Words by Justin Turford
Written and recorded in a sleepless nine day studio stint all by himself, Alex Figueira’s debut album is an almighty funky-weird-multi-genre car crash (in a good way) of a record. Separating the musical bodies will take witchcraft not science.
Alex Figueira, the Venezuelan born, Amsterdam based - “hardest working man in Tropical music” - doesn’t really sit still. Bandleader, percussionist, DJ, producer and label boss (oh yeah, he has a record shop and studio as well) is a well known independent force - Alex was the founding spark for a myriad of projects including Fumaça Preta, Conjunto Papa Upa, Lola’s Dice, Vintage Voudou Records, Music With Soul Records, and Heat Too Hot music production studio (and performed, written and recorded with Altın Gün as well). With a fanbase that apart from us, includes Kenny Dope Gonzalez, Andy Votel and Miles from Soundway Records - his DIY, no excuses, fuck it let’s go! attitude is punk in its truest form.
The album begins with an explosive ‘Blowing Up Gates’. An untamed, genre-blurring apocalyptic funk that sounds like a Roland 303 was dropped into a tropical jungle! Meridian Brothers type synths, live drums and a weird post-Baroque clavinet hurtle along with lysergic intention.
‘Lávate la boca’ is some kind of acid-tinged goose-stepper, with a squidgy 303 bassline, eerie 80s horror movie synths and a military funk drum groove bedrocking Alex’s hallucinogenic‘wash your mouth’ lyrics.
‘Esquisio’ is garage-psyche-cumbia, all scraping and shaking percussion, a bed of congas, wobbly squealing keys and a track length fuzz guitar solo. Alex had a pinched nerve during the recording session and the mixture of pain and painkillers seem to have coalesced right here.
‘Sofoco’ rolls along in a very loose Afro-Caribbean tumble. Like an unreleased C. K. Mann groove but with added psychosis, once again there’s a tinge of cult cinema about this one. Post-pandemic paranoia party perhaps?
The Kraftwerk meets Airto vibe of ‘Longe’ is a tasty bit of cop show noir. Relaxing without ever being dull, the late night streets of Amsterdam seem like an inspiration - a narcotic walk through the mist, the raw recording of the metallic percussion instruments evoking a need for a sharp weapon.
The single ‘La Culebra’ (the snake) grooves along with Tony Allen style drums, a wicked guitar riff and spare but funky bass notes. Vocoded vocals and a call and answer that ‘Scratch’ Perry would approve of somehow give the final product a tropical krautrock atmosphere. Great tune.
‘A Little Better’ takes the dub reference more literally with one drop drums, rumbling bass and prodding reggae keyboard stabs - lovely pianos and keys interplay take it away from cliche. Dub para el pueblo, it’s hard to believe that Alex performed everything on this, there’s such a jamming feel usually only captured by humans playing together.
‘Serious’ is seriously wonky. Complicated drum rhythms that barely lock in with the scratchy guitars and a second half that absolutely flies with rolling percussion and cosmic-disco synths!
The appropriately titled ‘Mentallogenic’ album closes with ‘Silky’, another cinema-scopic wandering through a neighbourhood of global flavours. African, Tex-Mex AND Indian sounding guitars, super-tight funk drums, the track meanders at its own pace, somehow remaining catchy as hell.
Written, performed, recorded and mastered by the man himself in just over a week, this was a challenge that he probably wouldn’t wish to experience again. The album is as raw and as feverish as he felt but his instinctual creativity and natural eccentricity make this a record that you need. Unpredictable and more than a bit unhinged, Alex’s debut is a resoundingly messy success! 9.5/10.
BUY HERE! https://musicwithsoul.bandcamp.com/album/mentallogenic