Style: Cumbia, Merengue, Latin, Cha-Cha, ExperimentalFormat: CD, Vinyl
Label: Emperor Norton, Multicolor Recordings, EFA
Tracklist:
01 Introduccion
02 Showroom Dummies (Cha-Cha-Cha)
03 Trans Europe Express (Cumbia)
04 The Robots (Cha-Cha-Cha)
05 Neon Lights (Cha-Cha-Cha)
06 Autobahn (Cumbia Merengue)
07 Homecomputer (Merengue)
08 Tour De France (Merengue)
09 The Man Machine (Baklán)
10 Music Non Stop (Cumbia)
Credits:
Arranged By, Conductor – Señor Coconut
Programmed By, Concept By, Producer – Atom™
Shaker – Ricardito Tambo
Vocals – Argenis Brito, Jorge González
Despite his name, his album title and the fact that his introduction is in Spanish, Senor Coconut is a German called Uwe Schmidt who fronts a six-piece Danish backing band. "El Baile Aleman" means "the German dance", a perfectly logical title for Herr Coconut's Latin-tinged Kraftwerk tribute LP (recorded in Chile). Only a maniac, you would think, would filter the Dusseldorf wunderkinder through an array of South American dance beats, but it works staggeringly well, not least because of the ingeniously Kraftwerkian vocals.
The paradox of Kraftwerk is that their apparent iciness achieves sleek and sensual results, as, in its way, does Coconut's squad of ersatz Latinos. The Robots closely echoes the original's spooky shimmer, but with extra hip-swivel; Trans Europe Express uses Latin percussion to evoke a chuffing train; and Home Computer sustains the illusion that a digital pulse is ticking beneath its trumpets and jittery merengue beat. Surely unique.
Adam Sweeting / The Guardian
