2024 Secret Planet/Barbes showcase January 13th at Drom

Secret Planet/Barbes kicked off their second decade of showcase events, January 12th, at Drom in Manhattan’s East Village. Artists traveled from Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC to participate, joining locally based international musicians. Hosted since its inception by Electric Cowbell Records’ Jim Thomson and Barbes Brooklyn’s Olivier Conan, this year they announced that Secret Planet has expanded into a Northeast based coalition of music producers.

GORINTO PRODUCTIONS in State College, PA now has a Secret Planet series and Pete Spynda has started a Secret Planet Pittsburg series in Mt Oliver. In Northampton MA, Edo Mor, formerly of Laudable Productions has started secretplanet.live a community supported music coalition. Edo tells us: “Several of us in the northeast, came together informally under the Secret Planet brand to book artists in a regional way. We want to bring artists who have something unique to share with the world and give them a string of dates. Its taking shape differently in different locations, in DC Jim (Thomson) started a co-branded series. A year from now if people move around they may recognize Secret Planet as a name they know.”

At Drom, Shoko Nagai’s Tokala, a trio with Satoshi Takeishi (percussion) Frank London (trumpet) and Shoko (accordion,vocals) got things started with an eclectic set. An improvisation “Ohara Bishi” featuring Frank, was followed by a song in the Korean folk vocal tradition and then “Omatsuri” a 50’s japanese mambo with klezmer phrases from Frank.

Tokala is a “mysterious country in Asia” she said between songs. The group is a rotating cast of players alongside Satoshi and Shoko. Frank has been playing with the group for about two years. The group performs next at Barbes February 17th.

Bombay Rickey at Drom with Kamala Sankaram: vocals, accordion; Drew Fleming: guitar, vocals; and Jeff Hudgins: alto saxophone, vocals; Brian Adler: percussion and with Nick Cudahy bass.

“Bombay Rickey, the innovative and electrifying band known for their eclectic fusion of opera, jazz, and surf rock, with a penchant for the ’60s culture” - bandcamp bio.

Drom's stage barely held the musicians of El Laberinto del Coco, a surprise appearance by the 13 member group traveling from Puerto Rico. Exuberance filled the club as the band ripped through a scintillating set. It included a guest appearance from Jerry Medina, salsa vocalist and bandleader.

Loboko is the project of Congolese guitarist Yohni Djungu Sungu, with multi-instrumentalist and producder Nikhil Yerawadeckar, and drummer Morgan Greenstreet. At the Dromshow he was joined by bass player Ngouma Lokito (Soukous Stars) and guitarist Julian Apter.

The genesis of Combo Daguerre came during the quarantine. Although it was only a few years ago, it feels like a fast fading memory. Soon after Covid descended on the unsuspecting city, Olivier Conan found himself in an airport hotel under mandatory quarantine. His business was shuttered and he was allowed out of his room only for twice daily walks in the courtyard. It seemed at the time as if life had changed forever in the blink of an eye.In his isolation, Olivier began writing the songs that have became the music of Combo Daguerre. It was an artist’s response to crisis, as their name suggests a snapshot of stark times. The music, in contrast, is the joyous expression of an artist making music in the moment with friends. Olivier’s bandmates happen to play latin music, jazz, psychedelic surf, which is a snapshot of the musical community fostered by Barbes in Brooklyn which survived and is thriving again.

It was our first time witnessing a Combo Daguerre performance. As the set played out at Drom, we noticed the music stuck a balance. Gritty unsentimental vocals on songs where the “approach to chord changes rooted in chanson and cabaret” Olivier told us afterwards. Juxtaposed were timeless tropical grooves, surf guitar and keyboard playing that referenced 60’s psychedelia. The effect was to keep the listener tuned in. As the musicians interacted, the music unfolded in unexpected directions.

On “Son Ombre”, a bright surf riff from Felipe Wurst’s guitar buoyantly introduced Olivier’s lyrics which captured a feverish mood:

“It‘s hot It is scary It's night And by dint of only dreaming of her Dreams overflow from their beds and spill out into the alleys”. While the bouyant beat percolated “My love where are you ? I no longer see your shadow, My love what are you doing? This room is so dark My love where are you ? I don't hear your voice anymore”.

“Psychedelic Chanson filled with joy and darkness, deep grooves and dirges, nostalgia and futurism” is how the band describes their music. Their first album has been recorded and is expected to be released in the near future.

Washington DC based Cumbia Heights is made up of musicians from across Latin America. They came together during the pandemic to play music from back home. Audiences in DC clubs like Comet Ping Pong and Songbyrd Music House and Haydee’s needed to hear that music as well. Cumbia is the band’s calling card, the loping cowbell driven rhythm, however, went off road with a searing guitar solo from Fernando Hernandez bringing it into the psychedelic era and the pace never didn’t let up.

“Shoko Nagai’s TOKALA" explores the ancient connections between Japan and the Middle East established via the Silk Road; this conduit of cultural and commercial exchange left an imprint that became an integral part of Japanese culture. Bringing together Japanese and Korean folk, pop music, Eastern European and Middle Eastern music, Tokala illuminates and expands the centuries-old connections between these traditions.”  bio from https://www.shokonagai.net/

Discolocas is a NYC based collective of female DJs

Bombay Rickey performed music from their recent opera caberet based on the life of Peruvian Singer Yma Sumac and bollywood tunes featuring Kamala’s soaring vocals.

The music of El Laberinto del Coco is bomba music of Puerto Rico filtered through the leadership Hector “Coco” Barez. At its heart, Bomba is an interaction between dancer and drummer. Like the Gwoka tradition of Guadeloupe, the dancer faces the drummers making eye contact with the leader, then calls the rhythm with the drummers responding. On stage this could be heard in the interaction between Barez, bulleador Andres Cruz and a front line of four female vocalists. Bomba has six core rhythms, recognized by each musician. Barez expands on that tradition fusing elements of jazz and dance, reggaeton, rock and funk into its music, all original compostions. A horn section of 4 echoed the chorus or laid down thick funk lines and rounding out the sound was the electric guitar, bass and drum kit. 

La Perla, Giovanna Mogollón (voice, hand drum ) Diana Sanmiguel (Voice, percussion) Karen Forero (voice, hand drums)

Bogota’s La Perla mesmerized Drom listeners as songs leapt from the stage in rapid succession. The music of the trio, Diana Sanmiguel, Giovanna Mogollón and Karen Forero is is inspired by a shared love of Afro Colombian music, in particular, bullerengue, a vocal and percussion traditional form found along the Caribbean coast. La Perla, as a female vocal trio, was a rarity in traditional circles when they formed in 2014.

Honed by years of live performance La Perla’s originality shines in their agile vocal interaction, backed by traditional drum and percussion instruments. Bullerengue is by its nature a music of resistance, La Perla's original songs keep the spirit of the music alive by vocalizing contemporary social issues. They also put their stamp on the tradition incorporating rap and other contemporary sounds while staying true to the basic format of drum, hand percussion and vocals. "Callejera" their debut album, was released after 8 years of performing live together.  

As pioneers of the left bank surf sound driven by pan-latin rhythms, Brooklyn based Combo Daguerre deftly defy categorization. The musicians are (Olivier Conan (Chicha Libre) - cuatro, vocals;  Adele Fournet - keyboards and Felipe Wurst - guitar (Banda Chuska/Tipa Tipo); Andres Fonseca (Unlimited Perception) - drums; Neil Ochoa (Los Crema Paraiso, Chicha Libre) - percussion and Dan Martinez - bass) They perform next March 15th at The Local in Saugerties, NY, followed by an east coast tour in May.