The funky afro-tech Cumbia outfit from Berlin known as Checkpoint Guanabana is back in good form with a new album coming out early 2015 appropriately titled Colombia Meets Berlin. They just released a brand new video for their single Merecumbe. Merecumbe is a perfect introduction for those who haven’t heard of Checkpoint Guanabana yet and a pleasant return for those who have gotten to know this exciting Nu Cumbia band.
I was fortunate to receive three tracks from the upcoming album, which will be released soon as an EP. Sure enough the songs deliver what I have come to expect from Checkpoint Guanabana; great, innovative, fun, exciting and superb instrumentation. Their sound is funky and fresh compared to many other bands within the Nu Cumbia scene. They’re not revamping classic Cumbia tunes but instead they’re moving the genre into the future while maintaining the same energy and quality of the classics. I personally admire the funky guitar work a lot, which is something I listen for intently in modern music. The percussion work is also incredible and never dull as it keeps changing up while never becoming too repetitive. Colombia Meets Berlin is surely going to be a big release for Checkpoint Guanabana and I’m going to be there to help push it, not that it will need much help for it is an extremely good album, which I’m sure will get a lot of attention on its own. Nonetheless I will be there excited to present it to the world.
The video for Merecumbe itself is wild and fun, which captures the intensity of the band quite well. It’s not cheesy, it’s not over-the-top, and it most definitely isn’t trying too hard to be unique, it is however perfectly unique and fun, which is hard to pull off (at least compared to many other indie music videos I come across).