Last weekend Tijuana Cartel brought their unique sound to Melbourne’s Prince of Wales band room, and despite being the second billed act of four, were certainly the highlight.
Hailing from the Gold Coast, the Cartel presents a tantalizing blend of Middle-Eastern, Spanish, Greek, jazz, dub and electro flavours that never fails to get the dance-floor heaving.
Their sound is industrial, brooding and heavy, yet light and uplifting at the same time, and is clearly an amalgam of their individual heritages.
Of the five band members they have Uruguayan, Maori, South African and Australian backgrounds, and create combinations of sounds that have not been heard before.
Once such sound lilts from co-producer Paul George’s guitar. He caresses and beats the instrument to release flamenco and slide sounds to rival the best.
He even makes it sound like a bouzouki.
The song Zorba from the album They Come is a reflection of time spent in Greece while traveling. The unmistakable plink-plink of a bouzouki played on a nylon-string guitar and blended with flamenco licks leads you to a lazy Greek island in the heat of the day.
“Won’t you come along with me and spread your wings and try to be free. It’s time to be so free, so won’t you be so free, so free some day,” say the lyrics. And you’re there, on Paradise beach, sipping on a slushie and kicking back.
Coupled with the bouzouki-sounding guitar are latin percussion, sultry horns, imposing break beats and an MC whose deep, imposing voice rivals that of Sasa the party-master from the Mykonos Tropicana bar. And you’re there again.
The headline act on the night was New Zealand band Bonjah, a folk-inspired band with reggae and Latin influences whose members migrated to Melbourne together in pursuit of a healthier music scene.
They found it in spades and have been touring the country ever since, releasing a debut record and recording a live album at this show.