Ocote Soul Sounds have recently been interviewed by Exclaim! magazine and also by NPR Music. To check out the interview in Exclaim! click here. To listen to the interview with NPR, click here.  

Adrian Quesada and Martin Perna, founding members of Grupo Fantasma and Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra respectively, join forces again as Ocote Soul Sounds for their sophomore album on ESL Music: The Alchemist Manifesto. This time the duo takes their trademark mish-mash of psychedelic afro-beat, Latin, hip-hop, soundtrack music, and funk into new abstract and heady territory. Floating through the vortex are new sonic elements: eerie keys, strings, flutes and even Spanish vocals overtop a solemn groove on the standout track “El Pescador.”

The Alchemist Manifesto is available now!

Praise for the acclaimed debut album, El Nino Y El Soul:

"Ocote & Quesada's organic creations are a joy to the ears" --Mosoul

"Sounding like a sun kissed Brazilian soundtrack from the '70s, this tasty afro beat collaboration between two of the genre's biggest players has funk horns aplenty and chilled vibes throughout. For fans of Fela Kuti, Gang Starr and everyone in between." --Dazed and Confused

"the feel of a long lost South American or African soundtrack, depending on which cut you are listening to. Highly Recommended." --Straight No Chaser

"Dramatic soundscapes with some real old skool flavours to them." --Blah Blah

"Sounds like an early DJ Shadow working with Giles Peterson's deep, Latin record stacks...it might just become the soundtrack to your gritty, sun-hazed, sweltering summer." --One Week To Live

"A whirlpool of psychedelic Afro-beat that's tethered by a Latin sound, it does not disappoint." --Wax Poetics

"Trade in your E for peyote and chill out to some of the nicest flute, vibes and MPC 2000 combinations in many a moon." ---XLR8R

"A grand adventure in sound...enough to make even James Brown jump back and kiss himself" --- The Austin Chronicle

"Like the Beatnuts spiritually busking: good shit" --- UPDATE

"This isn't the purple-faced sax player funk 45 you're sick of, it's the mojito sippin, Don Juan Stuff" --- TurntableLab.com

"Staged yet free flowing, rare and delicate, tripped out and hazy." --- The Fader

"Modern jazz-funk that takes it's time, overtones of afro, latin, deep funk and hip-hop." --- Latinvibe.co.uk

"They have managed to spin the essence of their respective bands into something rare and different. A Jewel." --- TheAge.com

"El Nino Y El Sol is an album that deserves a wider audience." --- All About Jazz

"Search this one down - a vital accompaniment to your sun-bound journeys, whether imaginary or real." --- Know The Ledge

"Rarely has laidback funk felt so vibrant, so alive, with an exquisite organic feel-good vibe that brings a smile to the lips of the listener..exceptional and essential." --- PopMatters

You can read the official review of Ocote's performance at the Austin City Limits Festival in September at Austin360.com

Martin Perna Interview  (from ACL 2007)