Just wanted to share a new Sound Travels favorite, a group out of L.A. called QUTAPENAS ("one word all caps, four syllables all claps") whose self-titled debut has been on lock in more than a few of my playlists. Their sound is built on afro-Latin rhythms and steeped in Southern Cali sun. Echoes of afrrobeat, Angolan semba and cumbia reverberate throught the release and listening to the group is to feel a wry smile creep in right under toes that are likely tapping to their rhythm. Big fan here.
Bands this far removed from their source of inspiration can get thin after a few listens, which is why I tried not to write about them until I could give it a few listens past the 'discovery' phase; and QUITAPENAS holds up well. Their sound is warmly vintage, almost nostalgic in the care they take to sound authentic, but it's an authenticity that revels in sources that would never sit together on one album had it not been made in 2014, in SoCal. Give it a listen and support the band directly on bandcamp.
