the origins of their well known musical love child.
As its name implies, this compilation is a round-trip musical voyage: from “Las Fichers”, Luis Flores’ defining track of early acid cabaret, to Shock Bukära’s emblematic “Mocambo”, with stopovers in Sussie 4’s “El rey del biutiful” and “Acid Carnaval” from Galápago’s album Infinito Palmeras.
Fourteen tracks in total capture one of the key moments in the evolution of Guadalajara’s electronic music scene, one of the most effervescent production centers in Mexico today. An eloquent testimony of a musical style that is every bit as current today as it was 8 years ago.
ACID CABARET: LIFE AND MIRACLES. Txt by Enrique Blanc
