1 in 2004, and Superpop Venezuela in 2006. Arepa 3000: A Venezuelan Journey Into Space followed in 2000, The Venezuelan Zinga Son, Vol. They signed with David Byrne's Luaka Bop imprint and released their American debut, The New Sound of the Venezuelan Gozadera, in 1998. However, financial difficulties led the group to move to New York in 1997. Bandmembers Julio Briceño (vocals), José Luis Pardo (guitar, songwriting), Armando Figueredo (keyboards), Mauricio Arcas (raps), José Rafael Torres (bass), and Juan Manuel Roura (drums) supported their growing reputation with a series of underground dance parties at the mostly deserted clubs of Caracas. Together they make Repeat After Me another step up the creativity ladder for Los Amigos Invisibles.A performance-oriented Latin dance band from Venezuela heavily indebted to funk and disco (with a dash of acid jazz), los Amigos Invisibles made a big splash in their homeland in 1995 with their debut album, A Typical and Autoctonal Venezuelan Dance Band, which featured odd Japanese animé-style artwork. José Luis Pardo's production and mix are equal partners with the band in this creation. No matter the music's intensity, he manages to add this loose, laid-back feel to every utterance - whether he is singing in Spanish or English - that makes the party roll at a simmering heat. ![]() This is due in no small part to Julio Briceño's vocals. Despite the obvious influential references, Los Amigos Invisibles are able to stretch and morph them into something completely their own. Disco gets a real hearing on the largely instrumental "Robot Love" and the dancefloor banger "Invisible Love," near the album's end where the strings are straight out Barry White and the synths are pure Giorgio Moroder, all woven through this killer neo-Latin soul frame. Throughout, the horn and string arrangements on some of the aforementioned cuts, or the fingerpopping - not to mention hilarious - "Reino Animal," expand the colorful palette of sounds and layered textures found on the set. The participation of the swinging trio Los Hermanoes Naturales on "Mostro" adds wild, scattershot gypsy jazz to the proceedings to boot. With "Stay," a desperate, broken love song and the set's longest cut, the funk remains, but it's spacy, nocturnal, and emotive. "Río Porque No Fue un Sueño" melds Isley Brothers groove, Leroy Hutson's seductiveness, and Santana's guitar soloing circa Caravanserai and Welcome. By contrast," "Sex Appeal" is pure wonky funk. "La Que Me Gusta"'s intro bassline is swiped straight from the Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love," but the melody is less urgent, modern, warmer, a new breed of Latin soul. While Commercial and Not So Commercial utilized inspirations from Daft Punk to Prince's Paisley Park, the inspirations on Repeat After Me reach back further - toward the soulful funk of the mid- to late '70s, smooth disco, and Latin soul, with just enough lithe rock to expand the dynamics. The Venezuelan sextet combines grooves that push the envelope of songwriting, arranging, and production at every turn. ![]() ![]() While the band's "new gozadera" sound remains, the level of sophistication at work here was only hinted at on their previous two offerings for the label. Repeat After Me is Los Amigos Invisibles' sixth recording overall, and their third for Nacional.
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