IRE by Combo Chimbita
Continuing their mystical saga, NYC’s Combo Chimbita roar back onto the global stage with their cathartic new album IRÉ.
The album's evocative title is forged upon double-edged meaning: on one hand embracing the divinely inspired blessings and prosperity foretold by our spiritual elders, and on the other a brazen, propulsive affirmation of revolutionary futures in the making. Afro-Caribbean transcendance, bewildering chants, booming drums and psychedelic distortion lay the rhythmic foundation for IRÉ; a testament to the ever expanding scope of Combo Chimbita's sonic palette and their modes of resistance in realms both spiritual and terrestrial.
IRÉ finds its rallying spark in convulsive present day realities by metabolizing the anxieties of systemic racism, capitalist decadence, totalitarian governments and the attempted erasure of queer and trans people. Early writing sessions in the summer of 2020 found Combo Chimbita grappling with the limbo of the COVID-19 pandemic, while a firestorm of Black Lives Matter protests swept through streets around the globe. Months later, they flew to Puerto Rico to record and mix the LP, bearing witness to the suffocating complexities of the island's imperialist tether to the U.S.
“Within the saga of Combo Chimbita,” reflects guitarist Niño Lento es Fuego about each of the band’s releases, “El Corredor del Jaguar (2016) finds this eternal being lost outside their realm and returning to Abya Yala (2017) in order to heal and restore peace to the continent. Ahomale (2019) appears as a guiding energy of resistance and now IRÉ (2022) represents those chosen to lead the revolution and materialize the good fortunes foretold in their divinations.”
Tracklist
| 1. | Oya | 3:15 |
| 2. | Babalawo | 5:42 |
| 3. | Me Fui | 3:19 |
| 4. | Memoria | 3:54 |
| 5. | La Perla | 3:15 |
| 6. | Sin Tiempo | 5:24 |
| 7. | Yo Me Lo Merezco | 3:43 |
| 8. | Indiferencia | 4:28 |
| 9. | De Frente | 2:30 |
| 10. | Lo Que Es Mio, Es Mio | 3:22 |
| 11. | Mujer Jaguar | 2:49 |
| 12. | Todos Santos | 3:56 |
Credits
CAROLINA OLIVEROS - VOCALS & GUACHARACA
NIÑO LENTO ES FUEGO - GUITAR
PRINCE OF QUEENS - BASS & SYNTHS
DILEMASTRONAUTA - DRUMS
OSCAR DIAZ - MANAGEMENT
WRITTEN BY COMBO CHIMBITA
IN ARECIBO, PUERTO RICO
PRODUCED BY COMBO CHIMBITA
AND HABISH ROSARIO
RECORDED AND MIXED AT SPECTRA RECORDING STUDIO BY HABISH ROSARIO WITH ADDITIONAL ENGINEERING BY EDGARDO SANTIAGO (AGUADILLA, PUERTO RICO)
MASTERED AT DIFFUSONIX BY ORLANDO FERRER (SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO)
ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY RENZO ORTEGA
